Do you want to make the most of your Chamber Membership, or are you on the fence about joining?  Here are some great ways you can maximize your membership:

• Attend the NPCC "Get to Know Us Meeting" which is held each month on the second Tuesday at 4:00 PM. You will be provided will valuable tools and information so you will know how to log into your site, and learn your way around. RSVP on our calendar of events.
• Identify what you hope to gain from your membership. Whether you’re looking to build relationships with peers and potential customers, develop professionally through educational workshops, raise your profile as a community leader, or utilize discounts that drive dollars to your bottom-line, the Chamber is the place for you and your employees to get connected.
• Include your staff in your membership. Your membership includes your entire staff, and the more they are involved, the more your membership will blossom. Visit our events page for a complete list of Chamber events and programs.
• Connect with fellow members. Make meaningful connections with your business peers and prospects through member events and business celebrations. Extend your networking opportunities by joining the Chamber’s online communities on Facebook, Twitter and other sites.
• Use online membership directory and do business with Chamber members.
  The online directory contains a list of chamber members with main contact information. These companies share your interest in making our community thrive and we encourage you to take a look at their businesses when making purchasing decisions.
• Read Chamber communications. Stay informed on Chamber and community news by visiting our website and reading newsletters and emails. 
• Use the Chamber as a marketing tool! Whether you’re seeking to build your identity, generate leads, or spotlight your corporate responsibility initiatives, allow the Chamber to help carry your message to the entire city. From website and newsletter ads to enhanced directory business listings, ribbon cuttings, and event postings, we have lots of ways to help you promote your story and build business credibility as a Chamber member.
• Provide us with feedback. To better improve the benefits and services we provide, we rely on your feedback to guide our efforts. If there is something you are looking for in your membership that is not being provided please let us know. Share feedback on your membership experience by dropping us a line.
•  Update your own information – By saving office staff's time, as business profiles can be updated by members on their schedule. With many businesses adding an Internet presence and social media profiles, it’s more efficient to allow members to update their listings than it is for administration to make multiple changes (to each profile) over the year. Plus the changes can be seen in real time. Since each member is responsible for updating the profile, admins no longer have to gather information and hold it until it becomes worth their time to update multiple profiles at once. This includes updating phone numbers, addresses, emails, and other pertinent information. 

If you have any further questions, you are welcome to call or email our office.

Shop Small Saturday is the annual holiday shopping tradition that gets communities everywhere out in support of their favorite small businesses. This year, Small Business Saturday falls on Nov 24. There are many ways to get involved, including hosting an event in your neighborhood, to decorating your business or shopping at a new local spot. No matter how you get involved, every little bit makes a big difference. In 2017, an estimated 108 million consumers reported shopping or dining at local independently-owned businesses
on Small Business Saturday — generating roughly $12 billion in reported spend. 90% of consumers surveyed said Small Business Saturday has had a positive impact on their community.  

First observed in the United States on November 27, 2010, it is a counterpart to Black Friday and Cyber Monday, which feature big box retail and e-commerce stores respectively. By contrast, Small Business Saturday encourages holiday shoppers to patronize brick and mortar businesses that are small and local. Small Business Saturday is a registered trademark of American Express.

The first event was sponsored by American Express, in partnership with the non-profit National Trust for Historic Preservation, Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino, and Roslindale Village Main Street. In 2010, the holiday was promoted by American Express via a nationwide radio and television advertising campaign. That year Amex bought advertising inventory on Facebook, which it in turn gave to its small merchant account holders, and also gave rebates to new customers to promote the event.

American Express publicized the initiative using social media, advertising, and public relations. Many local politicians and small business groups in the United States issued proclamations concerning the campaign, which generated more than one million Facebook "like" registrations and nearly 30,000 tweets under the Twitter hashtags #smallbusinesssaturday and #smallbizsaturday

Promote your business and the movement Help attract customers on Small Business Saturday and show off your Shop Small pride with downloadable posters, email templates, and social posts. It's free, easy, and available now in the Shop Small Studio,
compliments of American Express. www.americanexpress.com/us/small-business/shop-small/promote?linknav=us-loy-howtoparticipate-explore-shopsmallstudio

Original Article appeared here:
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/318463
​Author: Joe Rutland

When it comes to representing yourself as an entrepreneur, it’s important to remember the type of words and phrases you use. This is especially true when seen as a leader or manager in your business. If your words put people down all the time, expect people to shut their eyes and ears to your message. This happens a lot in the corporate world, where managers who have not fully embraced leadership abilities simply talk down to and ignore employees’ concerns.

Joe goes on to define these five communication skills in his article:

1. Be Respectful
2. Be Authentic
3. Be Thoughtful
4. Be Careful
5. Be Compassionate

​

Original article appears here:
​https://hbr.org/2018/08/4-strategies-for-overcoming-distraction
​Author: Chris Baily, Harvard Business Review

​In the flurry of statistics that exist around personal productivity, there’s one I find especially alarming: The average person is distracted or interrupted every 40 seconds when working in front of their computer. In other words, we can’t work for even a single minute before we focus on something else. Sure, sometimes it’s easy to get back on track. But when our attention is completely derailed, research shows, it can take more than 20 minutes to refocus.

In the original article found here, Chris goes on to describe the four strategies:

1. Create a distraction-free ritual
2. Set three daily intentions
3. Work on hard stuff, and do more of it
4. Set an artificial project deadline

​

​

I've recently been CERT certified through the City of Phoenix Fire Department's program and want to share some of the important take-aways that I've learned. 

I want to start by stating for the record that I'm not a doomsday prepper.  Those people are nuts.  But I am a big proponent of being ready for a disruption in our daily lives and managing the risks associated with a disruption.

Phoenix FD offers a lot of training on the topic, and opportunities to practice the skills and apply the knowledge gained.   For example, Jena and I have current CPR/AED and basic first aid cards in our wallets.  Bottom line is that we're prepared to take care of ourselves personally first, then reach into the community and assist as needed.

Phoenix's CERT program, administered by the fire department, is part of the national FEMA program on disaster preparedness.  You can learn about being personally prepared by visiting ready.gov. I'm including a few of the recommendations below.

build a 3-day kit for each member of the family (including infants, children, and pet)

• food, water, and medications
• clothing (including diapers, toiletries, etc)
• shelter (sleeping bags, tent, etc)
• important paperwork (copies of insurance policies, etc)
• flashlights, candles, a hand crank weather radio
• keep vehicles above 1/2 tank of gas
• the 3 day kits can be used if staying home (sheltering in place) or grabbing and going (bugging out)

As an added bonus, have 30 days of food, water, and medication at home

Too often we don't plan for our pets.  Even if we think we are ready to either shelter in place at home with our pets or move out to an evacuation site if needed, there are aspects of that most of us don't think about.

Some of the most important pet-related items that I learned about:

• every pet should be micro chipped if possible
• keep documentation on the manufacturer and chip ID.  Your vet can scan and provide you with this information if you don't have it
• verify your contact information is current with the chip manufacturer's database.  If you and your pets are separated, this increases your chances of being reunited.
• visit FreePetChipRegistry.com and add your information to their database, adding another layer of assurance that you might be reunited.
• plan ahead now and visit BringFido.com to find local accommodations if you need to leave home with your pets during a personal emergency (kitchen fire for instance)
• BringFido.com is also a great resource if you are traveling out of your area
• as you build 3-day kits for your pets, include your contact info, their veterinarian's info, and the animal's godparents info.
• keep a card in your wallet that says "my pets are home alone" that first responders can find.  Be sure to include the address of where to find your pets and contact info of a neighbor or someone else that has access to your home.

This article is about personal preparedness.  In a future article, I'll talk about business continuity planning.  For now, I just want all of us to be thinking about the topic.  I want you, your family, and your employees to not become victims of a bad situation.  Learn to take care of yourself and pass this information on to anyone else that you care about.

​
More about CERT: Any citizen can become part of the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) with 20 hours of basic training on a weekend.  Phoenix Fire Department hosts CERT training on a regular basis. Here's a link to their calendar.
​
https://www.phoenix.gov/fire/directory/cert

Excerpts from Michael Georgiou
Business.com

One in six Americans, or around 39 million people, have a smart home speaker. Alexa and Google Home aren’t just for the house. Businesses are finding uses for smart bots around the office, too, from assisting with online searches to taking notes and even integrating AI. Put a smart device in your office and try one of these useful skills: 

1. Web analytics. You no longer need to check your analytics every day to monitor traffic to your website. Ask Alexa for your analytics for a certain day or even a particular hour. The device can also fetch metrics for you. 
2. Quick events. This skill allows you to add events to your Google Calendar with one voice command. You can set date, time, length and location, so you have all of the details at your fingertips. Example: “Alexa, tell quick events to schedule a meeting at the office for 3 p.m.”
3. Welto. This skill acts as a finance tracker. This skill can show your current balance and track your income versus expenses. You can even use this skill to pay bills on time, so you never have to pay another late fee.
4. Intently.co. Have a leaky sink at your office? WiFi not working properly? This skill is for you. The skill has more than 1 million service professionals in a database. Services include plumbers, hotels, caterers, photographers, venue services and many more. 
5. Shopify. If you already use Shopify with your website, take it to the next level. The app will give you information about your inventory and store performance. You can ask Shopify which orders you need to fill, which products are selling the best and access analytics.
6. Expedia. Prepare for your trips by checking your flight status, booking a hotel, keeping up with your itinerary, reserving a rental car. You can even ask for packing tips!
7. Time Tracker. If your team members bill by the hour, try this to track exactly how long you work for each client. 
8. Conference Manager. Audio and video conference calls are critical to your collaboration efforts. This skill can get the information and dial the bridge number, so all you have to do is pick up the phone.
9. OpenTable. Request a reservation by saying the place, time and number of people, and it’ll book it and send you a confirmation email. You can also modify or cancel reservations if your plans change. 
10. EditDocs. This skill allows you to edit documents with a voice command. It works with Google Docs, Google Sheets and Google Presentations.
11. Email Assistant. Organize your inbox. This app creates a priority inbox based on people you interact with frequently. The skill reads your emails to you; you can star them, snooze them or delete them. There are a few quick replies you can say to get your reply message started.
12. Intercom - Echos can record conversations and send them to other compatible devices in different rooms of your building, making them an intercom system.

Build custom apps for your business
Amazon has released a way for people who don’t code to build their own skills based on about 20 templates. The program is called Blueprints. Useful skills include “Babysitter” and “Pet Sitter,” which offer a rundown of information for those people. 

​By leveraging technology, you can find ways to offload the little things and improve productivity for you and your team. 

We've assembled a list of 10 tips to help you get the most from your North Phoenix Chamber membership. We have 6 networking events each month plus a host of other benefits to help you grow your business.

1. Attend Chamber events and give of your time. This is YOUR Chamber and your participation can only help make the events better, thus providing more profit for your business and all other Chamber Businesses. Get involved in Your Chamber and take ownership.
2. Show up to the special events such as Open Houses, Holiday Parties, and Ribbon Cuttings. You will really get to know the members and guests in your community.
3. Take advantage of your Chamber Member Benefits. The Chamber provides you many tools to help you make your business grow. A good start is to attend one or more of our "Get to Know Your Chamber"  meetings. For more information, email us at info@northphoenixchamber.com.
4. Advertise in the Chamber newsletter, or on the Chamber website with a banner ad to tell other Chamber members about your business.
5. Take advantage of the Job Board Postings and Calendar Event Postings, available ONLY to members of our Chamber of Commerce.
6. Attend special Workshops and other meetings offered by your Chamber.
7. Join a Chamber committee. There are various boards and committees that allow you to work directly with community leaders as well as be a leader yourself. These committees always welcome new members and are a great way to meet other members fast.
8. Promote your business through numerous sponsorship opportunities at our Golf Classic, Fall Harvest event and Holiday parties. You can offer to host an open house or mixer to gain direct exposure to your business or hold it at our office and cover the cost of food and beverages.
9. Place your brochures at the Chamber office lobby.
10. Visit the web site www.northphoenixchamber.com frequently for updates and Information. Update your listings and make sure your traffic catcher page has been optimized, with photos, information, social media and web site links, and special offers.

 
Remember, not only does it help to give and get referrals from other business members, but we also appreciate referrals to our Chamber. Spread the word about us and help our community grow and succeed!