|
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 75th installment of The Dialogue at the bottom of this email where we visit with Paul Fain, president of
Asset Planning Corporation.
NETWORKING TRAINING CLASS
 Stop selling and learn to profit from relationships that drive business to you. Join us for a free
networking training class on Tuesday, March 21 from 3-4:30 p.m. at the Blount Partnership, 201 S. Washington St., Maryville. Presented by Raeus Jae Cannon, this is one class that everyone can benefit.
RSVP to Amy.
REFERENCE USA WORKSHOP
Join us for a
free seminar on Wednesday, March 22 from 8:30-10:30 a.m., at the Blount Partnership (201 S. Washington St., Maryville) on how to harness data to improve your business.
 Bring your laptop or tablet and tap into the premier research and reference tool for business and residential data. Reference USA provides quality information and helps users of all kinds search for jobs, identify competitors, create marketing and small business plans, research neighborhoods and more. This resource is available to all Blount County businesses and Blount County Public Library cardholders.
RSVP to Amy if you wish to attend.
EXPERIENCE SPEED NETWORKING SPONSORED BY BNI
Join us Wednesday, March 29 from 2-5 p.m. at the Blount Partnership (201 S. Washington St., Maryville) for
speed networking. The event is limited to the first 30 individuals to register. Make some new connections by
RSVPing to Amy.
IS YOUR BUSINESS GOOGLE-IZED?
 From this class you will get an overall understanding of what Google wants in order for you to be found in organic (non-paid) searches. If you manage your own website, you will be given insider tips webmasters use to be successful on Google. And if you have a webmaster, you will leave with a list of things to pass along that will give your online presence a boost.
Marketing today is much more than just having a website. You will learn what signals Google looks for on your website, and how to optimize for Google as well as humans.
Next step is creating great content that will attract those customers to you - customers you have identified as ideal for what you have to offer.
Once you have the content, you need to promote it with social media. But which channel? We can help you there.
We discuss capturing those leads once they find you online. Because having 1,000 visitors means nothing unless you communicate with them and grow your list.
Finally, we discuss the importance of mobile marketing and what makes a web site mobile friendly.
So, join us Thursday, March 30 from 1-4 p.m. at the Blount Partnership, 201 South Washington Street, Maryville, Tenn.
Fee of $59 must be paid to Inbound with registration
GLENN SHEPARD SEMINAR RETURNS APRIL 19
 The
Glenn Shepard Seminar, "How to Manage Problem Employees," returns to the Blount Partnership on Wednesday, April 19 from 8 a.m.-noon. In the seminar, he'll show you how to motivate your people, not just manage them. How to get them to follow you because they believe in your goals, your skills as a leader, and they are committed.
He'll also explain why The Millennials require such a different supervisory style than Gen X or Baby Boomers, and how to apply Dr. Ken Blanchard's (author of The One Minute Manager) principles of situational leadership to get all the different generations to work together as a team.
The cost is $129 for Blount Chamber members (When three from a company register, the fourth is FREE). The non-member fee is $149.
Register here.
COMMUNITY NOTES
Congratulations to Blount Broadcasting Corporation which just put a new FM radio station on air in Maryville on
WKVL 101.3 FM. Now there's more expanded coverage over the airways in Blount County. Be sure to check them out for your advertising needs. Contact O.K. Walters at 865.724.1100.
Please note that the email address for Nancy Terrier at Hwy 411S Antiques Mall listed in the Basicall Blount lifestyle magazine is incorrect. It should be nterrier@charter.net.
SIGN UP FOR NEXT SOFT SKILLS CLASS
 Registrations are currently being accepted for a free soft skills session set for March 24 entitled, "Motivation and Burnout." Do you see telltale signs of burnout at work? It is not uncommon, even for millennials under thirty, to experience burnout. Join us for tips and tricks to stay motivated, and to keep others motivated, while performing at your best.
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.
PRESIDENTS OF COLLEGES POST SECONDARY UPDATE
BLOUNT TOURISM AMBASSADOR CLASS SET
 The next Blount Tourism Ambassador Program (BTAP) class is set for Wednesday, April 5 from 1-4 p.m. at the Blount Partnership (201 S. Washington St., Maryville). BTAP is based on a nationwide certification program geared toward those working in the tourism industry. The Blount County program is the first of its kind in Tennessee and the Southeast.
The three-hour course gives front-line personnel information about the county and region. They are provided up-to-date information about events, happenings and the "inside story" in order to better serve their customers. There are continuous learning opportunities throughout the year to help satisfy annual certification renewal requirements.
More than 200 people have been certified since the program's inception in 2012.
Email Deborah if you or your employees are interested in attending.
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.-2 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.
MEMBER-TO-MEMBER PROMOTIONS FOR APRIL ARE NEEDED
 Please send in your April Member-to-Member promotions this week as the next email to the membership will be sent on Monday, March 27. With over 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
THE IMPORTANCE OF PLANNING
 Do you know what percent of consumers won't return if your website isn't mobile optimized? The correct answer is 61% of consumers. That means almost two thirds of all the consumers that search for your company are choosing not to patronize your business because your website isn't mobile friendly.
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!
Shopping at small businesses helps keep money within the neighborhood.
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
"Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)," by Pink Floyd, began its four-week run atop the Billboard Hot 100 chart this week in 1980. "Another Brick in the Wall" is the title of three songs set to variations of the same basic theme, on Pink Floyd's 1979 rock opera,
The Wall. Part 2 is a protest song against rigid schooling in general and boarding schools in the UK in particular. It was also the band's only number-one hit in the United States.
|
