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Moving on from my previous blog-style to something that reflects me and how I, probably like you, believe humour and professionalism deserve to mix and mingle _____________________________ If we haven't officially met, I'm Tara, a former Chamber Executive Director who did something fairly different after leaving the Chamber world: I started a business exclusive to helping Chambers of Commerce. Sometimes I get that quiet pause on the other end of the phone after I introduce my

Is AI Just Today's Fax Machine? If you’re under 40, you may have never watched Back to the Future. In that case, consider this article a recommendation for movie night. If you’re over 40, there’s a good chance you just heard someone yell, “Great Scott!” in Doc Brown’s voice. Either way, stick with me on this little trip we're about to make as a detour from the typical business article vibe to indulge my enjoyment of describing things with a pop-culture reference. Quick note:

Here's a question worth asking before you post on social media: If one of the Friends characters were running your organization's social media, which one would it be? Before you say "obviously Rachel" ‚ slow down. Most of us are a lot more Ross than we'd like to admit. Let's walk through the cast, one cautionary tale at a time. Joey: "How You Doin'?" (Posted Three Times Today, Zero Replies) Joey's approach to social media would mirror his approach to auditions: show u

Many Chamber professionals are comfortable nurturing prospects. We send emails. We invite them to events. We connect on social media. We share testimonials. We explain benefits. Then we explain them again. And again. And sometimes, months later, we're still "nurturing." But at some point, nurturing stops being helpful. It becomes avoidance because asking someone to join feels harder than continuing the conversation. Why? Because asking creates the possibility of rejection. An

Recently a chamber asked me to audit their marketing plan. Before I say more, let me applaud them, and any Chamber that has a plan of any kind, because many don’t have a strategy aside from what’s buried in board meeting minutes. Reviewing their plan reminded me of how great ideas look on paper and how easily they can gather dust instead of being accomplished. On paper, their marketing looked strong: New membership campaign ideas An event strategy Social media plans a

We’re smart enough to know “always available” isn’t a healthy standard. It ’s a burnout strategy. And yet, it’s everywhere in the Chamber world. One phrase that I catch myself saying most often is: “Working overtime isn’t a badge of honour.” People laugh. They nod. They know it’s true. Because no matter which corner of the non-profit sector you’re in, there seems to be an unspoken expectation to always be “on”. Emails at night. Calls during dinner. DM's on your day o

The future didn’t ask for permission to show up, it just did, and it's in the form of a user name and password on the GPT of your choice. So, like it or not, the debate of whether or not Chambers should use AI is behind us. T hat doesn't mean you need to be an AI expert, just not an AI avoider. And loving AI isn't a pre-requisite to doing your job, however refusing to give it a chance feels a bit like insisting on faxing in a Wi-Fi world. Personally, I was very stubborn abo