JUNE NEWSLETTER
Please welcome the following new members of the
Palm Beach Chamber
of Commerce!



All members of the Palm Beach Chamber of Commerce are invited to join us to learn about all the exciting opportunities that the chamber has to offer. This is a chance to build relationships with your fellow members and the Chamber staff.
Join Us
July 25, 2018
9:00 am - 10:00 am

400 Royal Palm Way #106
(We will not be hosting an orientation in June)
know your benefits....use your benefits

The benefits of membership range from exposure, support, credibility to networking opportunities.
Monthly breakfast meetings at The Breakers Palm Beach are designed to bring key speakers to discuss major issues of the day. You will have four (4) seats at each breakfast. Invite your customers & staff to attend with you.
• meeting new contacts with well over 500 people attending breakfast, it’s a natural place to make new contacts & acquaintances.
• display your wares - by reserving display space at the monthly breakfast meetings – just give us a call & you can introduce your business to breakfast attendees.
• referrals the chamber will provide your information to callers seeking your services.
• events the chamber, in conjunction with local hotels & businesses, plans after-hour networking events throughout the year. You can exchange ideas and business cards in an informal, relaxing setting.
• 15,000 copies of the Chamber’s annual guide is distributed throughout Palm Beach.
A digital version is also available on our website.
• the Chamber offers a variety of marketing opportunities for large and small businesses -
• the monthly newsletter is e-blasted to over 6,000 people – add your news to our website and we’ll share it with others. New members are listed with a live website link in our monthly newsletter
• twice a year the Palm Beach Chamber publishes a newsletter in the Palm Beach Daily News that updates readers of the past events and all new members.
• the Chamber serves as a voice for the business community. The voice is stronger through your membership and participation.

your membership with the Palm Beach Chamber of Commerce is good for business & good for our community. We welcome your participation & involvement.
powerful visibility on the chamber website
Your live website link
5 bulleted live weblinks to highlight your business
Your logo can be displayed to build brand identity
Your photos and videos can be uploaded to highlight your business
1600-character business Description
200-character description in the search results
Enhanced Map Listing
Social Media links right from your chamber webpage
Post hot deals, member to member deals, job opportunities and press releases
  chamber discounts 
a 15%  Corporate discount at Brooks Brothers 
a $200 advertising certificate from the Shiny Sheet for new members 
a $250 advertising certificate from Florida Weekly for new members
our Office Depot member discount program 
chamber pricing for Constant Contact 
A special thank you to the
2017 - 2018 Table Sponsors! 
EXPANDED ROLES AND NEW TITLES

The Board of Directors of the Palm Beach Chamber of Commerce has changed the titles of its executive staff in order to better reflect the scope of their responsibilities and align the agency with other chambers around the state.

Longtime leader Laurel Baker's title has changed from Executive director to Chief Executive Officer, and Sandy Coto's title has changed from member Relations Director to Vice-President of Member Engagement. The leader of the Board of Directors, a position currently held by Palm Beach business owner Carrie Bradburn, is changed from Board President to Board Chair.

"We feel this shift creates a ore clear distinction of the roles of our administration, and a closer reflection of the naming structure of our surrounding chambers," said Carrie Bradburn, Chair of the Palm Beach Chamber's Board of Directors.

The Palm Beach Chamber of Commerce is the primary forum for the local business community which seeks to strategically contribute to a vibrant economy through leadership, education and advocacy in order to preserve the integrity and quality of life on the island of Palm Beach.

The Town of Palm Beach was incorporated in 1911, and the forerunner to today's Palm Beach Chamber was created in 1929. The Chamber represents more than 700 businesses, including the island's resorts, hotels, retailers, restaurants, banks, real estate firms and other companies. The Town has become one of America's premier tourist destinations while flourishing as one of the most sought-after places in the world to visit and to live. The Town is home to exceptional food, stellar entertainment, and one-of-a-kind cultural experiences.

"The Palm Beach Chamber is a vital resource for networking, information and support both to current businesses and those looking to make a home in Palm Beach," said Chamber CEO Laurel Baker. "We look forward to a healthy, expanding business climate for years to come."

Press release produced by O'Donnell Agency.
THANK YOU FOR VISITING THE ISLAND
The rain did not dampen the fun at the Island Company . Members shopped for bargains as the Island Company Rum flowed. The crowd nibbled on dinner from pizza al fresco while Hampton's Palm Beach poured the rum! The synergy of members coming together to host an event is what membership is all about!

If you would like to host an event at your business - let us know!

AN EMPLOYEE'S CYBERATTACK EXPERIENCE AND TIPS FOR PREVENTION

When Stephanie a senior information technology project manager, picked up her phone one day to a text a friend and saw the "No Service" message in the upper left corner, her first thought was one of annoyance. After her initial reaction, she then began to think that the status was odd because she never had coverage issues in the past.

Stephanie soon realized that there had been a text earlier in the day that notified her that her SIM card had been updated. so, she contacted her cellphone provider and discovered that someone, not her, had called two hours earlier and activated a different SIM card with her phone number. Most would think that someone obtaining your number is no big deal, but Stephanie would quickly learn that this one issue would snowball into many more.

A few months earlier, Stephanie's personal information had been compromised through the Equifax breach. She took the recommended precautions and changed all of her account passwords and signed up for Equifax's free credit monitoring services. However, that didn't prevent this incident on her phone.

With control over Stephanie's phone number and a list of creditors found on her Equifax report, the thieves just needed to log into the creditors websites and click the "I forgot my password" button to obtain a text message verification code. At this point, they could gain access to both her credit accounts and her bank accounts. In a matter of hours, the thieves changed the mailing address on several credit card accounts and requested new cards. Because Stephanie was able to quickly recognize what was happening to her, she prevented the thieves from doing even more damage. Today, her information is secure. She followed the steps outlined by the Federal Trade Commission to protect her personal information and regularly monitors her credit reports.

According to the Federal Trade commission (FTC), this form of identity theft is called "SIM swap" or "SIM splitting" and it is fairly new to the U.S. To protect yourself, the FTC recommends an additional layer of passcode protection on your accounts. This is especially important if your personal information has been compromised. Most creditors use the last four digits of your Social Security number as verification. This does nothing if the thieves already have your personal information. In order to help prevent this form of identity theft, please contact your credit providers and ask to change your passcode to one not associated with your Social Security number.

Learn more about this type of cyberattack and tips on being cyber aware at eWeb/securityaware .
THINGS TO REVIEW BEFORE YOU PURCHASE AN EXCHANGE TRADED FUND

Eric Bretan, Co-Owner of Rick's Estate & Jewlry Buyers in Punta Gorda was a senior derivatives marketer and investment banker for more than 15 years at several global banks and has some tips and tricks written in the article below.

If you have been reading this column over the past few years, you know that I am a big fan of Exchange Traded Funds. These are investments that trade like stocks but enable an investor to gain exposure to an entire sector of the market. Typically, these funds track and mimic the performance of a certain index like the Dow Jones or NASDAQ technology. But today there are over 5,000 ETFs traded on major exchanges across the world so how do you pick the right one to invest in?

Clearly the most important criteria to use when selecting an EFT is the index or sector that the fund tracks. There are ETFs that focus on bonds, stocks, international securities, commodities and currencies. These funds can be as broad as tracking the entire Russell 1000 stock index to as narrow as focusing on small capitalization biotech stocks. And some ETFs use options and other more complex securities to magnify or invert the performance of a sector. For example, you can buy an ETF that returns double the movement of the technology sector or another that goes up when gold prices go down. You need to now exactly how the fun you are selecting will perform given a certain movement in the market.

Second, I like to look at n ETF's expense ratio. This is the amount of fees that the ETF will charge you to pay for the administrative costs of the fund expressed at an annual percentage of your investment. So, if the expense ratio is .15 percent, that means that if the index that the ETF tracks goes up by 1 percent in a year you will only get .85 percent return. Expense ratios vary wildly, from just .03 percent for the SPDR Large Cap Stock ETF to 3.5 percent for Breakwave Dry Build Shipping ETF. Generally speaking, the more "vanilla" the index, the less the expense ratio will be. But even ETFs that track the same index can have dramatically different expense ratios, so I like to buy funds that have the lowest expenses. A .1 percent subtraction from your return every year can make a big difference if you are a long-term holder of the security.

The third aspect of an ETF I look at before buying is the top holdings of the ETF. Recently, I wanted to purchase an ETF that focused on high dividend U.S. stocks, so I selected two or three of the most popular. To my surprise, each had different stocks that made up its portfolio and even commonly held stocks did not make up a similar percentage of their respective overall funds. I would stay away from funds where just a few stocks make up a very large percentage of the overall ETF unless that is what you are looking for. I would also look at the top 20 securities and see if you feel comfortable owning them.

Finally, before I purchase an ETF, I see if there are any red flags that would make me cautious in purchasing it. For example, I see how large the fund is. If it is very small, this may give me pause because it may have low illiquidity or may not perform well with significant market movements. Also, I look to see how long the manager of the fund has been the manager. With index funds this is not an issue but it f the fund manager is being called on to make investment decisions, a change in management may be a warning sign. And lastly, I look at the historical performance versus the benchmark index that the ETF is tracking. If the fund underperforms the index over long periods of time, I would be hesitant to buy that fund unless there was a reason for that underperformance.
Save at Office Depot
By taking full advantage of the special pricing available to chamber members through Office Depot you can receive exclusive member pricing. Just show your card to the cashier when checking out and you will get immediate savings.

Text "PalmBeachSPC" to 555-888 to get a chamber store purchasing card to save on your phone!

HURRICANE SEASON BEGINS TODAY!

The Palm Beach Historical Society hosted the May Social. The attendees were able to tour the museum and also enjoyed a history lesson from Harvey Oyer in the original courtroom. The PBYP committee will be meeting in June to plan next seasons socials, and community out reach events. They look forward to seeing you at the July Social at the Grandview Market! PBYP Members only!

Are you a PBYP member?
The Palm Beach Young Professionals (PBYP) was created to foster an environment for individuals in the 21-40 age group to connect, enrich and empower. This society provides opportunities for professional development, social networking, mentoring, and personal growth for it's members. 

Throughout the year PBYP will offer a number of social events, community projects, and educational programs for the young adults living and working in the county. PBYP membership fees and sponsors allow us to offer these activities at little to no cost to our members.

Take advantage of this opportunity to build relationships with area businesses and community leaders. For more information, please contact Sandy Coto at the Chamber of Commerce.
HAVE SUGGESTIONS?

We're keeping up on the February workshop - any and all ideas/ suggestions you have regarding doing business in Palm Beach, please send our way as we address:

  1. Look for opportunities to streamline Town applications and/or permitting processes
  2. Modify street signage to improve "wayfinding" which reduces traffic
  3. Review Town code to identify archaic and/or regulations that are difficult to comply with
  4. Improve parking regulations to promote vehicular turnover
  5. Identify "business ombudsman" to help businesses navigate through required procedures
  6. Establish frequent business community input sessions with Town staff
DID YOU KNOW?

  • 35% of employed Millennials have started their own business on the side to supplement their income.

  • 63% stayed updated on brands through social networks.

  • 90% say that being an entrepreneur is a mindset rather than a role of a business owner

  • 48% of Millennials who say that word-of-mouth influences their product purchases more than TV ads and only about 17% say that a TV ad enticed them to purchase a product.
  • 54% either want to start a business or
have already started one.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE DOOR IN PALM BEACH?

 The 2019 Chamber Guide is going to feature doors –
the welcoming entryway to fabulous things.

If you have a favorite, let us know – our publisher is going to feature special doors for each section of the guide. If you are a crack-photographer, send us your images – just remember, if it’s a private residency, you have to have permission.

The 2018 Palm Beach Guide is available for delivery to your business if you would like to share with your customers.

DON'T MISS THAT CALL FROM PASSPORT PUBLICATIONS & Media - one of the many benefits of membership is the ability to advertise in the chamber guide, add your logo to your listing, increase your website presence and share your latest news on-line.







SEA TURTLE WALKS OFFER PEAK AT NESTING SEASON

If you think tourists flood our beached during spring break, you should see what sea turtles do during the summer. In 2017, Florida Fish and Wildlife recorded just shy of 40,000 turtle nests on Palm Beach County beaches. With an average of 100 eggs per nest, we're talking about 4 million baby sea turtles hatching right in our backyards. Palm Beach County beaches have more sea turtle nests per mile than anywhere else in the United States.

South Florida puts out the welcome mat for five of the seven species of sea turtles - loggerhead, green, leatherback, hawksbill and Kemp's Ridley - beginning of each March. Turtle walks, which begin soon, have been a tradition for many families, and there's nothing that compares to seeing these beloved, gentle giants of the sea lumber up the beach to dig a hole - except the sight of tiny hatchlings struggling to sea to begin their lives.

Walks are offered at:




Extra! Extra! Read all about it!

Share your news with your fellow chamber members!
S OCIAL MEDIA

Are you connected to the Chamber on social media? Like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram to stay up-to-date on events and happenings in the community! We may even feature your business in our posts!

CLICK THE LINKS BELOW:
Instagram: PalmBeachChamber
Twitter: PB_Chamber
HAVE YOU POSTED YOURS??

Share your events on our calendar!
Looking for events:
Click here!







Advertise your business in the Palm Beach Chamber of Commerce's 2019 Guide! Contact Passport Publications to find out how to reach 15,000 new customers!