It’s no secret that small businesses are the backbone of our economy, and in many ways membership in a Chamber of Commerce is the backbone of small business success.

Small businesses provide our communities not only with products and services, but also with jobs. According to the Small Business Administration, the country’s 30.2-million small businesses kept more than 58.9-million workers employed in 2018. Small businesses account for more than 99% of all businesses in the United States.

A Chamber of Commerce is a vital resource for these businesses, giving them a voice in local, county, state, and federal decision-making processes. A Chamber helps new businesses get the information they need to establish, market, and grow their enterprises. It helps introduce business owners to their peers in the community, strengthening their common bonds and expanding their networks.

The Treasure Island & Madeira Beach Chamber of Commerce describes itself as a “boutique” Chamber. We currently have about 300 members, most of them small businesses employing fewer than 20 employees. In a very real way, their business is our business, because the more we can help our members succeed, the more our Chamber succeeds, too.

When you join the Treasure Island & Madeira Beach Chamber of Commerce, you’re immediately tapped into a variety of resources and services to help your business grow.

We have a website that has recently been upgraded to include a member management system. If you haven’t logged into your member account lately, you’ll be surprised at how it connects you not only to other members, but also to the community. Your member portal allows you to add events to our calendar (Celebrating a milestone? Hosting an open house? Promoting a community event?). It allows you register and pay for your tickets to our events, or to sponsor those events. It allows you to advertise discounts. You can edit your company’s profile at any time.

We have a strong presence on social media, with Facebook and LinkedIn posts that welcome new members, share community events, announce upcoming activities, and share members’ posts.

We hold a monthly member orientation, Coffee, Connections, and Commerce, that informs new and seasoned members about our services. Any member is welcome to attend on the third Tuesday of each month at 10:30 a.m. in the Chamber office, 12601 Gulf Blvd., on Treasure Island.

We hold monthly After Hours Mixers, which are mostly social events where our members can get to know each other better. We hold these at a different member’s location each month. Cost is just $10 in advance (use your member portal!) and includes complimentary appetizers and (usually) your first drink free. Door prizes, laughter, and great connections are all part of our After Hours Mixers.

We produce an annual Trade Show and Health Fair that provides member with affordable display space and guaranteed traffic to that space, and helps raise awareness in our community for our member businesses and the projects they support. We organize the popular Friday Morning Market, now in its 12^th season, every Friday from December through April. This year, we’re coordinating a Merry Beach Market so people can enjoy holiday shopping, live music, photos with Santa … and stay to enjoy the Madeira Beach Lighted Boat Parade from a great seat at R.O.C. Park!

We have fun! We host two major fundraisers each year, our Casino Night, and our Golf Tournament. Both draw big crowds, and support not only our mission “(t)o champion and enhance the competitive business community of Treasure Island & Madeira Beach, providing a united voice to advertise and promote our tourist industry, business community and residential areas,” but also local charities and the youth programs of our two island neighbors, Treasure Island and Madeira Beach.

We offer occasional Chamber Classes to help our members learn specific skills that can help their business grow, or make better connections.

Our Chamber stays on top of what’s happening at local, county, state, and federal levels, and lets our members know of important legislative changes.

Because tourism is literally our life’s blood, we partner with Visit St. Petersburg/Clearwater, our local Convention & Visitors Bureau, to bring new visitors to our community and make it easy for those visitors to find interesting things to do. We are an authorized Welcome Center for Visit Florida, both at our main office on Gulf Boulevard, and at our kiosk on 107^th Avenue.

We know not every business can keep up with everything happening, so we publish a weekly e-newsletter that is sent to our members and more than 2,500 subscribers via email.

As you can imagine, as tourist season draws closer, our office gets a lot of calls from people planning their vacations here. We are happy to refer them to our local members, whether these visitors are looking for accommodations, restaurants, or great times. Throughout the year, we field calls about service providers, retailers, events, and restaurants.

There’s so much value in your Chamber membership, we know it’s an investment in your business success!

To learn more, contact the office at 727-360-4121.