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Coffees are designed to offer our members the opportunity to build business relationships with other members and to gain exposure for their business or organization in an "open house" setting. They are open to anyone associated with a Chamber member business. Participation is not reserved to the representative(s) listed on the Chamber membership.
 Join us Friday, Feb. 24 at 8 a.m. for a
state legislative briefing with Sen. Doug Overbey and Reps. Art Swann and Bob Ramsey. Sponsored by Twin City Dealerships and First Tennessee Bank, it will be held at the Blount Partnership, 201 S. Washington St., Maryville, Tenn. Coffee and light refreshments will be served.
If you or someone you know is looking for a job, please check out
www.BlountAreaJobs.com. Additionally, if you need employees, please utilize the job board to advertise your open positions. Click
here to get started.
Be sure to check out our 71st installment of The Dialogue at the bottom of this email where we visit with Barbara Jimenez, wellness coach at
Compass Nutrition and Fitness.
SPEAKER HARWELL TO VISIT
 Twin City Dealerships and First Tennessee Bank presents a visit from Tennessee Speaker of the House of Representatives Beth Harwell on Tuesday, Feb. 28 at 2 p.m. at the Blount Partnership (201 S. Washington St.) for a legislative update.
RSVP to Claire if you wish to attend. Harwell last visited the Partnership in January 2012 at its annual meeting celebration.
DEATH BY POWERPOINT
Join us for a free workshop on Friday, March 10 from 8:30-10:30 a.m. as the
RSK Group presents tips and hints that can help you keep your audience more engaged and your presentations more focused to avoid "
Death by Powerpoint." Remember, the message you are attempting to convey determines the content, graphics, flow and presentation style used. Please
RSVP to Amy if you wish to attend.
GROW YOUR BUSINESS USING EMAIL AND SOCIAL MEDIA
 This session on
Tuesday, March 14 from 9-11 a.m. at the Blount Partnership will help make sense of the noise and help you organize your marketing. In this seminar, you will learn how to make the most of the combination of email, social media, video, and other tools for your business. When the session is done you'll have a greater understanding of marketing basics like:
Setting goals and objectives; What a "campaign" is and what to write about and offer in that campaign; The social media platforms where you need to put most of your focus; How to use email and social media together to get better results; Creating the right content to get (and keep) your audience's attention; How to get your messages opened, read, and shared to become more socially visible; Using time-saving tools to engage with your existing customers and supporters, expand your reach to new prospects more effectively
Throughout the session you'll be given opportunities to capture your own ideas and build out the framework of your own "next great campaign." So join us and start to build a plan that will help you grow your business by eliciting the responses you want from your customers or supporters.
Register here.
COME SPONSOR THE BLOUNT COUNTY JOB FAIR
The Blount County Job Fair is coming to the Second Harvest Food Bank on Friday, May 19, 2017, from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Sponsorship levels include the Presenting Sponsor for $1000, Silver Sponsor for $500 and Media Sponsor is In-Kind. The deadline for sponsorship is April 13. If interested, please
review and complete this form.
BUSINESS PLANNING WITH GROWTH WHEEL
 The Tennessee Small Business Development Center is holding its next free session on Thursday, March 16 from 9 a.m.-noon at the Blount Partnership (201 S. Washington St., Maryville).
Register here.
Discover Business Planning with GrowthWheel! Small Business planning is much more dynamic and moment by moment rather than a dull chore with fabricated forecasting. Lots of decisions are made over a cup of coffee or while driving not predetermined months in advance. Business owners are much more reactionary to the market and have limited planning budgets. GrowthWheel is a new innovative tool that lets the business owner plan the most pressing needs for the business. It also is a visual tool to provide structure and direction allowing the business owner to set goals and take action. NO MORE writing 40 pages of useless information that always ends buried in your desk. Gone are charts and graphs replaced by 30 day plans and action steps. GrowthWheel is not just for new businesses but also works for all businesses in all stages and for all industries. Come try this totally innovative approach to business planning.
PARTICIPATE IN OPERATION THANK YOU
 It's not too late to sign up to participate in the Chamber's 19th annual "Operation Thank You" set for February 21-23, 2017. This is your opportunity meet other business people on a one-on-one basis.
During this three-day event, Chamber members, the Chamber staff and Board of Directors will personally deliver Chamber member information packets. We invite you to join us in this three-day effort. You can agree to call on as many or as few members as your schedule permits.
If you, someone (or several people) from your business, organization or group is interested in participating, please
contact Amy Lawson or call 865.983.2241.
SIGN UP FOR NEXT SOFT SKILLS CLASS
 Registrations are currently being accepted for a free soft skills session set for Feb. 24 entitled, "Hiring Good Employees." Finding the best candidate for the job isn't always easy. Bad hiring choices can cost you time, money, and bottom-line results. Join us to learn effective strategies for finding, hiring, and onboarding quality staff.
All classes are conducted in the Blount County Library's learning lab located at 508 N. Cusick in Maryville and limited to 50 participants. Those interested must register online at
www.blountchamber.com/community/soft-skills. A complete class description is located on the registration site. All classes run from 8-10 a.m. with networking beginning at 7:30 a.m.
The other classes offered include Managing People & Personalities, Tips for Public Speaking, Hiring Good Employees, Motivation and Burnout, Time Management and Managing Change in the Workplace.
GET YOUR SMALL BUSINESS MOVING
 SCORE is a non-profit association dedicated to helping new and existing small businesses get off the ground, grow and achieve their goals through education and mentorship.
Greater Knoxville SCORE's 40-plus volunteers have a wide range of business experience and education and provide One on One mentoring for free and workshops for small business and non-profits for no charge or at very low cost.
SCORE is supported by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA),
To request assistance, or to meet with a SCORE representative in Blount County visit us at
greaterknoxville.score.org or phone 865-692-0716.
MARCH MEMBER-TO-MEMBER PROMOTIONS NEEDED
Get your March member-to-member promotions in this week as the updated email will be sent Monday, Feb. 27. Take a look at the February Member-to-Member promotions. With nearly 50 merchants participating, there's something for you. Check out the
member-to-member promotions. New offers are being posted almost daily, so check out the Blount County Chamber of Commerce Member-to-Member promotions online. This Member-to-Member Promotional Program offers you and your company the opportunity to market your products and services to the membership.
Here's how it works:
1. Submit a PDF of a service, product or discount you'd like to offer to the Chamber membership to
jmuir@blountpartnership.com. Be sure to include an expiration date.
2. An email with all the promotions will be sent out on the final Monday of every month to our member database.
3. All promotions will be posted on
www.BlountChamber.com
HOSTING AN EVENT TO APPRECIATE CUSTOMERS
 Did you know that 76% of consumers say they view customer service as the truest test of how much a business values them (2015 Aspect Consumer Experience Survey)? Chances are, your business already employs a few methods to increase customer service. Good customer service requires a positive attitude, teamwork, and creativity. All of these attributes lead to higher sales. Once in a while, your business should consider treating your customers to a special event or party to drive sales, and also remind your customers how much you appreciate them. Here's a few pointers:
Read more
Learn more about marketing your small business in a digital world, ask questions about social media, and take the time to discuss future campaign ideas. What are you waiting for? It's free with your chamber membership.
Schedule your FREE session today.
If you have any questions regarding your free digital marketing member benefit (
Save Local Now), your digital platform, or online marketing in general please reach out the Blount Chamber's
Rachel Coffman.
REMEMBER TO SHOP LOCAL
 Think local first + Buy local when you can = Being a local!
Currently, there are 28 million American small businesses, which account for 54% of all U.S. sales.
GOT AN EVENT OR NEWS? WE'D LOVE TO HEAR ABOUT
Is your organization hosting an event in the community? Submit it
here on our community calendar. If it's a tourism event, please email
Ashlee so she can post it on
www.SmokyMountains.org.
Also, please
send us any news releases or good news about your business. We'd love to share it with the community.
REMEMBER WHEN
"Everyday People," by Sly and the Family Stone was in the middle of a four-week run atop the Billboard Top 100 this week in 1969. It was the first single by the band to go to number one on the Soul singles chart and the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. It is remembered as a popular song of the 1960s and ranked as the No. 5 song of 1969.
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It's Coffee Club week! Join us this Thursday, Feb. 23 at 7:45 a.m. for the
