What Businesses Benefit Most from Joining a Chamber?

LWRBA membership gives sole proprietors, small businesses, regional employers and national companies, located in Sarasota and Manatee counties and beyond, access to a host of chamber membership benefits, designed for their growth and success in the Lakewood Ranch region. With chamber membership costs come a wide range of resources your business and employees can leverage, including: 

• Being showcased in the LWRBA online directory with opportunities at higher membership levels to add photos, video, a logo and a longer business description.
• Having your business included in the annual LWR Guide, putting your company in front of residents, visitors and businesses throughout the Lakewood Ranch region.
• Marking a new opening, renovation or relocation with an official LWRBA ribbon cutting, complete with the ribbon, scissors and certificate, with enhanced packages offering additional promotion.
• Attending Alliance events and programs at the member rate, creating more opportunities to participate without paying the non-member price.
• Using the LWRBA Community Calendar to promote your own business events directly through the member portal.
• Creating special Member 2 Member discounts, exclusively for LWRBA members, and give your business another way to encourage referrals and build relationships.
• New members can be featured in The Connection Magazine, putting your business in front of the Alliance community beyond face-to-face events.
• Taking part in LWRBA committees and initiatives where members can contribute their expertise and have a voice in the direction of the region's business community.
• Putting more of your marketing dollars to work with discounts on LWRBA advertising and enhanced promotional opportunities across the Alliance's digital and print channels, depending on the membership level. 
• Connecting with the full LWRBA membership. Eligible membership levels receive a membership mailing list twice a year, providing a snapshot of the businesses that make up the Alliance.

For professionals and businesses of any size, joining a local chamber of commerce is a way to put more people in your corner -- and that can be a catalyst for growth. Investing in chamber membership benefits gives you a built-in network of professionals who can become partners, clients, mentors and valuable connection while giving your business more chances to be seen across the community. Among other chamber membership benefits are educational programs, the possible business referrals that may come with being a part of a chamber of commerce and easy, effective opportunities for volunteering work that truly makes a difference. 

At the LWRBA, chamber networking benefits are designed to help businesses make powerful connections that can result in real business, while giving them a stronger presence throughout the Lakewood Ranch region and a voice within the business community. Opportunities like these can be hard to come by on your own, which is why chamber membership costs may be worth it for your business. 

Absolutely -- and the fact that 750 businesses and 3,500 business professionals have chosen to be a part of the LWRBA, the Lakewood Ranch region's premier chamber of commerce, is clear evidence in our community. 

Business has changed. Companies can reach clients through social media, create partnerships over emails and promote themselves to thousands of people. But tactics that don't require you to leave the office will never replace face-to-face conversations, authentic introductions, recommendations from an owner you now or the opportunity to sit down with industry leaders who understand what it takes to drive business in one of the nation's fastest-growing regions. And that's where chambers of commerce, like the LWRBA, play a vital role with a range of chamber membership benefits to choose from. 

With the LWRBA, it's about bringing businesses into the same room for networking, education, community involvement, advocacy and conversations about the future of Lakewood Ranch. Chamber membership costs are an investment in those experiences, which create relationships that simply can't happen on LinkedIn or through an email inbox. 

That’s an important part of the value behind chamber member benefits. You're paying for much more than a directory listing or access to events. Your chamber membership costs ultimately help grow your business through the potential clients you can meet, resources your employees can use to grow personally and professionally, the hands you'll shake, the conversations you'll have and more. 

The biggest disadvantage of joining a chamber of commerce is investing in chamber membership costs and not failing to take advantage of chamber membership benefits. When businesses of any size don't participate in events, take the time to build relationships or use available resources, membership in a chamber of commerce, like the LWRBA, becomes an expense rather than an opportunity. Conversely, businesses, and their employees, who are actively involved see the value chamber membership benefits bring to the table -- and it's why thousands of professionals are proud to be a part of the LWRBA. 

Time is money for businesses of all sizes, and it's important to find a chamber of commerce whose events, resources and chamber networking benefits align with what you're looking for in joining an organization. That's us -- the Lakewood Ranch region's premier chamber of commerce, showcasing the power of connection in everything we do for our members and the community.