Chamber Insider Business Blog
Welcome to the view from inside the West Coast Chamber. Keeping you on the leading edge of business innovations, trends, and best practices. Keeping you in the know about what's happening in the West Michigan business community.
As the year draws to a close, we bid farewell to Emily Hostetler. You may know her as the gifted person behind the camera, who takes phenomenal photos and always has a smile. She leaves us to return to school to become a teacher, which is a blessing to children throughout the area. She jumped…
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This week’s blog comes from Ryan Kilpatrick, Executive Director of Housing Next. Long considered the unwanted neighborhood step-child, homes with an extra dwelling unit offer an extraordinary opportunity to make a significant difference in the availability of housing throughout West Michigan and to build wealth for young entrepreneurs through local investments. All we have to…
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The short answer for any leader working in an EOS® company is – Yes. But these two words are not equal, and two leadership gurus I respect have pulled me both ways. Patrick Lencioni included Accountability as layer number four in the pyramid made famous in his book, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. Seth Godin muddied the…
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When you are looking for more information on a business, a product, a vacation or even a celebrity whose name you can’t remember, where’s the first place you go? The quick answer to that question is, of course, “online”. But that no longer tells the full story. Online can mean Google, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube,…
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It’s no secret that employers in our area, and throughout the country for that matter, are finding it increasingly difficult to find enough candidates with the appropriate skills needed to fill open positions. One solution lies in exposing students to the vast array of careers available and helping them find the pathway to success in…
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October has been a busy month for Advocacy in Action. Between our Public Policy Committee Meeting and our Governmental Affairs Breakfast, we discussed topics from our state’s water systems, to mass transportation options to those darn roads. Both of those events also included reports from our elected officials, with a focus on the state of…
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The Chamber’s internal talent development comes in the form of our amazing student interns who represent local high schools and colleges, as well as connect with us through Careerline Tech Center. This fall we have welcomed Justin Freeman and Autumn Post to our team to support our Marketing and Sales departments. Our interns make a…
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One of your Chamber benefits is access to tools that can help you make good decisions for your business. Economic forecasting is a key component for informing your strategic planning. Our partners at Lakeshore Advantage meet with over 300 business leaders each year and interview a strategic sampling of approximately 120 of them using a vetted…
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Strong Start to the New Season of Advocacy in Action It’s been a strong start to our Advocacy in Action programs this week, with the first meeting of the Public Policy Committee and the kick off to our Governmental Affairs Breakfast. At Monday’s breakfast we were pleased to welcome two U.S. Congressman to meet with…
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September marked the new program year, new fiscal year, and the welcome to three new Chamber Board Members. Our Board of Directors pulls leaders from a cross-section of industries, with an intentional emphasis on selecting members of diverse backgrounds, genders and ages, in order to get a well-rounded perspective on the issues and needs of…
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