Richmond, Virginia Chamber of Commerce Richmond, Virginia:

Richmond, Virginia Chamber of Commerce

Richmond, Virginia:

The Chamber of Commerce

The city of Richmond, Virginia's Chamber of Commerce was founded in 1867, and focuses on shaping the financial, educational, and civic well-being of its region (GRCC, 2011). With 1,500 members, the Chamber seeks to guide such members to success through involving them in the community, connecting with others, educating them, and saving them money (GRCC, 2011). Such is done through their four key Greater Richmond Chamber Priorities, e-newsletter, dedicated team and volunteers, and reports. Despite such efforts, there is always room for improvement on business-enhancing strategies, which will be displayed.

The most accessible resource for the web-community is the four key Greater Richmond Chamber Priorities. First, the Chamber advocates and supports positive change in their community. Second, they offer members of the Chamber to get involved by participation in committees, councils, networking events, and educational workshops. Thirdly, the Chamber claims to understand the need of a strong workforce and business development initiatives, and has centers to provide such training. Lastly, the Chamber states that it builds groundwork for success via services, tangible value, and a return on investment for the purpose of sustaining the capacity and viability of the organization (GRCC, 2011). These four key priorities provide insight for its audience into the desires and initiatives of the Chamber, and how it may benefit a business owner in the event that one decides to become a member of the Chamber.

It is obvious that the Chamber's goals focus on business success for its members. This proves true through their four key priorities and overview pages. The stakeholders and audience of the website appear to be current and potential Chamber members, and those that are actively involved in Richmond business. The "Events" section of the main page reviews upcoming events, including a networking breakfast, how to start a business, Facebook business training, and LinkedIn training.

The Chamber demonstrates through its priorities and advertisements on its page that it believes that its members are educated, well respected, and financially and communally intelligent and sufficient. The Chamber demonstrates an attitude only to be a source to fine-tune a business' needs, as well as provide excess tools to better equip the business. Lastly, the Chamber is to be used as a networking resource, allowing its members to connect through its involvement with the Chamber (GRCC, 2011).

Other documentation clarifies the demographics and geography of the Richmond community. The Richmond community has a population of 197,790, made up of 46% male and 53% female. The largest demographic of age, at 16.62% are aged 25-34 years old, followed close by 35- to 44-year-olds, and then 45- to 54-year-olds. The highest race population is African-American, at 57.19%, followed by the white population at 38.3%. The householder population is 42.75% of the population. Of those above 18, 80% hold a high school degree, and 32.5% hold a Bachelor's or higher (AreaConnect.com, 2011).

The business demographics also prove to be quite interesting, as a fifth of firms are held by African-Americans and over a quarter are held by women. It is obvious, however, that the Chamber of Commerce does not hold relationships with many of these firms, as there are over 120,000 firms, and the Chamber only has 1,500 members. Geographically speaking, Richmond has much opportunity for business growth, as it has over 3,400 people per square mile of its city limits, which might assist in accounting for its multi-million dollar spending economy (Census.gov, 2011).

The Chamber of Commerce for Richmond, Virginia has done a very excellent job appealing to the business community. The community has a large business population, and should cater to it. As many of those in the community are educated at a minimum of a high school degree, many of which have a Bachelor's or higher, the Chamber of Commerce can understand that it caters to an educated population. The highest population in the Richmond city limits is also quite young, ranging from 25-34, and therefore, their workshops related to networking technologies such as Facebook and LinkedIn prove to be highly effective. The Chamber also assists new business members, providing 101 courses to successfully branch off business.

Despite the benefits that the Chamber provides, there are a handful of opportunities that they have not yet addressed. First, the Chamber has not openly addressed the successful minorities in business -- the female population and the African-American population. These two demographics hold a large yet small portion of the business owner percentage, and should perhaps be provided extra resources in enhancing their capabilities as owners. While these two minorities have the same potential as male, non-African-American counterparts, social barriers in which they must deal with each day are different than those of the rest of the business owner population. Providing tools will allow for better success, and perhaps better retention of their involvement with the Chamber.

The Chamber of Commerce webpage proudly mentions that it has over 1,500 members. However, the Census reports that there are over 120,000 businesses operating in the Richmond area. While the Census might include small and at-home businesses, considering these two quantities relays that the Chamber only has 1.25% of the Richmond business population. In order to have businesses more successfully connect with one another, the Chamber should seek to expand itself and generate more resourceful tools for its members. In order to do so, the Chamber may want to focus not only on events for its members, but find ways in which it can involve itself in the non-Chamber community in order to attract new members.