Yesterday marked an important national holiday, and you might be surprised to know that the U.S. is not the only place Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is recognized each January.  Believe it or not, Hiroshima, Japan holds a special banquet on MLK day in honor of Dr. King’s contribution to civil rights.  The city of Toronto also recognizes MLK Day.  In 1983 the holiday was officially signed into law by President Ronald Reagan.

Thanks to yesterday’s holiday, welcome to the Tuesday edition of the Monday Morning Briefing. It’s a big week for business in the Lowcountry.

This week you’ll have the opportunity to drive additional revenue to your bottom line, reconnect with clients and find a few new ones. You’ll be able to check out your competition and uncover the latest in social media marketing, and you can do it all in two days thanks to Business EXPO.

Every year, I really enjoy the opportunity to talk one-on-one with hundreds of businesses at EXPO.  It’s akin to one big focus group.  One of the things I like most about our chamber members is that no one is shy about sharing their feedback on what’s working in our business community and where they see the challenges ahead.  They are quick to point out what they like about being part of the chamber as well as what they think we should be doing better and we listen to each and every one of them.  Many of our best ideas come from you, our members.

In a week filled with emails, projects and deadlines,  I really encourage you to take the time to be part of  Business Expo tonight and Wednesday.  No matter what your business goals are for the coming year, I’m confident that you’ll leave Expo with positive results.

Based on our recent membership survey, I wasn’t surprised to learn that 88 percent of you are utilizing social media outlets such as Facebook.  Thirty percent of you are tweeting for business on Twitter.

If so many of us are using social media marketing it must be working right?  How do you know?  How do you measure it?  Are you managing it for maximum results or is your social media managing you?

Social media is about so much more than the occasional Facebook posting, being “liked,” or tweeting your latest deal.  Next week at Business Expo, we’re giving you the opportunity to ensure you’re making the most of this important marketing tool by offering a great seminar featuring interactive strategy specialist Sloane Kelley.  Her talk on “Managing Social Media Without Letting it Manage You” can take your marketing efforts to a whole new level.

She’s a terrific example of the wealth of home-grown talent we have in the Lowcountry.  She’s consulted on the topic of social media for small businesses as well as the big guys like Coca Cola.

Check out the details below.  Your admission to the Expo seminar also gets you a free ticket to Expo After Hours that evening where you can do a little live “social” media by networking and checking out the offerings of your fellow chamber members.

Opportunities are waiting for you at Business Expo.  Don’t miss it.

January 17-18
Westin Hilton Head Island
Resort & Spa

Business EXPO is just around the corner and next week is your opportunity to build your business and expand your contacts throughout the regional business community. With over 2,000 attendees, Business EXPO is the largest business and networking event in the Lowcountry!

Register now for Business EXPO’s seminar “Managing Social Media Without Letting it Manage You” with interactive strategy specialist Sloane Kelley, co-founder of Geekend, on Wednesday, January 18, 4:00-5:15pm.

Kelley’s known for her innovative campaigns for companies large and small, such as Coca-Cola and Buffalo Wild Wings. Beyond Facebook and Twitter, it’s a big social media world out there. Learn how you can say connected and create content that’s right for your business!  Click Here to register.

The event begins with EXPO After Hours on Tuesday evening with great food, complimentary beer, wine and entertainment from 5:00 to 7:30 p.m.

Business EXPO opens Wednesday at noon, followed by another great EXPO After Hours from 5:00-7:00 p.m.  There is no cost to attend EXPO during the day. Cost is $10 to attend EXPO After Hours. Seminar fee is $10 and includes free admission into EXPO After Hours.

Booth registration is still open.  Click Here to register.

It’s day two of the new year and I’m hoping that if you’ve set any New Year’s resolutions, you’re still on track.  Many of us set personal resolutions on January 1, but do you set business resolutions as well?

If your email in-box is like mine, you receive a variety of business information emails.  A few that have crossed my in-box lately contain some great New Year’s resolutions for your business that are worth passing along.

Plan Your Year – Sounds like one of the basics because it is, yet it’s surprising how many businesses don’t take the time to plan their goals for the coming year.  Set realistic goals, realize change is inevitable and most importantly, know how you’re going to measure your results.

Set Your Social Plan – Social marketing is about much more than putting up your business Facebook page.  It’s about building relationships and building your business.  Need help with how to do it well?  We’ve got an EXPO seminar featuring a social media expert that will do just that.

If it’s Not Working, Don’t Do It – As the saying goes, know when to hold ‘em and know when to fold ‘em.  Make 2012 the year you get rid of what’s not working for you and your business.   Take a hard look at what’s working and what’s not to streamline the year ahead.

Do More “Social” Marketing that has Nothing to do With  Technology – Even in the digital world, there’s still no replacement for human contact and interaction.  Keeping networking at the top of your to-do list pays dividends. Your chamber hosts over 50 events each year designed to drive your revenue and build your business-take advantage of them.

Here’s to a successful, productive and prosperous New Year for all!

As we wind down toward the end of the year, it’s always a great time for reflection both personally and professionally.  I want to thank the hundreds of you who have taken the time to complete your chamber end-of-year survey.

We will be sharing the results with our members after the first of the year, but I’m humbled by the strong show of support from our members and their confidence in the chamber.  It gives us the opportunity to look at what our members have to say about their chamber and what their needs are for the coming year.  If you haven’t had time to fill out your survey yet, we will be resending the survey this week.

We’re incredibly thankful for your support of the chamber and the business community.

Best wishes for a very Merry Christmas and wonderful holiday season!

We are a membership-driven organization in every sense of the word. When we want to know how we can meet your needs and be an important tool for your business we do something really simple, yet critical, to determine what those needs are…..we ask you.

The chamber’s membership survey is our way of understanding your needs and what you believe the chamber’s priorities should be.  To make certain we’re focusing on what’s important to you, we need your input.  It helps us decide on programming for the coming year and beyond, and whether we’re making the grade on everything from the programs we offer to how we communicate with membership.

We’re fortunate to have one of the highest member retention rates in the nation.  That speaks volumes about the success of our organization and its service to our members.  With 1,600 members, do we always agree on everything?  Absolutely not.  Each business is unique and what it needs from the chamber is unique as well.

Take a moment to give us your thoughts via our online membership survey you’ll be receiving this week.  As a bonus, one lucky respondent will receive a $250 Visa giftcard just in time for that last minute holiday shopping.

Awards we win such as National Chamber of the Year don’t happen because of chamber staff…they happen because of you.  Our best ideas come from our members.  Please give us your thoughts and comments by taking the survey.

Undoubtedly, this week you’ll be presented with a number of opportunities.  Opportunities to grow your business…to learn something new…to be better at what you do than you were the day before.

When it comes to business, some feel that hard work counts, and that learning, selling and networking are important, but that there’s a healthy dose of luck thrown in for good measure.  I’m not buying it.  For the most part, “luck” is simply the intersection of preparation and opportunity.

If you take a 40,000 foot, big picture view of opportunity, you’ll see that it’s often disguised as hard work.  Former first lady Barbara Bush may have said it best when she stated “You just don’t luck into things as much as you’d like to think you do.  You build step by step, whether it’s friendships or opportunities.”

The chamber offers a number of opportunities for you to grow your business and interact with potential clients and strengthen your relationships with current customers.  This Thursday is one of our most popular Business After Hours events of the year at Old Oyster Factory. We also have Business Expo right around the corner in January as well as our Young Professionals Group and a myriad of other opportunities.  Take advantage of them.

One of our members approached me at a chamber event and noted that the benefits of his chamber membership for his business were directly tied to his level of involvement.  He remarked that taking the time to get involved and be part of chamber events and programs was of great benefit to him both professionally and personally.  That’s our goal for every member.

Be on the lookout this week and beyond for “opportunities” disguised as challenges and hard work.  You’ll be surprised at how “lucky” you become.

You hear the term “consumer confidence” tossed around a lot in the media these days, usually tied to the perceived lack of it due to a still recovering economy and uncertainty about what’s happening in Washington and on Wall Street.  This past weekend consumers spoke loud and clear about their confidence levels with one of the most important economic indicators available…their wallets. Consumer retail sales rose 16 percent this past weekend over last year, according to the National Retail Federation…a good sign that we’re moving forward.

This week your chamber goes before the accommodations tax committee to review the grant request we’ve submitted for destination marketing dollars.  Thanks to tourism, those tax dollars don’t come from you, they come from our visitors.  Makes sense doesn’t it?  Visitors help fund marketing to attract more visitors.

When we stand at the podium at town hall to present the marketing grant request, we’re not doing it on our behalf…we’re doing it on yours.  These are funds that go into marketing the destination so that not just our hotels are full or our restaurants and attractions do well, it’s so that every business on the island feels the positive impact that tourism brings.

One of my least favorite things to hear at a chamber gathering or any gathering for that matter is “I’m not in tourism, so I don’t get any benefit from that,” or “why does the chamber focus on tourism, when that’s not impacting my small business?”  Tourism is everyone’s business whether you work for an auto repair shop, a law office or you’re a school teacher or banker.  Your clients are more than likely, in one way or another, involved in the tourism industry, and your property values are tied to market demand, including visitors that may become your neighbors.

Marketing matters and just like marketing your business…it takes dedicated dollars to make it happen.  Marketing our destination is our business and a big part of what we do so that the whole community reaps the benefits.

Fasten your seatbelts.  It’s time for the holiday shopping season.  The media has come up with a variety of creative taglines to describe what’s about to happen this weekend also known somewhat ominously as “Black Friday” and “Cyber Sunday.”  Your local chamber, in partnership with the US Chamber of Commerce and thousands of other chambers across the country is adding one to the mix…”Small Business Saturday.”

Sandwiched between two of the busiest shopping days of the year, is another big retail day and chambers of commerce are encouraging you to patronize your local small businesses, many of which depend heavily on seasonal shoppers.  Think of them as more than just the shop around the corner.  Think of their owners as your neighbors and their children as those who play alongside yours on the soccer field.  The owner’s husband or wife could very well be your doctor, or your son’s teacher.  The dollars you spend in a small business this Saturday simply make our community a better place to be.

Small businesses represent 99.7 percent of all employer firms and employ just over half of all private sector employees.  Eighty nine percent of consumers agree that locally-owned, independent businesses contribute positively through taxes and jobs.

We are once again launching our annual holiday “Shop Local” campaign in partnership with the Island Packet and “Small Business Saturday” is a big part of that effort.  You’ll be getting a window sticker in the mail this week to remind folks that they have the power to strengthen their community by shopping locally.

I encourage you to get involved and visit www.facebook.com/smallbusiness saturday.  Join the 1.5 million people who “like” “Small Business Saturday” on Facebook.  You can also give a shout-out for your favorite local shops and restaurants and encourage those in your social networks to shop at small businesses on November 26.

We have much to be thankful for, and this week is always a wonderful reminder of that fact.  Enjoy your Thanksgiving weekend with family and friends and support your community as well!

“Change is inevitable. Growth is optional.” – John C. Maxwell If you studied the art of leadership for hours upon hours every day for years, and focused on the habits and actions of some of the world’s greatest leaders, you’d get pretty good at knowing what makes a good leader and what doesn’t. I’m not just talking about leading a team professionally, but leading yourself personally. In the end, we’re all the CEO of ourselves. If you’ve never picked up a book by noted leadership expert John C. Maxwell, you’re missing something. That’s exactly what he’s built his career upon and his insight into leadership is exceptional. The quote above is one of my favorites and it speaks volumes about what’s happening in our world today. Most businesses spend a large amount of time thinking about how to increase their bottom line and give far less attention to how to increase the leadership skills of those people in charge of their bottom line. A research study by Duke University showed a direct correlation between time spent developing leaders within an organization and higher performance and healthier balance sheets. Business powerhouse Zappos.com, a company whose annual growth rates are the envy of many, has management staff spend 10-20 percent of their time outside the office in team building and leadership training. Isn’t it ironic that we often have to go outside of the walls of our office to truly envision how to work better, lead better and be better? What if there was a program locally that had a track record of developing the leadership skills of hundreds of individuals? What if participants who went through the program went on to become community leaders, successful business leaders, entrepreneurs and individuals who understood their community and what real leadership is all about? There is such a program. Leadership Hilton Head Island-Bluffton and a version of the same program for high school students – Junior Leadership. Both of these chamber programs have been developing leaders in this community for over 25 years. They are led by a volunteer board of regents and have strong alumni programs that speak to the impact these programs have had on so many in our community. Many who have gone through the program stay involved in the program. Spend a little time this week to reach, stretch, learn and grow. Maybe it’s as simple as picking up a book by John Maxwell or scheduling a planning retreat for your team or for yourself, or even committing to being part of the next Leadership class…make it part of your week. It matters.

“Overnight success” is often a term used to describe something that in reality has taken many years and countless hours of time, strategy and hard work to accomplish.  This weekend embodied the kind of success that the hard work of hundreds of volunteers with a passion and an incredibly big goal can accomplish.

Concours d’Elegance celebrated its 10th anniversary this weekend and is an example to all of how to stage a successful event at the highest level of excellence.  In just 10 years, it  has risen to become one of the top events of its kind in the nation.  The Concours board leadership along with Carolyn Vanagel, her staff and so many passionate volunteers have made Concours into something we should all be proud to be a part of. It’s also an event that’s driving visitation to our destination in a very big way, thus supporting local merchants and businesses.  The morning after last year’s event ended, the board and staff of Concours weren’t resting on their laurels, they were in a boardroom with fresh insights on how to make 2011 Concours better than the last.  That’s why they continue to be successful.  Hats off to the volunteers and staff of one of the Island’s premier events!

On another note, the Island had an international flavor this weekend.  The chamber, in partnership with the state of South Carolina, hosted over 90 German tour and travel operators who experienced what Hilton Head Island and our state have to offer German travelers.  International travel is a growing segment of our visitor base and one that we continue to aggressively cultivate.  Travelers from Europe stay longer and spend more which is one of the many reasons we work hard to build and grow our base of travelers from around the world.  Germany, along with Canada and the UK make up our top three international markets.  Over 40 local merchants were involved in this initiative that helped show our German guests the best of Hilton Head Island which will bring a great return on investment with future international travelers.

This weekend brings another great event to the Lowcountry and that’s Taste of the Season.  If you haven’t already purchased your tickets, do so today.  This event is always a sell out for a reason!  It’s the culinary event of the year and showcases our top local restaurateurs and chefs who bring their best to the table.  Click here to get your tickets now for this don’t miss event!

P.S. – Bluffton residents, help determine the future of our community – don’t forget to vote this week!