Small Business Saturday: Big, and getting bigger; Batavia Chamber of Commerce 2016-2017 Community Guide & Membership Directory; Plymouth Chamber: U.S. Rep Jackie Walorski Discusses Tax Reform at Local Businesses in Plymouth; Visits Coca-Cola Bottling Facility, Family-Owned Restaurant, Local Grocery Chain to Highlight Benefits of Tax Code Overhaul; #BestChamber practices: Midland Area Chamber of Commerce: Cool Stuff to Share; #Best Chamber practices: Geneva Chamber of Commerce: Text to receive notices and offers; Olive Branch the cutting edge place to be; Save Your Seat Today for the Future Wisconsin Summit, Nov 29; Front Royal Warren County Community Profile & Membership Directory 2017; Kentucky chamber president says big changes to come in 2018 session; Friday: 157 Rules for Executive Success in Organization Management (and your Chamber of Commerce) by Patrick McGaughey (Chamber Mentor)' ; Town Square Publications Chamber Membership Directories and Community Profiles: The best in the U.S.;

Happy Friday #Chamber World! Have a GREAT weekend!

Small Business Saturday: Big, and getting bigger

It’s not yet Halloween, but for many small businesses, planning for the holiday season has started in full force. If you own a small business, it’s time to start getting ready for one of the most important days of the year.

In all my years working with entrepreneurs and writing about entrepreneurship, Small Business Saturday — falling this year on Nov. 25 — is the most transformative campaign for small businesses I have ever seen.

Since its inception in 2010, this special day — the Saturday after Thanksgiving— has become the biggest sales day of the year for many small companies. For the big day last year, an estimated 112 million Americans shopped at small businesses and independent restaurants, spending about $15.4 billion, according to American Express. That’s about one-third of the American public buying at small businesses and a whole lot of cash infused into local economies.   

“Thousands of small businesses have seen real results — more customers through their doors and more sales at the register — by participating in Small Business Saturday,” said Amy Marino of American Express, the founding partner of Small Business Saturday.

A company website with information about Small Business Saturday, ShopSmall.com, also offers merchandise/materials to entrepreneurs wishing to promote their businesses. You can also sign up to be a "Neighborhood Champion" and encourage other businesses to join in on the celebration.

If you’d like to increase sales, support your local community and have fun along the way, then I urge you to have your small business participate.   

Whatever your small business, here's how you can get involved:

1.  Get free, custom marketing materials. Visit the online “Shop Small Studio” for customizable templates for social media, your website, email newsletters and for posters and event flyers with your business name on them. Very cool. 

2. Order your Shop Small Kit. Also free from American Express, these kits include canvas shopping bags, buttons, banners, pencils and more. Give them to customers and display them around your store. After you’ve created your custom materials at the “Shop Small Studio,” a link will appear for ordering your Shop Small Kit. The kits are in high demand, so order yours well before the Nov. 10 deadline.

3. Plan an event on the day. Activities for kids, music, entertainment and free food all draw shoppers during the long holiday weekend. Many shopping districts launch a “passport” project, where customers get stamps at participating stores, many of which offer discounts to passport holders. Once they accumulate enough stamps, they get a reward. 

4. Create a Small Business Saturday promotion. Give a gift with a purchase, ask vendors for highly discounted items you can sell as a promotion that day, plan a one-day “BOGO” sale (buy one/ get one free) or donate a percentage of sales to a local charity.

5. Make sure customers can find you. “Claim” your business listing for free on sites such as Google My Business, Bing Places, Yelp, and American Express Shop Small map. Read more: USA Today



Batavia Chamber of Commerce 2016-2017 Community Guide & Membership Directory

The Batavia Chamber of Commerce 2016-2017 Community Guide & Business Directory is available at the Batavia Chamber today! Thanks to Holly Deitchman and the chamber team for their help and direction putting this together!

Batavia Chamber of Commerce 2016-2017 Community Guide and Membership Directory

Town SquarePublications  (www.townsquarepublications.com) can help you accomplish your chamber's gloss map, directory, community profile or publication needs at no expense to the chamber. Please email John Dussman at jdussman@tspubs.com or call (847)-427-4633.


Plymouth Chamber: U.S. Rep Jackie Walorski Discusses Tax Reform at Local Businesses in Plymouth; Visits Coca-Cola Bottling Facility, Family-Owned Restaurant, Local Grocery Chain to Highlight Benefits of Tax Code Overhaul


U.S. Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-Ind.) today discussed the importance of pro-growth tax reform to spur job creation and grow paychecks during visits to three local businesses. Walorski met with business owners, local chamber leaders, and employees at the Coca-Cola Kokomo bottling franchise, the Brass Rail restaurant, and Martin’s Super Market.

“These family-owned businesses in Plymouth are just the kinds of job creators that will be able to hire more workers and invest more in our communities with tax reform,” Congresswoman Walorski said. “Hoosiers deserve a fairer, simpler tax code that makes America more competitive, helps businesses grow and create jobs, and allows families to keep more of their hard-earned paychecks. That’s exactly what we’re going to deliver with tax reform.”


The Trump administration, House Ways and Means Committee, and Senate Finance Committee recently announced a unified framework for pro-growth tax reform. Walorski joined President Trump in Indianapolis for his announcement of the framework.

The framework will serve as a template for the committees to develop legislation to simplify and modernize the tax code, provide tax relief to middle class families and small businesses, boost job creation, and make the U.S. more competitive in the global economy.


Middle-Class Tax Relief

• The framework lowers middle-class families’ tax burden by roughly doubling the standard deduction, expanding the Child Tax Credit, and creating a non-refundable credit for non-child dependents.

• It simplifies the tax code and allows most individuals to file their taxes on a postcard by eliminating most itemized deductions, repealing the alternative minimum tax (AMT).

• It retains tax incentives for home mortgage interest and charitable contributions, as well as tax benefits that encourage work, higher education, and retirement security.

• It makes the tax code fairer by consolidating the current seven tax brackets into three brackets of 12, 25, and 35 percent, with a possible fourth bracket for the highest-income taxpayers.

• It protects family farms and businesses from the onerous death tax.

Jobs and Economic Growth

• The framework lowers the tax rate on small and family-owned businesses to 25 percent while calling for measures to prevent wealthy individuals from recharacterizing personal income as business income.

• It lowers the corporate tax rate to 20 percent, below the 22.5 percent average among industrialized nations.

• It allows for full and immediate expensing of capital investments for at least five years so businesses can purchase new equipment.

• It eliminates special interest tax breaks and loopholes while maintaining the research and development and low-income housing credits.

• It ends the incentive to send jobs and capital overseas by transitioning to a territorial tax system and repatriating foreign earnings that have accumulated overseas.

Walorski represents the 2nd Congressional District of Indiana, serving as a member of the House Ways and Means Committee.

#BestChamber practices: Midland Area Chamber of Commerce: Cool Stuff to Share

Cool TED Talk: How Great Leaders Inspire Action

Inspired by this week's Leadership Midland! Simon Sinek has a simple but powerful model for inspirational leadership -- starting with a golden circle and the question "Why?" His examples include Apple, Martin Luther King, and the Wright brothers.

#BestChamber practices: Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce Fall Prospective Member Breakfast 

November 1
Reston Community Center - Hunters Woods

The Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce is hosting our Fall Prospective Member Breakfast on November 1. Now is the time for you to spread the word to your network encouraging everyone to join GRCC.

What better way to kick off our 35th Anniversary Celebration, than to invite potential members to join your Chamber. The Greater Reston Chamber offers innovative opportunities for business development, marketing, community engagement, advocacy, networking and business education; something for every stage of business growth. Our Board of Directors and other local business leaders will share how involvement in our Chamber has transformed their business. Their stories will inspire future members to do business differently and inform them of the endless possibilities we offer the business community!

You see the value of chamber membership, encourage your peers to join us to learn how we can help them grow their business.

This event is exclusively for prospective members.

Learn More


#Best Chamber practices: Geneva Chamber of Commerce: Text to receive notices and offers

Help Jean Gaines promote Geneva's mobile phone Keyword (GENEVA) at 223344!  It is easy. Here is how you can help.

1. Post the attached image to your Facebook wall.  Ask readers to join!
2. Include the attached image or message on your Website.

1. Include copy "Text GENEVA to 223344" in print ads, brochures and conversation points with customers. 

Thank you for helping.  We are stronger - TOGETHER!

More information: Geneva Chamber




Olive Branch the cutting edge place to be

Over the years, major companies have seen the advantages of operating distribution warehouse space in DeSoto County. The centralized location and its proximity to air, rail and roads have made the county a prime spot to be.

Chervon North America is the latest manufacturer to discover those advantages in opening a 200,000 square foot distribution center just south of the Mississippi-Tennessee state line on Hacks Cross Road in Olive Branch.

Chervon itself may not be immediately known to consumers, but if you have used a Skil power saw or any of the EGO lawn products, you have benefitted from a product that comes under the Chervon name.

Chervon made its foothold on the power products industry with the EGO brand and has recently acquired Skil products, according to Chervon Chief Financial Officer Arun Roy, among company officials who attended a recent ribbon cutting event with Olive Branch city and business officials and state Sens. David Parker and Kevin Blackwell.

With the Skil acquisition, Chervon needed additional space to add to its present 200,000 square foot presence in Chino, Calif., Roy said.

Olive Branch became the perfect solution for all of the right reasons.

“We had to increase our warehousing capacity,” Roy said. “Along with this need, it became clear we needed a major partner as well as a location that could be more central for us and Olive Branch became abundantly clear as the location of choice. In nine months, today we have a functional warehouse. It was a phenomenal task and effort that was put in by both teams and all of the stakeholders to make this successful.”

The other “team” Roy referred to is a logistic services company called Kenco. The group oversees the operations of Chervon’s California facility and will do the same in Olive Branch.

Roy said the combination of Kenco with local support helped make the new center go online within nine months of construction.

“We partnered with Kenco but we also worked closely with the Olive Branch Chamber of Commerce and Jim Flanagan from the DeSoto County Economic Development Council,” Roy said. “It took a lot of work and had it not been for the Olive Branch officials and the State of Mississippi, this would not have happened.” Read more: Desoto Times-Tribune

Save Your Seat Today for the Future Wisconsin Summit, Nov 29

  

8:30 - Registration

  

Welcome
Kurt Bauer, President/CEO, WMC

Keynote Speaker
Blake Moret, President/CEO, Rockwell Automation

How Foxconn Can Change Wisconsin -- Panel Discussion

• Tim Sheehy, Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce
• Secretary Scott Neitzel, WI Dept. of Administration
• Secretary Mark Hogan, WI Economic Development Corp.
• Foxconn Representative (to be announced)

Meeting the Workforce Challenge -- Panel Discussion

• Rolf Wegenke, WI Assoc. of Independent Colleges & Universities
• Ed Paradowski, Apache Stainless Equipment Corp.
• Kaylen Betzig, Waukesha County Technical College
• Mike Lovell, Marquette University

Governor Scott Walker (invited)

Marketing Wisconsin
Wisconsin Economic Development Corp

Lunch / Wisconsin Job Honor Awards

Kyle Horn, Founder and Director, America's Job Honor Awards

Closing Remarks

---------------------------------

SPONSORSHIPS AVAILABLE!

Contact Kari Hofer for more information.

Email:  khofer@wmc.org

Call:  (608) 258-3400

Regular Price: $150 per person  |  $1,350 for table of ten

Discount Price: $100 per person  |  $900 for table of ten  |  $50 student

Discount Price applies for WMC Members, Future Wisconsin Partners or Members of a Future Wisconsin Community.

More info: WMC

Front Royal Warren County Community Profile & Membership Directory 2017 

The Front Royal Warren County Community Profile & Membership Directory 2017 is available at the Front Royal Warren County Chamber of Commerce today! Thank you to Niki Foster and Pam Riffle and the Chamber team for their help and direction putting this together! 

Front Royal Warren County Community Profile & Membership Directory 2017

Town Square Publications  (www.townsquarepublications.com) can help you accomplish your chamber's gloss map, directory, community profile or publication needs at no expense to the chamber. Please email John Dussman at jdussman@tspubs.com or call (847)-427-4633.

Kentucky chamber president says big changes to come in 2018 session at Hardin County Chamber event

The Kentucky Chamber of Commerce would like to reform taxes and criminal justice and invest in education and infrastructure, among other priorities for this upcoming legislative session.

But first, the state has to re­form its pension system, which Kentucky Chamber of Commerce President Dave Adkisson called the “No. 1 threat” to the state’s stability.

Adkisson, who spoke Wednesday at the Hardin County Chamber of Commerce’s monthly luncheon, introduced the organization’s legislative agenda for the 2018 session.

“We have to deal with pensions and the 2018 budget so we can move onto a growth agenda,” he said.

Legislators are looking to reform the state’s pension systems during a special session this year. Adkisson said the state is drowning in pension debt and until the issue is addressed, other priorities might have to wait.

“The air is being sucked out of the room by pensions,” he said.

During his talk, Ad­kisson explained key terms related to the pension conversation, such as inviolable contract and structural changes. The contract refers to benefits employees were promised when they took a job. He said structural changes were an euphemism for adjusting benefits lawmakers see as not covered by the employment agreement.

In referring to the teachers’ retirement sys­tem, which was established in 1940, he said some structural changes were long overdue. Adkisson said Kentuckians, on average, live more than 16 years longer than their ancestors in the 1940s, which influences retirement expenses.

Gov. Matt Bevin and lawmakers expect to release their plan for pension reform this week. After pension reform, the General Assembly will start its 2018 session in January and tackle the budget.

Adkisson expects the 2018 budget session to be difficult, he said.

“The budget challenge will be greater than during the recession,” he said, adding Kentucky is facing a tough reality.

Looking ahead past the budget and pensions, workforce development, from finding workers to training them, is key to helping grow the state’s economy. Part of that includes teaching essential skills to students, which is part of the state chamber’s 2018 agenda. Read more: News Enterprise

Friday: 157 Rules for Executive Success in Organization Management (and your Chamber of Commerce) by Patrick McGaughey (Chamber Mentor)

RULE #94      Endorse candidates who endorse us.

Town Square Publications Chamber Membership Directories and Community Profiles: The best in the U.S.

Town Square Publications, a division of the Daily Herald Media Group, is a national chamber custom publishing group that specializes in developing partnerships by producing high-quality print and digitally integrated publications along with other added value programs dedicated to creating relevancy for local chambers of commerce and other membership focused organizations interested in raising non-dues revenues.

Town Square Publications parent company, Paddock Publications, has over 100 years’ experience of print product development and dedicated customer service in communities throughout the Midwest. Our experience allows Town Square Publications to offer you attractive royalty and non-dues revenue share streams, provide direct distribution of your custom designed printed publications, including digital and mobile integration, and all with the quickest turn-around times available in the industry. Town Square also offers multi-media maps in both print and online formats, both with our No-Cost guarantee. More information: Town Square Publications

Chambers of Commerce and member focused organizations serve as a valuable resource in the local marketplace. The networking opportunities and representation with a wide variety of diverse businesses in your community is the catalyst of a successful organization. For further information about Town Square's publishing partnership with chambers of commerce and our No-Cost guarantee and Earned Revenue Share Program, To request your chamber publication or map proposal, contact Town Square Chamber Proposal