"The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails." - William Arthur Ward

Katie Simmons  President/CEO

Like many of you, I am still a bit mystified by the Affordable Care Act and feel uncertain about the waves of change rapidly heading toward businesses in California.  Luckily, many local experts are working non-stop to explain the nuances and obligations of health care reform and we're working closely with them to give you the information you need.   

I'd like to introduce you to the Small Business Toolkit we put together with our partners at Butte County, Butte College, and the Alliance for Workforce Development.  Our Toolkit walks you through approaching deadlines, training opportunities, and webinars that will help you understand what the new health care law means for your business.   

We recommend that you check out Covered California and their Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP), too.  Covered California offers information specifically designed for small businesses such as new options for health coverage and the tax credit fact sheet.

Keep in mind that if you own a small business, you may be required by the Department of Labor to inform your employees about health care coverage by October 1, 2013.  The notice to employees about coverage options is a Department of Labor (DOL) requirement and businesses can use the DOL tool online to determine if they must comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).  The Butte County call center will open on October 1st, too, and will serve as a resource to you and your employees:  877.410.8803.

If you need more information, there are several educational opportunities for small businesses regarding the Affordable Care Act and the Department of Labor (DOL) notice of coverage options requirement.  Please refer to our Toolkit for dates and times and let us know if you have any questions.

It's time to adjust our sails.

~ Katie 

katie@chicochamber.com

"The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team." ~ Phil Jackson

Katie Simmons  President/CEO

Every day I am fortunate to meet new business men and women in Chico - it's a favorite job perk.  Whether I am meeting with someone who is experiencing challenges (permitting, broadband, workforce, you name it), or I'm meeting with a proprietor who is getting ready to launch a dream business, or we're in a group setting working on broader community issues, I always learn something new about what businesses in Chico need in order to be successful.

Our business walks program (see photo below) is one of the most effective tools in the Chamber's advocacy toolbox.  Along with a team of business service providers from Alliance for Workforce Development, the Downtown Chico Business Association, 3CORE, The Training Place at Butte College, and members of City staff, we cover broad areas of Chico on foot - shaking hands, introducing ourselves, hearing business stories, and getting down to the issues.  If we're in a family business, we learn just as much about Chico's history as we do about what the Chamber can do to help that business succeed.

If you see us in your neighborhood, please take a moment to tell us your story, opinions, and ideas.  We're listening and we're helping businesses one day at a time and one step at a time.

We are here to serve you and by "we" I mean me, Heather, Phyllis, Angie, Rebecca, Jeanette, our fabulous Board of Directors and volunteers, and the many organizations who are participating in our business walks.  Together we offer an astounding number of services, many of which are free to you. Check out our Business Resources Guide for more info.

Think of the Chamber and our team as one of the best tools in your business toolbox.  We're here to help you get the job done.

~ Katie

katie@chicochamber.com

"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

In a recent meeting, I overheard someone say, "the Chamber doesn't do anything," and I was stunned.  My staff and I run at top speed every day representing the needs of business to government, advocating for business interests in nearly every community discussion, producing meetings and events that connect businesses to each other and to policy makers, engaging young professionals in civic leadership opportunities...the list goes on and on.

But, I hear the question behind the concern: what is the Chamber actually making?  What can a member hold in their hands that the Chamber has produced?  What is the ROI on membership dues if the outcome isn't tangible?

We are fortunate that so many of our local policy makers are watching the Chamber and listening to what our Board of Directors, our members, and our staff have to say.  We've created the kind of presence that is undeniably influential.  We should be proud of this.

It's clear to me, however, that this kind of influence can't be seen or felt at times.  We can't hold it in our hands.  The outcomes associated with our work connecting business to business, business to government, and business to the community are profound and immeasurable but they're largely invisible...at first.

Consider this:  we helped lead the Clean & Safe Chico

Katie, Bill Such with Jesus Center, Peggy Mead with Chico Association of Realtors

Community Forum in May which led the Chico Association of Realtors to create the House of Hope, a new women's housing facility in Chico, which opened its doors today.  You certainly can't say that the Chamber created this house which will move women off the streets and into safe and clean shelter (a better scenario for the entire community), but if you look closely you'll see that the trail of this amazing project started with Clean & Safe Chico which started, in part, with us.

Thank you, members, for making the invisible possible.  We're all better off for it.

~ Katie 

katie@chicochamber.com

"It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change." ~ Charles Darwin

Just as it seems like we may be pulling out of one of the worst economic recessions to hit during our lifetimes, the City of Chico faces a financial crisis that has many of us reeling.  With the interruption and/or reduction of key City services, such as police and fire, we're questioning the impact on our businesses and on our families.  We wonder: what does this mean for me?

Because I sit in the shadow of City Hall on a daily basis -- literally hunkered down in the Old Municipal Building as questions and concerns fly -- I feel a great sense of responsibility and urgency to help businesses and members of our community understand not only what's going on but what's to come.

In many ways, it's business as usual for us.  We provide our members with extraordinary opportunities to connect, learn, and make a difference.  That's our job.  But, we're juggling issues on an advocacy level that are profoundly significant and unpredictable right now...issues that have enormous impact on the health and vitality of our economy and rest largely in the hands of our City staff and Council.

Most of my work is done behind the scenes and I share my opinions and suggestions with our policy makers regularly.  But, the best thing I can do at times is to simply get out of the way and let the businesses -- you -- speak directly.   After all, the voice of business belongs to all of us.

To that end, I encourage you to attend our Lunch Hour with the City Manager on Thursday, July 25th, at noon.  Brian Nakamura will be joined by Mark Orme, Assistant City Manager, and Chris Constantin, Administrative Services Director, and all have pledged their time and expertise to you during this Q&A session.  Seating is limited so let me know right away if you'd like to attend.

I'm counting on you!

~ Katie

katie@chicochamber.com

"It does not take much strength to do things, but it requires great strength to decide what to do." ~ Elbert Hubbard

Last night, with Winchester Goose (a proposed craft beer bar) on the agenda, the City Council decided to hold off on making any further alcohol license decisions until they've had a chance to review the municipal code and consider policy options at the Internal Affairs committee meeting now scheduled for July 24th at 8am.  Licenses for the Winchester Goose along with the Mangrove Mini Mart (reinstated for discussion) will be considered at the August 6th Council meeting.

This delay isn't ideal for the proprietors, I'm sure, but it halts a chain of events that was considered very business-unfriendly by some.  To grapple with the concerns raised at this year's Community Call for Action, hosted by Chico State, I'm in favor of bringing the City, campus officials, business organizations, owners, proprietors, student organizations, Enloe representatives, and others together to begin creating a community-wide strategy.  If we don't work toward the same solutions together, we're going to end up sharply divided and adrift.  As I said in a recent email to our Mayor, City manager, and Chief of Police about this issue: "Let's get ahead of this speeding train, slow it down, and decide where we want it to go.  Right now, it's carving a(nother) very contentious path through our community." And, in my honest opinion, the last thing we need is more conflict.

On another note, I recently met with Don Krysakowski and Renee Friemoth of the Work Training Center. They are actively looking to pair businesses with WTC clients through a job placement program called Community Employment Services.  Having worked as a job skills coach in college, I know how powerful programs like these can be for employers and potential employees.  If you're interested in exploring the benefits of a risk-free situational assessment in your business, please contact Renee at 343.7994 x 1407.

Enjoy the holiday tomorrow and stay cool!

~ Katie

"What is the difference between an obstacle and an opportunity? Our attitude toward it. Every opportunity has a difficulty, and every difficulty has an opportunity." ~ J.S. Baxter

I said to a trusted colleague yesterday morning that if our Visitor Center funding emerged from the Council's budget discussion 100% intact I would have a bit of survivor's guilt.  Watching broad cuts affect the full spectrum of City services, it made sense to me that we would see a reduction in funding for next fiscal year -- and it turns out we will.  So, what will we do with less?  Well...more!  I have big plans to do things differently, more creatively, and with a team of fabulous college students who will help us build our social media presence in the coming months.

Now more than ever, it is critical that we connect visitors, tourists, and residents to local businesses and that's why it makes perfect sense for the Visitor Center to continue to live squarely within the Chamber.  As the City continues to cope with financial challenges that directly impact the services provided by many non-profits in town, I hope collaborative strategies focused on economic recovery will bring us even closer as a community.  Our Team Chico approach -- pulling together the resources and expertise of the Alliance for Workforce Development, 3CORE, DCBA, Chico Chamber, Chabin Concepts, and City of Chico to reach as many business as possible with a full set of services -- is a great model. I am a firm believer that we have a hand in designing our future, and I have confidence that the Chamber will be a leading voice in paving the way forward.

In other news, I'm thrilled to congratulate our BBQ winners: Enloe FlightCare (Grand Prize and People's Choice in the backyard division), Hunter Drake Smokehouse BBQ (People's Choice professional division) and Kinder's Meats & Deli (Grand Prize professional division).  Many thanks to ALL of the teams for competing, to our sponsors for making the BBQ possible, and to our attendees for joining us on the lovely shaded lawns of Manzanita Place as we honored Enloe Medical Center's centennial anniversary.

Looking toward Fall, we're planning our Business Spotlight calendar for the first City Council meeting of each month. If you'd like to be a featured business, please let me know which month works best for you.  This is a great opportunity to demonstrate the economic, community, and historical impacts of local businesses and we want to aim the spotlight on YOU.

"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." - Thomas A. Edison

Shortly after I graduated from college, I took a temporary position assisting the staff at the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine as they prepared for their annual meeting in Denver, Colorado.  The organization, I would soon learn, had thousands of members -- mostly M.D.s and Ph.D.s -- from all over the world who specialized in the research, development, and application of MRI.  These members would soon converge in Denver for a 7-day accredited medical convention with 9 parallel sessions, over 1500 poster exhibitions, and a technical exhibition featuring the latest equipment from 50+ companies including GE, Philips, and Toshiba.

My job, which I bit into with great force, was to assist the staff in anything and everything.  I alphabetized paperwork, ran errands, found files, took phone messages, and tied up loose ends.  Four short years later -- after learning from every conversation and transaction that came my way -- I'd wiggled my way up to top of the meetings staff and was directing conventions and workshops in Europe, Asia, North America...you name it...all because someone had given me an opportunity on that very first day by opening the door.

We all have stories like this.  We've climbed ladders, gone out on limbs, built things from scratch; our pathways are varied and unique.  But I'm sure we all have something in common, too: strong hands that have reached out to guide us, pull us forward, and to lift us.

Kimberly & Katie

I have no doubt that my new intern, Kimberly Cooke, will take advantage of the opportunity in front of her in the same way that I did when I was her age.  The Chamber has tackled enormous issues this year and she is perfectly positioned to make an impact that you, our members, will feel.

I love when doors open for me and I love opening doors for others.  It's the way the world works.  If you're in a position to take an intern under your wing I encourage you to connect with the career centers at Chico State and Butte College.

Open the door to your business, invite someone inside, and change a career path (and a life!) in the process.

~ Katie

katie@chicochamber.com