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The Chamber of Greater Baton RougeChamber Forges Ahead with Small Business CouncilThe Chamber of Greater Baton Rouge 564 Laurel Street (225) 381-7125 www.brchamber.org
by Michael Ingallinera
The Council consists of approximately 42 business leaders who meet on the third Wednesday of every month at The Chamber office on 564 Laurel Street in downtown Baton Rouge. All members of The Chamber are encouraged to participate in the Council's discussions of issues and challenges related to small businesses. "Over the past month or two, we have reorganized and revitalized the Small Business Council," says Helene Kurtz, Director of Member Services for The Chamber. "This group is responsible for many of the networking activities where small business people have an opportunity to get together and meet other members of The Chamber and promote their services to them." Kurtz says The Chamber is expanding the educational focus of the Small Business Council with the reorganization, and adding a political advocacy group to be part of the Council. The group's business education committee is addressing issues or opportunities for making companies more effective. For example, Kurtz says, educational seminars for small business owners will include such topics as marketing a company, obtaining venture capital, and managing employees. The Chamber is very committed to improving the quality of public education in the community, Kurtz says, since a highly skilled workforce is essential for a strong economy. Last year Chamber staff helped the public school system find methods to increase student achievement and monitor compliance with the federal desegregation settlement agreement. "We feel very strongly that improving public education is an essential part of the charter and mission of The Chamber of Commerce," says Kurtz. "The mission of The Chamber is to improve the economic vitality of the community and the quality of life. That is a broad mission statement and within that context there are many opportunities for us to do those things for our members."
The Chamber members vary from small businesses with one or two employees to the major employers of Baton Rouge. Depending on the size or the maturity of a business, Kurtz says, people will look for different kinds of benefits or services from The Chamber. Kurtz is seeking opportunities to extend services to Chamber members in areas such as health insurance products. A group health insurance program is very important to help small business members with rising health care costs, she says. "If there is a way we can provide that to our members economically, then we would like to do that," says Kurtz. "It's the same principle that you would have in any group purchasing situation where you are able to obtain health insurance at a better rate. We might also be looking at life insurance, disability or other kinds of insurance products for small business owners because it is very costly for them to get those services on their own. "These are the kinds of activities that are ongoing at The Chamber. They require kind of a long horizon in terms of being able to see the reward for all of these activities. It's a long-term goal and commitment to the community to help improve the quality of life."
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The Chamber of Greater Baton Rouge recently reorganized the Small Business Council to increase its commitment to the success of smaller firms in the area. The Small Business Council was formed in the 1990s to develop programs to promote and assist small businesses.
Kurtz says The Chamber has an aggressive plan to revamp and streamline the economic development activities of the organization. The Chamber intends to add staff and additional resources so it can be more effective in attracting new businesses to the Baton Rouge regional area. Strong, cooperative relationships with regional economic development groups are considered a key to success in bringing in new businesses and industry. The Chamber works in partnership with nine other parishes to help bring economic opportunities to the Capital Region, says Kurtz.
