Chamber of Commerce Idea

Today our Chamber of Commerce had what I thought was a forward thinking idea. They have started a discussion group called TechNet (no affiliation to Microsoft) where anyone dealing with technology or interested in it can get together once a month to discuss items.

Today was the first meeting and I was pleasantly surprised to see more business technology people there than actual competitors of ours or technology providers. Usually it's just the opposite. There was quite a dialog about how we can further the knowledge of technology in our Chamber and therefore in our City/County in Michigan. Also, it was quite interesting to hear the pain that small business owners and techies by default (you know the ones that are given the job because they can install software) are going through. Also, what came out loud and clear was that they are tired of salespeople that are selling the big markup item and not the solution.

Good reminder for all of us working with Small Businesses. Sell to the pain. One gentleman just wants to do bulk mailing or mail merges effectively. Not a big thing for techies but it is for someone who runs a business. Overall I think this format has real potential to educate us all about what can we do for each other.

Check out your local Chamber and maybe you can start something like this as well.