Business owners know that sometimes they need a helping hand to be successful. They may need assistance in developing a business plan, they might need help meeting new potential clients and building a reputation for good customer service, or they might need to grow their operation into new areas or expand in size.
The Fuquay-Varina Chamber of Commerce is an organization that is designed to help businesses of all types with all of those needs, and more. With almost 450 active members, the Chamber is a private, nonprofit, mostly volunteer organization that focuses on ways to improve the economic environment of Fuquay-Varina. Working closely with the Town of Fuquay-Varina, the Economic Development Commission, and the Downtown Revitalization Association, the Fuquay-Varina Chamber of Commerce supports businesses of all types and sizes.
The Chamber is happy to offer a variety of opportunities for both small business owners and business professionals representing larger companies. Some of these opportunities are more social in nature and provide members with a venue for building wider networks and exchanging information about their companies. These include our monthly Business After Hours events, which are held in on the 2nd Thursday of each month, and our Wake Up Fuquay-Varina! networking breakfasts, which are held on the last Friday of every month. The Chamber also has a networking option called a “Co-branded Networking Event,” which allows 2-3 members to collaborate on an event during the day that showcases their businesses and provides a daytime opportunity for networking. Speed networking is a more structured form of networking that helps business professionals meet new potential clients in a fast-paced environment.
Other events offered by the Chamber are more educational in focus, such as the monthly Brown Bag Lunches, and the informative seminars offered by members in their areas of expertise. Any member is encouraged to schedule seminars on a wide range of business topics, partly to help brand them as experts in their field, and partly to provide on-going educational events to the general membership. The Chamber also offers a class on chamber membership and all it offers every other month. This one-hour Chamber 101 class is facilitated by board members and gives a comprehensive overview of the responsibilities and benefits of being involved in Chamber activities.
In addition to networking and educational activities, the Chamber has nine working committees that provide an opportunity for members to donate time and expertise in an area of interest that supports the Chamber’s overall mission to provide quality programming and activities for its membership. Those committees include the Ambassador Committee, Business Builder Committee, Education Council, Government Affairs Committee, Marketing Committee, Membership Committee, Professional Women’s Leadership Association, Sponsorship Committee, and the brand new Senior Services Committee. In addition to these standing committees, the Chamber also has a separate planning committee for each of its eight large events throughout the year. Committee work provides members with the ability to build deeper business relationships with members who share the same interests, thus building even more meaningful referral opportunities. The Chamber highly encourages new businesses to get involved in the Chamber through committee involvement.
The Chamber communicates with its membership and the town at large in several different ways. A quarterly newsletter, “Bits & Bites,” is mailed to all members quarterly, and postcards are mailed every month with Business After Hours information. The remainder of Chamber communication is handled electronically, with a weekly EBlast (called the Thursday Forecast) and regular email communications sent to members regarding upcoming events. The Chamber’s membership database offers options for members to post specials, job postings, and events on the Chamber’s calendar, which makes it a dynamic tool for promoting business activities through the Chamber portal. The Chamber also has a dedicated page in the Fuquay-Varina Independent once a month, where it highlights Chamber events and businesses for the benefit of thousands of area residents.
Because of the area’s continuing growth over the last few years, the Chamber also provides a valuable service through relocation information for new residents, as well as tourist information for those visiting the area.
So, come discover how the Fuquay-Varina Chamber of Commerce can help you build your business or help you discover the charms of the local community and all it has to offer! And make sure that your business or organization is listed in this Chamber directory (or the next one) so that when people call for referrals, we can direct them to the goods and services you offer!
The Fuquay-Varina Area Chamber of Commerce is a private, voluntary non-profit organization of businesses and professional people dedicated to improving the economic environment of our community and fostering the development of business growth and prosperity. Through regular networking events, access to business resources, cooperative advertising, and a variety of dynamic community partnerships, the Chamber serves a robust membership of more than 450 businesses. Fuquay-Varina encompasses two thriving historic downtown centers affording access to a wealth of product, services and amenities, For more information about the Chamber, its activities, or how to establish your own business or home in our community, contact the Chamber by calling 919-552-4947.
