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Anderson Area Chamber

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Anderson Area Chamber New Media Workshop

I was asked a few months ago by the Anderson Area Chamber of Commerce to spend some time working with businesses concerning New Media and Social Media Strategies. This morning was a great workshop with a small group of people inspired and engaged. It is was so much fun to work with small business owners that are so passionate about their business. This post is just for you, all fourteen of you that spent time with me this Wednesday morning. I encouraged you not to take notes, but to take part in the conversation. Here are the two presentations form this morning. The first presentation below was the primer, the place to get us going.

The second presentation below was a way to think about implementing New Media into your strategy. It is full of some examples and case studies.

I am also including the worksheet as a PDF to download. Click Here to download.

Thanks to the Anderson Area Chamber of Commerce for hosting this workshop along those who attended, specifically sitting through two hours of my crazy information.

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Business in 2010

Well the new year has kicked off with a big ole bang and I am ready to hit it full force. Lots of changes in my world, leaving a partnership and venturing out on my own. So it is going to be the purpose of this bog to follow this path of business for the next year. It is going to be a path of doing business entrepreneurial style, defining for the community at-large (and myself) what BobbyRettew,llc is all about. But the conversation is going to center around my life doing business for myself and my family, building a solid customer base, building a community around vision, life as a college instructor at Clemson, and how Anderson, SC can build a bigger and brighter entrepreneurial community.

In December of 2009, I formed BobbyRettew,llc as a company to do a few things:

  • Tell lots of stories for my clients
  • Produce lots of videos that wrap around those stories
  • Help companies evaluate and build new media strategies
  • Dissect social media and the relevant business application
  • Build a community of conversation around new media and entrepreneurship in Anderson, SC
  • Provide for my family a comfortable living with a flexible schedule

Is that too much to ask for? 2009 was wrapped around public perception and spin that there was and still is an economic downturn in this ever changing economy. It is my goal to make 2010 (I am saying it Twenty-Ten) to put the word “Innovation” back in the spin. Anderson, Greenville, and Clemson are lively, vibrant areas with lots of Innovation and Thought Leadership and there is a true buzz of entrepreneurship in this community. I want to be a part of that conversation. It is time to take to “Potential” and turn into “Kinetic”.

As I sit looking out my window, the largest employer in Anderson County is a stone throw away: AnMed. Don’t you think they have a vested interest to ensure that the small business community is successful and the human growth potential in entrepreneurship brings value to the  tables of every household in this county. I would think so, they wrote off $77 Million Dollars last year. It is in their best interest for entrepreneurship to be alive and the small business community is successful; that turns into paid health care. So if the largest employer in Anderson County finds value in the small business community…that tells me there is a tremendous opportunity for success. So how many other AnMed’s are out there that have a vested self interest to ensure that small business community is successful?

After walking away from the a Business Advancement Committee meeting this morning at the Anderson Area Chamber, I thought to myself…it is time to surround myself around entrepreneurs and small business owners that want the same things. I want to make the next 360 days of this year to be centered around tapping that potential, building good business, find entrepreneurs who have that same drive, and building strong relationships that lead to long term business.

Here’s to Twenty-Ten!

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Building Communities – Anderson Area Chamber Style

About a week ago…I get a call from the Anderson Area Chamber to help take part in their yearly membership drive. At first, I was kind of perplexed about this request, but I believe in the life of the chamber so I was happy to jump on board. Plus, I have never taken part in a membership drive so I was interested to check out the process and maybe build some relationships along the way.

To the pleasant voice on the other side of the phone, I happily agreed to show up for a training this morning. So 8am this morning, I made my way into a conference room at the Area Chamber of Commerce where the room was full and the coffee was brewing. JAVA – Good!

What I walked away from this hour and half experience is that the Anderson Area Chamber is building communities, raising awareness, and not just making simple cold calls asking for membership dues.

The Anderson Area Chamber brought in a Membership Campaign Consultant to help the 25 plus members (that agreed to take part in this effort) come together as a group and use their sphere of influence to ask non-chamber members to consider joining their “Tribe”…their “Ecosystem”…their “Sphere of Influence.” Sheryl Ross is her name and empowering communities is her game.

This is here membership game:
Communities —> Awareness —> Membership

As I looked around the room, there was a wide representation of membership taking part in this event. Each one was hand selected, each one has a sphere of influence, each one is passionate about small business development, each one consistently understands the meaning of leveraging relationships. Sheryl Ross was brought in to empower the membership represented in the room about the benefits of a chamber membership; and to empower this membership to expand the “Sphere of Influence” by tapping into their personal/business address books.

What is the point of joining a Chamber of Commerce, especially one that has a broad “Sphere of Influence”? How about to have a voice, generate revenue, and save money. That is the bottom-line. The Anderson Area Chamber is building their “Tribe”, expanding their sphere of influence, and gaining momentum for the following:

Empowering Membership —> Empowering Awareness —> Empowering Business

This is a training session that I enjoyed…I guess I drank the kool-aid. But whatever the reason, I want to be a part of this “Tribe”. I want to grow my “Sphere of Influence.” That is the benefit for each member that showed up for this training session. An opportunity to grow their “Tribe” by networking and engaging in fluid conversation with others in the room, those potential “Tribe” members that will be recruited, and ultimately to feel like they are a part of a “Tribe”. While the chamber is leveraging their membership in the room as means to grow and find new members, the membership in the room is recruiting new members and growing their sphere of influence…this is a mutually beneficial relationship. Business and engaging/building/leveraging relationships is fun. I want some more kool-aid….actually some more coffee.