Small and midsized businesses are the majority of our Chamber membership and a cornerstone of our regional economy. In September, we launched Business Studio, a new suite of programming specifically designed to help these businesses succeed.
Yesterday, we hosted a special kickoff event to unveil what I like to think of as “Business Studio 2.0.” We’ll now host two Business Studio events each month. One will be an educational workshop with an expert presenter, and the other will be an interactive networking experience. For this month’s offerings, Michael Croom and John Fink of First Advantage Bank will join us Tuesday, Jan. 20, for an overview of the SBA lending process, and on Thursday, Jan. 29, we’ll have a town-hall-style event with Sam Davidson, founder of Batch Nashville. We hope you can join us; to register for these and other upcoming events, visit our online calendar.
We’re also planning big things for the online component of Business Studio. Our blog will include both original and contributed content focused on topics to help improve your business. Other features, such as our BusinessConnect RFP tool, help companies solicit bids for products or services they need, while also allowing companies to view open RFPs to find new revenue-generating opportunities. The Business Studio forum (coming soon) will give businesses a platform to engage with peers online by asking questions, posting helpful information and providing input to continually improve our programming. As Business Studio continues to grow, we’ll eventually develop a library of online resources such as videos and podcasts – all aimed at helping you grow your business.
We hope Business Studio will evolve into a community where our members can not only learn, but also develop new connections and spark great ideas for growing and thriving. For that to happen, we need to hear from you about what future programming you’d like to see, what support you need to reach your goals, and even what advice or inspiration you’d like to share with fellow business owners. To get the conversation started, share your feedback by using the comment area below this blog post or emailing me.
More than 130 people registered to attend the Business Studio kickoff event on Jan. 8.
