Chambers of Commerce and BBB?

[Lyle McCartee]

Greetings Colleagues,

This is a question for all of you seasoned investors that have created your businesses from the ground up. I'm "in the works" of creating mine.

I was wondering if any of you have become members of your respective Chambers of Commerce or local Better Business Bureau agencies. If you have, what are the benefits? What are the risks?  Is this a good idea or not? Why? Why not? (Not looking for a 'War & Peace' answer.)

I ask this because often friends and other businesses (that don't understand how our industry operates), look at this profession as a "vulturistic" endeavor. Or at least when I try to explain to them, what I'm doing. They may see us as people that prey on vulnerable victims of poor decision-making or badly thought out management of their personal affairs. I'm a capitalist just like most in this field, but I also believe that by providing a way for people to save their credit (and dignity) before they go off the cliff, is also a noble trait to possess.

I'd love to hear your thoughts from all sides of the fence.

Cheers,
Lyle

[Mitch Messer]

Hi @Lyle McCartee. I would start with the Better Business Bureau. We are proud members of the Atlanta BBB and have been for years. I do recommend you consider joining, for at least three reasons:

• It offers prospects an easy and familiar way to check your business out. The BBB website profiles your company's services and customer satisfaction record. While not perfect, it's widely accepted as the gold standard in small business reputation management. Not being there can raise all sorts of doubts in the minds of prospective clients.
• It gives satisfied customers a platform to sing your praises. When you are truly helping people solve their problems, they are often happy to take a minute to provide a positive testimonial on the BBB website. That's a huge marketing win for any company!
• It gives unhappy clients an avenue to seek redress and be heard. If you stay in business long enough, someone is going to take issue with something you've done. The BBB can act as a mediator to resolve disputes before they get out of hand. If nothing else, at least your side of the story can be presented. Believe me, this is way better than getting courts and attorneys involved.

Certainly, chambers of commerce can be helpful in many of the same ways. But, the BBB brand delivers more bang for the buck, in my opinion.