May 8, 2025 • 32 mins
Most people think Chambers of Commerce are all about networking events and ribbon cuttings—but their impact goes far deeper. In this episode, Kristina Park, CEO of the Greater Naples Chamber, pulls back the curtain on how Chambers serve as powerful engines for economic development, leadership cultivation, and policy advocacy. From supporting small businesses and attracting new opportunities to guiding the next generation of leaders, Chambers are evolving to meet today’s challenges—including embracing solopreneurs, remote workers, and technological disruption. If you’ve ever underestimated your local Chamber, this conversation will change your mind.
Visit us at jenniferannjohnson.com and learn how Jennifer can help you build the life you dream of with her online academy, blog, one-on-one coaching, and a variety of other resources!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Jennifer Johnson (00:00):
You've probably heard of Chambers of
Commerce, but do you really knowwhat they do?
These powerhouse organizationsare the unsung hero of local
economies, fostering growth,advocating for businesses and
connecting entrepreneurs andopportunities.
In this podcast, we'll explorehow Chambers of Commerce shape
local business landscapes, thevital services they provide to
(00:22):
members, from networking toprofessional development, real
stories of businesses that haveflourished with Chamber support,
and the impact of Chambers onpolicymaking and community
development.
Whether you're a seasonedbusiness owner, an aspiring
entrepreneur or simply curiousabout what makes your local
economy tick, we will give youvaluable insights into this
(00:44):
essential organization.
Today, we welcome into thestudio Kristina Park.
She is the CEO of the GreaterNaples Chamber.
Thank you so much for having me.
I am so excited to dive intothis because I know a lot of
people are like well, yeah,doesn't every town have a
chamber, but I don't know whatthey do.
Are they like the welcome wagonPeople?
(01:05):
I don't know what they do.
Are they like the welcome?
Kristina Park (01:05):
wagon Right, right.
Jennifer Johnson (01:06):
Like people honestly may not know.
So, before we get into that,what is it that inspired you to
become part of the GreaterNaples Chamber?
Kristina Park (01:17):
Absolutely so.
I've always been an advocatefor business.
I grew up watching my father'san entrepreneur right, running
different kinds of businessesfrom all different types of
industries, so I've alwayssupported business owners and
community growth and development.
Right, we're a community impactorganization, and so what
attracted me to the greaterNaples chamber was the this,
this community, is something soexceptional, right, and I heard
(01:37):
that before I moved.
I'm seeing that andexperiencing that now that I've
relocated here, which has been arather recent, recent, but
there's so much opportunityahead to support these
businesses.
It is well known it is namedthe top place to live in the USA
just this last year for so manyamazing reasons.
So how do we protect andpreserve what makes it so
special as we grow?
And so I think just theopportunity to support the
(02:01):
businesses that make up ourecosystem and drive this
community forward again while weprotect and preserve and grow
wisely just really intrigued meabout the opportunity to
relocate here.
Jennifer Johnson (02:12):
I'm glad that you said grow wisely, because
not a lot of people, I think,would connect the dots that a
chamber.
That's part of what they do.
They make sure that thecommunity is growing responsibly
and thoughtfully to make surethat it's not a smattering of
(02:32):
things.
Kristina Park (02:33):
Right, right.
And so we have three pillars ofour organization.
We have our economicdevelopment efforts, called the
partnership.
We have the chamber of commerceand our member services that we
provide there, and then we haveleadership, call your
foundation.
So our all of our programmingthat goes along with fostering
leaders and developing leadersin our community.
And so the, the, those threework directly in concert with
(02:54):
one another to produce theleaders that are going to be
driving our economic developmentand supporting our member
businesses.
Right, so they work totally inconcert.
But, to your point, it's soimportant to understand, when
you're making a decision, howdoes this impact this part of
our community, that part of ourcommunity?
So all that we can do toeducate and understand, because
we are able to move forwardcollectively and collaboratively
(03:15):
when we understand thoseimpacts.
So we sit right at the nexus ofall of those opportunities to
help educate and move thatneedle forward right, lead
collaboration and curateconsensus towards where we're
headed.
Jennifer Johnson (03:28):
So you touched on leadership and it sounds.
It's so intriguing because Idon't know if other chambers
have this, so I want to expoundon that a little bit.
But the leadership program yes.
So the leadership programfosters the growth of these
leaders that then fall intoplace throughout your community.
Do other chambers have that, oris that just inherent to our
(03:49):
chamber?
Kristina Park (03:50):
They do so it's not always under a chamber of
commerce.
There are many chambers that dohost something of this nature,
and they just have varyingdegrees.
What is so intriguing andexceptional about the Leadership
Collier Foundation is they'reoffering it at many different
levels.
We've got our high schoolprogram, designed to make sure
that those that are headed tocollege understand the beautiful
parts of the community, even ifthey're from here.
(04:11):
They may never have known, sothey want to come back and
return and bring their talentsback home once they finish their
studies.
We've got our AssociateLeadership Collier for our
emerging leaders and we've gotour traditional Leadership
Collier program and we partnerwith the Greater Naples
Leadership who's for ourseasoned professionals in the
market and so having so manylayers, and then you incorporate
the leadership skillsdevelopment components as well
(04:32):
through our leadership lunchesand some leadership training
opportunities that we have.
Jennifer Johnson (04:35):
So, yes, many chambers may have them, but I
the the how robust this one isto service such a variety of
audiences and really recognizethat true leadership skills
development starts early, andlet's just foster that spirit
throughout and I love that,because starting out young with
somebody I mean, I moved here,obviously, when I was a lot
older, but a young kid notknowing what their community
(05:01):
offers and you're showcasingthat for them how cool is that?
Because then they can go.
Oh, I can see where I can fitinto this economy or this
community once I graduate fromcollege or once I graduate from
high school.
It helps them plug themselvesin a little bit better.
Kristina Park (05:19):
Well, and having the diversity of perspective so
that we're shaping an inclusivecommunity right.
I mean, we're not justservicing the CEOs of major
corporations that may sit in aboardroom leading certain
initiatives.
It is all of these ages thatwe're trying to ensure that
we're creating a livablecommunity for, and so we call
them our emerging leaders, ourleaders of tomorrow, but they're
(05:40):
leaders of today.
They're leading in theircircles of influence, and our
job is to just help give themthe toolkit necessary to allow
them to be the best possibleleader in our community.
Jennifer Johnson (05:51):
That is so great.
You're fostering this growth soyoung.
Now, how has your vision forthe organization evolved since
you started, because you haven'tbeen here for that long, but
how has it changed and how areyou seeing?
Kristina Park (06:05):
things.
So I just think, managingopportunity I mean there's so
much opportunity within thosethree pillars of how they again
work and orchestrate with oneanother and then what this
community needs may be whatthese community needs are Again,
protecting, preserving whatmakes us special, deciding where
we're headed.
You know, Chambers of Commercecan have mission creep.
I saw interesting right.
(06:26):
If you've ever seen Lion King,they hold up.
You know everything in thelight touches.
Is your job description right?
I mean the Chamber of Commerce.
We get calls for everything.
I'm sure you do, because you'rethe go-to.
Jennifer Johnson (06:35):
We're the go-to.
You're the welcoming committeeto the town Sure and so that's
part of it, right.
Kristina Park (06:46):
And so because we're recognized as that nexus
of all things.
But we don't have to provideall those services directly,
necessarily.
We have to be that central hubof resources, right?
So this morning I had anopportunity to work with our
Small Business DevelopmentCenter, based out of FGCU.
Talk about a fantastic resource, and so why would we duplicate,
why would we try to step into aspace where we're not the
absolute experts?
Let's partner with those thatare, refer back and forth.
(07:06):
So ultimately, I think justwe're creating some dynamics
about what I would say is ourecosystem and our atmosphere.
Who are we, what do we providedirectly?
And then who is in ouratmosphere that we can help
partner, collaborate, form thosepartnerships with?
Jennifer Johnson (07:22):
to refer back and forth Right, it creates the
biggest impact and, like yousaid, not duplicating efforts
for certain.
So how do you, as a chamber,measure your impact that you're
having on your community?
Kristina Park (07:39):
So it's qualitative and quantitative
right.
I mean we're.
We want to see membershipgrowth because we recognize that
we're providing value to moreand more on a consistent basis
and continually growing thatmembership.
But engagement is a huge partof that too.
Right, you can write your checkand never show up and send it
every you know, and there aresome businesses that that is
their desire.
They want to invest in anorganization like ours that they
recognize is doing this workfull time to move that needle
forward.
And so engagement looksdifferent for all of our members
(08:02):
but seeing that we're providingprogramming that they find is
valuable, creating and fosteringmeaningful connections in the
right types of settings andshowcasing our member businesses
.
So it's a combination of bothquantitative and qualitative.
We get that through survey workand a lot of anecdotal and then
often, you know, I think ourbest note of success is when we
get those referrals fromexisting members who are happy
(08:24):
and satisfied and seeing valuein their membership and saying
to others you've got to go whereI've run to get value.
Jennifer Johnson (08:30):
So, on that note, success stories, yes, of
people that have worked with thechamber, been chamber members,
you know.
Can you share one with us Like,oh man, there's so many, to
narrow it down.
Kristina Park (08:42):
Well, I mean, I think that the first two that
come to mind.
So one is a connection, one isa resource element, right?
So we had a digital marketingfirm and a tech company that
were able to team up and createbetter visibility for both of
their organizations because theywere stronger together, right.
And then we have stories, likeI heard at our recent member
showcase, where an individualcame to me and said if not for
you and your organization duringCOVID, I would have gone under.
(09:03):
But it was because of theresources and direction that you
provided, the input, theconnections with those that were
forging a similar path that Iwas able to even sustain and
keep my business open.
So stories like that are justtremendous and I think you could
share a lot of insight with me.
Actually, right, you're anactive member of our
organization, you're a businessowner, you're an author, You're
(09:24):
a mother, you're connected andyou're giving back to our
community.
What is it that you foundvaluable?
Jennifer Johnson (09:29):
through our organization.
Well, what I found valuable isthe connections.
Just going to the events thatthe chamber puts on has been
invaluable, because I'veconnected with and sat next to
people that never in my wildestdreams would I ever have thought
that I'd be even in the sameroom with and that's big it is.
(09:51):
You know whether it's I wouldfeel like, oh, I don't think I
could be in the same room asthat person or I just wasn't
near them, like it was aconnector.
Sure, you know, it is aconnector for me and that's
important.
And it also provides educationfor me in the realm of many
(10:11):
different.
Well, we've got this thing.
This person's coming in tospeak on this or whatever
Valuable information that, as abusiness owner, is important,
absolutely Well, we've got thisthing.
This person's coming in tospeak on this or whatever
Valuable information that, as abusiness owner, is important.
Kristina Park (10:19):
Absolutely Well, that's just it right.
I mean, you've gotten where youare because of your own grace
and grit.
That has led you to be sosuccessful.
But we're just trying to createthose platforms for connection
and opportunity andcollaboration and bringing
people together.
They all care about thiscommunity we have a shared
vision for where we want it togo and the pro-business advocacy
work we're doing to make surethat you can focus on running
your business and we can makesure that you have the right
(10:41):
path and platform for that andthen ultimately, you know just
if people are able to utilize itas a platform for connection
and education.
Jennifer Johnson (10:49):
Advocacy.
You just touched on it.
So I hear so much that chambersadvocate for the businesses.
What does that look like?
Are you up at not Capitol Hill,but at our Capitol talking to
lawmakers?
What does advocacy for themembers look like?
Kristina Park (11:09):
in small business .
Yeah, so we do a lot at thelocal and state level and then
we do partner with largerChamber of Commerce
conglomerates that we are partof members of, with our U
chamber um, the association ofchamber of commerce executives,
to advocate for pro-businesspolicy at the national level
Okay, so it goes above andbeyond what you could do locally
or statewide.
It does, it does, and so thereyou know.
(11:30):
Advocacy is about um, theunification of voices and coming
to collectively to address anissue, and educating our
policymakers on impact right.
They're expected to be theexpert on all things which is
just unrealistic for anyindividual and so our hope is to
become that go-to for ourelected officials when they're
going to make a decision thatimpacts business.
(11:51):
They're picking up the phoneand they're saying where's the
Chamber of Commerce in thisconversation?
How are they helping to gatherthe input of the members that
we're going to impact by makingthis decision?
And then ultimately, if thingsare progressing and you,
business owner, are busy runningyour business, we're watching
to understand what is going tobe on that agenda, what
conversations are taking placewhere we need to have the
business voice be heard and, asthese things kind of come down
(12:13):
the pike, that we're able toadvocate on behalf of our member
businesses again, both a lot ofthe local, you know, kind of
county level, and then at thestate level as well.
Jennifer Johnson (12:21):
That's great Because, yes, we are doing.
We're staying in our lane asbusiness owners doing what we're
supposed to be doing.
It's hard for us to payattention to all the stuff
that's happening out there thatcan affect our business and a
lot of times does and then onthe backside of it, we don't
know what to do.
If it actually you know, ifit's a law that goes into place
(12:41):
or whatever, you guys are on theforefront of it, and that's our
job.
Kristina Park (12:45):
We're just going to watch what's coming down the
pike, what could be happening.
And again, we want to kind offlip the script on that and
become the go-to resource forour elected officials and
partners in government on staffto understand that we can help
get the input from the businesscommunity and that this is what
their needs are so they can dobusiness effectively.
Jennifer Johnson (13:04):
That's awesome because you're out there
advocating for all of us.
That's so great.
So what role?
We've already talked aboutconnecting and all of that
networking.
Know networking essentially,but what role does the chamber
play in attracting newbusinesses to the area in which
they're at, you know, as a whole?
(13:25):
How does that piece fit intowhat a chamber does so different
?
Kristina Park (13:30):
organizations like mine are different across
the country.
Some have economic developmentunder their umbrella, like we do
, Some do not, and they partnerwith that private or
public-private partnership ofeconomic development resources.
And so here in Naples it ispart of our purview.
We focus a lot on retention andgrowth of our existing
businesses and making sure thatthey have the proper environment
to do business well.
And then there's an element ofunderstanding you want to
(13:52):
relocate your business here andlet us be that go-to resource to
help you do so.
What is the regulatoryenvironment?
How do I get connected with theright you know, maybe
potentially brick and mortarspace that I'll be needing?
How do I expedite permittingand who do I talk with?
And so ultimately, we want tocut the red tape and roll out
the red carpet for those thatare interested in coming to our
community right, and so helpthem, make that a positive
(14:12):
experience and then justunderstand who we are so they
can be successful.
Not every business is going tobe a fit in every community
right, and so what we have thatI love about this area we call
it the Rodeo Drive effectUltimately, do you fit our
tapestry Sure, and will you havethe opportunity to be
successful in our footprint?
Because this is who we are,this is what we value as a
community, and we'd love towelcome you in with open arms
(14:34):
and make sure that you'repopular and successful and
well-supported and all of thosethings.
So part of that is just helpingto understand their business
model and how it fits theculture of any community so it
can help perpetuate the culturethat has been established here,
and that's part of thatpreserving what makes us so
special.
Jennifer Johnson (14:49):
Yeah, and I go back to that.
It all points back to makingsure that you have the right mix
of businesses within yourcommunity and down here in
Florida we are very seasonal andit's so great because you can
look at a business and be like,okay, well, I know that they can
bring year-round jobs to thearea and that, I would imagine,
(15:12):
is a pretty important aspect.
Kristina Park (15:14):
I'm really grateful that you touched on the
seasonality, because I've beento many markets across our
country where they didn't keepan eye on that and the
seasonality created a situationwhere individuals can't afford
to become homeowners or can'tafford to live there full time.
They're six months here, sixmonths there because it is so
seasonal and so building in thatyear round sustained business
recognizing hospitality is ournumber one sector.
(15:35):
Tourism is huge here in thegreater Naples area and so
helping support our conventionand visitor bureau to tell that
message to come visit us inthose shoulder seasons, for all
of these wonderful reasons,right and um, so we want to help
fill the gaps of theseasonality and create less
seasonality, uh, so that we cansupport our business community
year round.
Jennifer Johnson (15:53):
I definitely agree with that, you know.
But is that ever with bringingin a new business to somewhere
that is seasonal?
Is that?
Does a new company look at thatin a positive or a negative
light?
Kristina Park (16:11):
I think it depends on the nature of their
business, right?
If you're here designed tosupport the locals versus
support the visitors, and who,who is your target audience?
What type of service are youproviding?
We're seeing a huge trend ingrowth.
I don't know.
We'll talk about that later.
We'll talk about the next fiveand 10 years for organizations
like ours but, where you canlive anywhere, but you may want
to choose to live in paradise.
Right and so you are a remoteworker and you want to relocate
(16:32):
here.
You're a company that has a hubbut not a physical brick and
mortar, that the seasonalitydoesn't impact you as much.
So that's part of the guidancewe try to do on the front end of
understanding welcoming a newbusiness is do you understand
the seasonality of our market toensure you're going to be
successful and you set your paceand expectations and perform a
business plans accordingly?
Jennifer Johnson (16:51):
And I'm glad we were talking about this,
because I was just having thisconversation with someone else.
We're a special place in that.
Again, yes, seasonality is veryimportant.
A lot of people I'm going intobusiness, I'm opening a business
, this is what I'm doing andthey don't think about the
(17:13):
seasonality.
And that's what gets them introuble.
Because you've got, you knowyou're making your money when
it's in season and you have topreserve that to get you through
your summer until we startgetting those snowbirds or the
seasonal residents back intotown.
Absolutely, but people don'talways think about that, and so
that's where you know thechamber is like hey, this is
(17:34):
what we're like here.
Kristina Park (17:36):
Yeah, I mean, you can read the business books,
you can write the plans, you canhave been successful in
business for so long.
If you miss that element, itcould be game changer.
And so we want to make surethat those that are relocating
again understand timing,understand the cadence of our,
of our visitation, so that theycan be successful for a long
time.
Jennifer Johnson (17:52):
So a burning question that I've had for a
while is how does a chamber andyou can answer this generally or
you can answer it specificallyhow does a chamber balance the
needs of the small business andthe large corporation that may
be in the area of that chamber?
Kristina Park (18:13):
So you said it earlier, right, a successful
community has a blend of bothand they have different needs,
and so our goal or aim or effort, our focus, is recognizing that
there are differences in needsand understanding how to service
those, because we recognizethat the mix of both creates
success.
So it's not one's better thanthe other, it's how are we going
to create an inclusiveenvironment in which both types
(18:36):
of businesses can thrive, theycan get the connections that
they need, all of those things.
And so you'll see that ourprogramming, both from an
education perspective, fromnetworking and even advocacy, is
geared to recognizing thedifferences in the needs.
There you'll see programmingfrom us morning, noon and night,
for a reason you know.
I know you and I have spokenabout.
Like, entrepreneurs are up inthe middle of the night doing
(18:57):
things.
Where is our digitalprogramming that they can do on
demand, right?
So, just being responsive to theneeds, and a huge part of that
is improving our feedbackmechanisms.
We do some survey work, we havesome anecdotal conversations,
all the different pathways wecan create because we are a
member based business, we arehere to serve the needs of our
members, which means we betterknow the needs of our members,
right, and how are we gettingthat and how are we continuing
(19:18):
to improve those pathways andopportunities.
We have a great robustambassador program.
So alongside our staff we havea collection of dedicated
volunteers that know ourbusiness model well and they are
out becoming that conduitbetween us and the member,
collecting more stories,experiencing their businesses
and having a chance to bringthat feedback to us.
So I will say our doors arealways open and we are aiming to
(19:41):
just collect as much input aswe can so that we can shape our
programmatic elements around theneeds of our businesses, and
I've seen the ambassadors atwork and it's more than you know
.
Jennifer Johnson (19:52):
When you think of a chamber, you think of all
the ribbon cutting, the bigscissors, the ribbon right.
It's so much more than that,because those ambassadors are
not just doing the ribboncutting, they are, but on the
outset of that, they're outthere saying, hey, are you a
member of the chamber?
Right, this is what the chambercan do for you.
I'm a member of the chamber.
Kristina Park (20:12):
They're out there talking about the chamber,
which I think is so great yeahbeing ambassadors for what it is
that we do and all the workthat we're trying to do, and I'm
with you.
I mean, once upon a time it wasopen a business, join the
chamber of commerce.
That was linear, that's justwhat you did Right, and that is
not the expectation anymore.
I mean, ultimately, I can getmy networking in certain places,
I can get my marketing donecertain ways Right, but, and so
(20:35):
how we redefine the role of achamber of commerce?
Even chambers themselves preCOVID thought of themselves as
event planning organizations.
Jennifer Johnson (20:43):
Really, and since I've recognized.
Kristina Park (20:45):
we're community impact organizations.
I mean we are taking thatholistic view of how it's going
to affect business and resident.
We're advocating forpro-business policy and the
business needs and againcreating a livable community.
Our vision is economicopportunity for all right and so
while some are thriving, someare surviving.
And we recognize that there'sdisparities and we are trying to
work to ensure that the risingtide floats all boats and then
(21:09):
ultimately, you know so achamber of commerce really is
that nexus with the for-business, not-for-profit I'm sorry for
profit, not for profitgovernment entities kind of the
lead collaborator.
Jennifer Johnson (21:23):
I never really thought of the chamber thinking
of themselves as an eventplanning business, but now that
you mention it, Right, you saychamber of commerce.
Kristina Park (21:28):
sometimes it conjures up a certain
perspective in one's mind aboutthe ribbon cutting or the
networking event, and so, toyour point, it's educating that
it goes beyond so much more.
I didn't know what a chamber ofcommerce was until I got into
this line of work, believe it ornot.
I came from a tourism marketingbackground and I fell in love
with the business stories, andthe reason I did what I did was
to bring more visitors, toinfuse more economic resources
(21:48):
to support the businesses sothey could have the livelihood
that I fell in love with whenthey told me their story.
And so a partner of mine cameand said have you ever thought
about working for a chamber ofcommerce?
Because, in addition to themarketing opponent, this is
everything else they do and itwas the advocacy piece that
really got my attention.
Jennifer Johnson (22:04):
So we've been talking about you know small
business.
We've been talking about bigbusiness.
What about the solopreneur?
Because you had touched on,business has changed a lot and
so on and so forth, and you canwork from anywhere.
So there's a lot of thosepeople Do.
Chambers of commerce support asolopreneur.
Kristina Park (22:27):
So it varies, and I will say, having kind of an
individualized membership is notnecessarily a common thing.
I say, exceptions are made inexceptional situations.
Jennifer Johnson (22:36):
And we have an exceptional community.
Kristina Park (22:39):
We have an exceptional community, and so,
to your point, here we havesignificant number of retirees
that have chosen to live inparadise.
And we have the solopreneursthat can work from anywhere, and
so we've created a newmembership level called an
individual community contributor, because ultimately, they care
about the direction of theircommunity and they want to
contribute to the vision and theexecution of how we're going to
get there, and so, while thatmay not be common for all
(23:00):
businesses or, I'm sorry, allchambers of commerce, it is
something that we value, andwe're really excited to engage
more solopreneurs in the workthat we're doing.
Jennifer Johnson (23:09):
That's so great because we do live in
paradise, we do.
And so many people I havetalked to are like well, I'm
kind of a nomad, I can work fromanywhere and so now I'm hanging
my hat here for the next twoyears or whatever, and then they
end up staying Right, but theywant to be just as plugged in as
anyone else.
Kristina Park (23:29):
Absolutely, absolutely, and that's just.
It is, you know.
Again back to the individualcomponent, whether they're
solopreneurs or they work for alarge corporation.
I mean, we have the Googles,and you know some of the large
businesses that are national orinternational have
representation here.
Google's not joining thechamber of commerce for every
one of their community'semployees, but, to your point,
those individuals still careabout having helping to drive
(23:50):
success in our community wherethey live, and so we want to
give them the pathway to do that.
Jennifer Johnson (24:02):
That's great.
So, looking ahead five, 10years, what do you see as the
biggest opportunities andchallenges that chambers and the
members of the chamber face?
Kristina Park (24:08):
Sure so chambers of commerce in general.
I think helping get theirbusinesses future ready is a
huge part of it.
With the National Associationof Chamber Executives, we create
a plan called the HorizonInitiative where we're taking a
look at what are the trendscoming in the next 10 years.
Jennifer Johnson (24:23):
And that's on a national level.
Kristina Park (24:24):
It's on a national level.
Okay, what are the trendsnationally in the next 10 years
affecting the business communityand our business owners?
What are some of these themes?
So that we can then take thatto our community and right size
it to our community and theirneeds.
And so we're creating HorizonInitiative 2.0.
It's really fun to take a lookat that and reflect from the 1.0
edition how many of thosethings came to fruition and what
(24:45):
those changes looked like.
It's like a time capsule, andso it's just.
I love futurists, I love peoplethat are looking ahead, saying
how might our future change andwhat will that all look like?
Right?
So one theme, for example, ischurn.
When you have people movinginto a community, you have
people moving out of thecommunity.
You say we had a net growth ornet loss of this many.
But when you talk about culture, you have this many individuals
(25:07):
with a new culture, vision,expectation, belief system
coming in, and then you alsohave this many people leaving.
What made that tapestry of yourcommunity right, and so we call
that churn.
But ultimately it's not just netfive, it's a whole set of
values coming in and a whole setof values leaving, and how that
changes the landscape of yourcommunity, because you can't be
(25:27):
so remote and nomad and go allthese places.
So how are chambers of commercepreparing for that change and
shift in their community and howare they adapting?
We did a really fascinatingthing at the national conference
this year.
Raise your left hand if you'vegot people leaving your
community.
Raise your right hand if you'vegot people pouring into your
community and you knew which onewe had.
And some were both, some wereboth.
But here in Florida, andparticularly here in Naples,
(25:49):
with such desirable livingqualities of life, we have a lot
of people moving into ourcommunity and so again, just
kind of how we're adapting that.
So I think it's how chambers ofcommerce in general are
reshaping the value we'reproviding to our members forward
thinking, future thinking,community impact organizations,
introduction of technology andnew things AI I mean it's huge,
(26:10):
that's funny, did you see?
Jennifer Johnson (26:12):
I wrote down AI because I'm like I bet that
came up in that conversation.
There's no way that it didn't.
Kristina Park (26:16):
Absolutely, absolutely.
So what is AI going to do tothe business climate?
How are we getting ourbusinesses future ready?
How are we leveraging the powerof AI?
How are we protecting some of,maybe, the potential unintended
consequences of AI?
How are we teaching people howto be prompt?
What is the right word?
But ultimately you're learninghow to utilize AI.
(26:37):
Prompt engineering, thank you.
Prompt engineering, right.
And so how we're preparing ourbusinesses to do that.
We've got some fantastic expertsAgain Small Business
Development Center that will beteaching classes on this yeah
community, specifically, whenyou want to talk about the next
five and 10 years.
In our community we're seeingexpanding support, you know, for
these technology driven things.
(26:58):
We're attracting entrepreneursand remote workers.
How are we fostering all ofthat here in our footprint and
then just recognizing thecounter side of that?
How are we creating housingaffordability and how are we
ensuring the workforce is herefor the things that are not
remote?
It's going to be that balanceof the pros and cons and how
we're kind of managing bothsides of those things in the
five and 10 years to come.
Jennifer Johnson (27:17):
Right, there's so much to think about when you
look at.
I bet it's so cool to look backat the other.
You know the 1.0 that youlooked at and, yes, like you
said, what did we achieve orwhere are we at?
Kristina Park (27:30):
from that.
I bet that's so cool it reallyis.
And yeah, again, justbrainstorming where we could be
in five and 10 years when youthink about where we've come in
the last five and 10 years, howmuch things have changed 10
years from now and how we'repredicting that and getting
ahead of it so we can help ourbusinesses get ahead of it.
Jennifer Johnson (27:44):
I just I have to think of, you know, like back
in the long, long long time ago, how did they really move as
fast as we're moving now?
You, how did they really moveas fast as we're moving now?
You know, like I feel in thelast, the last five years, we've
probably made 20 years ofprogress in five years with
technology alone.
Like, did they have that backthen?
(28:04):
Did they feel?
Kristina Park (28:05):
the same way.
That's a good point, I guess,with new and you don't know, you
don't know, and new andinnovative.
But the pace certainly feels,feels like we're just Expedited?
Jennifer Johnson (28:15):
It does, it does.
Am I missing anything else thatyou want our listeners to know
about the chamber?
Kristina Park (28:18):
Ultimately, just the welcome invitation to get
involved.
I mean, at the end of the day,if you weren't aware of what a
chamber did, this intrigued you.
This made you pause for amoment and say I wonder if
there's help they could provide,because this is what's keeping
me up at night, or even I needto make sure they know that this
is what's keeping me up atnight, because they didn't touch
on that.
It's the open invitation andwelcome to become part of what
we're up to.
And so, whether you're in thiscommunity or listening remotely
(28:41):
in another community, Iencourage you to take another
look at your local chamber ofcommerce and all the value they
can provide, not just for yourbusiness and your everyday
operational business needs, theconnections they can make for
you that you otherwise wouldnever have had.
And then, ultimately, are theydriving the community in the
direction of the place that youwant to live in the long run,
creating those sustainable plansfor the future.
So I just invite you to beinspired to look into your local
(29:04):
chamber of commerce and becomepart of what they're up to.
Jennifer Johnson (29:06):
And I agree with that 100%.
I know I'm so thankful that Igot involved in the Greater
Naples Chamber because it is aspecial organization and they do
great things Well we'regrateful for you and all the
time you give to help make itthat way.
If our listeners are intriguedand they want to reach out to
you, how can they do so?
Kristina Park (29:24):
Absolutely, I'm happy to connect.
So, Kristina K-R-I-S-T-I-N-A atnapleschamberorg, find me on
LinkedIn Happy to connect thereas well.
And then again, ultimately,just the open invitation to
connect with our offices andfind out more about how we can
help you be part of thecommunity and the things we're
building.
Thank you so much.
Thank you so much.
You've probably heard of Chambers of
Commerce, but do you really knowwhat they do?
These powerhouse organizationsare the unsung hero of local
economies, fostering growth,advocating for businesses and
connecting entrepreneurs andopportunities.
In this podcast, we'll explorehow Chambers of Commerce shape
local business landscapes, thevital services they provide to
(00:22):
members, from networking toprofessional development, real
stories of businesses that haveflourished with Chamber support,
and the impact of Chambers onpolicymaking and community
development.
Whether you're a seasonedbusiness owner, an aspiring
entrepreneur or simply curiousabout what makes your local
economy tick, we will give youvaluable insights into this
(00:44):
essential organization.
Today, we welcome into thestudio Kristina Park.
She is the CEO of the GreaterNaples Chamber.
Thank you so much for having me.
I am so excited to dive intothis because I know a lot of
people are like well, yeah,doesn't every town have a
chamber, but I don't know whatthey do.
Are they like the welcome wagonPeople?
(01:05):
I don't know what they do.
Are they like the welcome?
Kristina Park (01:05):
wagon Right, right.
Jennifer Johnson (01:06):
Like people honestly may not know.
So, before we get into that,what is it that inspired you to
become part of the GreaterNaples Chamber?
Kristina Park (01:17):
Absolutely so.
I've always been an advocatefor business.
I grew up watching my father'san entrepreneur right, running
different kinds of businessesfrom all different types of
industries, so I've alwayssupported business owners and
community growth and development.
Right, we're a community impactorganization, and so what
attracted me to the greaterNaples chamber was the this,
this community, is something soexceptional, right, and I heard
(01:37):
that before I moved.
I'm seeing that andexperiencing that now that I've
relocated here, which has been arather recent, recent, but
there's so much opportunityahead to support these
businesses.
It is well known it is namedthe top place to live in the USA
just this last year for so manyamazing reasons.
So how do we protect andpreserve what makes it so
special as we grow?
And so I think just theopportunity to support the
(02:01):
businesses that make up ourecosystem and drive this
community forward again while weprotect and preserve and grow
wisely just really intrigued meabout the opportunity to
relocate here.
Jennifer Johnson (02:12):
I'm glad that you said grow wisely, because
not a lot of people, I think,would connect the dots that a
chamber.
That's part of what they do.
They make sure that thecommunity is growing responsibly
and thoughtfully to make surethat it's not a smattering of
(02:32):
things.
Kristina Park (02:33):
Right, right.
And so we have three pillars ofour organization.
We have our economicdevelopment efforts, called the
partnership.
We have the chamber of commerceand our member services that we
provide there, and then we haveleadership, call your
foundation.
So our all of our programmingthat goes along with fostering
leaders and developing leadersin our community.
And so the, the, those threework directly in concert with
(02:54):
one another to produce theleaders that are going to be
driving our economic developmentand supporting our member
businesses.
Right, so they work totally inconcert.
But, to your point, it's soimportant to understand, when
you're making a decision, howdoes this impact this part of
our community, that part of ourcommunity?
So all that we can do toeducate and understand, because
we are able to move forwardcollectively and collaboratively
(03:15):
when we understand thoseimpacts.
So we sit right at the nexus ofall of those opportunities to
help educate and move thatneedle forward right, lead
collaboration and curateconsensus towards where we're
headed.
Jennifer Johnson (03:28):
So you touched on leadership and it sounds.
It's so intriguing because Idon't know if other chambers
have this, so I want to expoundon that a little bit.
But the leadership program yes.
So the leadership programfosters the growth of these
leaders that then fall intoplace throughout your community.
Do other chambers have that, oris that just inherent to our
(03:49):
chamber?
Kristina Park (03:50):
They do so it's not always under a chamber of
commerce.
There are many chambers that dohost something of this nature,
and they just have varyingdegrees.
What is so intriguing andexceptional about the Leadership
Collier Foundation is they'reoffering it at many different
levels.
We've got our high schoolprogram, designed to make sure
that those that are headed tocollege understand the beautiful
parts of the community, even ifthey're from here.
(04:11):
They may never have known, sothey want to come back and
return and bring their talentsback home once they finish their
studies.
We've got our AssociateLeadership Collier for our
emerging leaders and we've gotour traditional Leadership
Collier program and we partnerwith the Greater Naples
Leadership who's for ourseasoned professionals in the
market and so having so manylayers, and then you incorporate
the leadership skillsdevelopment components as well
(04:32):
through our leadership lunchesand some leadership training
opportunities that we have.
Jennifer Johnson (04:35):
So, yes, many chambers may have them, but I
the the how robust this one isto service such a variety of
audiences and really recognizethat true leadership skills
development starts early, andlet's just foster that spirit
throughout and I love that,because starting out young with
somebody I mean, I moved here,obviously, when I was a lot
older, but a young kid notknowing what their community
(05:01):
offers and you're showcasingthat for them how cool is that?
Because then they can go.
Oh, I can see where I can fitinto this economy or this
community once I graduate fromcollege or once I graduate from
high school.
It helps them plug themselvesin a little bit better.
Kristina Park (05:19):
Well, and having the diversity of perspective so
that we're shaping an inclusivecommunity right.
I mean, we're not justservicing the CEOs of major
corporations that may sit in aboardroom leading certain
initiatives.
It is all of these ages thatwe're trying to ensure that
we're creating a livablecommunity for, and so we call
them our emerging leaders, ourleaders of tomorrow, but they're
(05:40):
leaders of today.
They're leading in theircircles of influence, and our
job is to just help give themthe toolkit necessary to allow
them to be the best possibleleader in our community.
Jennifer Johnson (05:51):
That is so great.
You're fostering this growth soyoung.
Now, how has your vision forthe organization evolved since
you started, because you haven'tbeen here for that long, but
how has it changed and how areyou seeing?
Kristina Park (06:05):
things.
So I just think, managingopportunity I mean there's so
much opportunity within thosethree pillars of how they again
work and orchestrate with oneanother and then what this
community needs may be whatthese community needs are Again,
protecting, preserving whatmakes us special, deciding where
we're headed.
You know, Chambers of Commercecan have mission creep.
I saw interesting right.
(06:26):
If you've ever seen Lion King,they hold up.
You know everything in thelight touches.
Is your job description right?
I mean the Chamber of Commerce.
We get calls for everything.
I'm sure you do, because you'rethe go-to.
Jennifer Johnson (06:35):
We're the go-to.
You're the welcoming committeeto the town Sure and so that's
part of it, right.
Kristina Park (06:46):
And so because we're recognized as that nexus
of all things.
But we don't have to provideall those services directly,
necessarily.
We have to be that central hubof resources, right?
So this morning I had anopportunity to work with our
Small Business DevelopmentCenter, based out of FGCU.
Talk about a fantastic resource, and so why would we duplicate,
why would we try to step into aspace where we're not the
absolute experts?
Let's partner with those thatare, refer back and forth.
(07:06):
So ultimately, I think justwe're creating some dynamics
about what I would say is ourecosystem and our atmosphere.
Who are we, what do we providedirectly?
And then who is in ouratmosphere that we can help
partner, collaborate, form thosepartnerships with?
Jennifer Johnson (07:22):
to refer back and forth Right, it creates the
biggest impact and, like yousaid, not duplicating efforts
for certain.
So how do you, as a chamber,measure your impact that you're
having on your community?
Kristina Park (07:39):
So it's qualitative and quantitative
right.
I mean we're.
We want to see membershipgrowth because we recognize that
we're providing value to moreand more on a consistent basis
and continually growing thatmembership.
But engagement is a huge partof that too.
Right, you can write your checkand never show up and send it
every you know, and there aresome businesses that that is
their desire.
They want to invest in anorganization like ours that they
recognize is doing this workfull time to move that needle
forward.
And so engagement looksdifferent for all of our members
(08:02):
but seeing that we're providingprogramming that they find is
valuable, creating and fosteringmeaningful connections in the
right types of settings andshowcasing our member businesses
.
So it's a combination of bothquantitative and qualitative.
We get that through survey workand a lot of anecdotal and then
often, you know, I think ourbest note of success is when we
get those referrals fromexisting members who are happy
(08:24):
and satisfied and seeing valuein their membership and saying
to others you've got to go whereI've run to get value.
Jennifer Johnson (08:30):
So, on that note, success stories, yes, of
people that have worked with thechamber, been chamber members,
you know.
Can you share one with us Like,oh man, there's so many, to
narrow it down.
Kristina Park (08:42):
Well, I mean, I think that the first two that
come to mind.
So one is a connection, one isa resource element, right?
So we had a digital marketingfirm and a tech company that
were able to team up and createbetter visibility for both of
their organizations because theywere stronger together, right.
And then we have stories, likeI heard at our recent member
showcase, where an individualcame to me and said if not for
you and your organization duringCOVID, I would have gone under.
(09:03):
But it was because of theresources and direction that you
provided, the input, theconnections with those that were
forging a similar path that Iwas able to even sustain and
keep my business open.
So stories like that are justtremendous and I think you could
share a lot of insight with me.
Actually, right, you're anactive member of our
organization, you're a businessowner, you're an author, You're
(09:24):
a mother, you're connected andyou're giving back to our
community.
What is it that you foundvaluable?
Jennifer Johnson (09:29):
through our organization.
Well, what I found valuable isthe connections.
Just going to the events thatthe chamber puts on has been
invaluable, because I'veconnected with and sat next to
people that never in my wildestdreams would I ever have thought
that I'd be even in the sameroom with and that's big it is.
(09:51):
You know whether it's I wouldfeel like, oh, I don't think I
could be in the same room asthat person or I just wasn't
near them, like it was aconnector.
Sure, you know, it is aconnector for me and that's
important.
And it also provides educationfor me in the realm of many
(10:11):
different.
Well, we've got this thing.
This person's coming in tospeak on this or whatever
Valuable information that, as abusiness owner, is important,
absolutely Well, we've got thisthing.
This person's coming in tospeak on this or whatever
Valuable information that, as abusiness owner, is important.
Kristina Park (10:19):
Absolutely Well, that's just it right.
I mean, you've gotten where youare because of your own grace
and grit.
That has led you to be sosuccessful.
But we're just trying to createthose platforms for connection
and opportunity andcollaboration and bringing
people together.
They all care about thiscommunity we have a shared
vision for where we want it togo and the pro-business advocacy
work we're doing to make surethat you can focus on running
your business and we can makesure that you have the right
(10:41):
path and platform for that andthen ultimately, you know just
if people are able to utilize itas a platform for connection
and education.
Jennifer Johnson (10:49):
Advocacy.
You just touched on it.
So I hear so much that chambersadvocate for the businesses.
What does that look like?
Are you up at not Capitol Hill,but at our Capitol talking to
lawmakers?
What does advocacy for themembers look like?
Kristina Park (11:09):
in small business .
Yeah, so we do a lot at thelocal and state level and then
we do partner with largerChamber of Commerce
conglomerates that we are partof members of, with our U
chamber um, the association ofchamber of commerce executives,
to advocate for pro-businesspolicy at the national level
Okay, so it goes above andbeyond what you could do locally
or statewide.
It does, it does, and so thereyou know.
(11:30):
Advocacy is about um, theunification of voices and coming
to collectively to address anissue, and educating our
policymakers on impact right.
They're expected to be theexpert on all things which is
just unrealistic for anyindividual and so our hope is to
become that go-to for ourelected officials when they're
going to make a decision thatimpacts business.
(11:51):
They're picking up the phoneand they're saying where's the
Chamber of Commerce in thisconversation?
How are they helping to gatherthe input of the members that
we're going to impact by makingthis decision?
And then ultimately, if thingsare progressing and you,
business owner, are busy runningyour business, we're watching
to understand what is going tobe on that agenda, what
conversations are taking placewhere we need to have the
business voice be heard and, asthese things kind of come down
(12:13):
the pike, that we're able toadvocate on behalf of our member
businesses again, both a lot ofthe local, you know, kind of
county level, and then at thestate level as well.
Jennifer Johnson (12:21):
That's great Because, yes, we are doing.
We're staying in our lane asbusiness owners doing what we're
supposed to be doing.
It's hard for us to payattention to all the stuff
that's happening out there thatcan affect our business and a
lot of times does and then onthe backside of it, we don't
know what to do.
If it actually you know, ifit's a law that goes into place
(12:41):
or whatever, you guys are on theforefront of it, and that's our
job.
Kristina Park (12:45):
We're just going to watch what's coming down the
pike, what could be happening.
And again, we want to kind offlip the script on that and
become the go-to resource forour elected officials and
partners in government on staffto understand that we can help
get the input from the businesscommunity and that this is what
their needs are so they can dobusiness effectively.
Jennifer Johnson (13:04):
That's awesome because you're out there
advocating for all of us.
That's so great.
So what role?
We've already talked aboutconnecting and all of that
networking.
Know networking essentially,but what role does the chamber
play in attracting newbusinesses to the area in which
they're at, you know, as a whole?
(13:25):
How does that piece fit intowhat a chamber does so different
?
Kristina Park (13:30):
organizations like mine are different across
the country.
Some have economic developmentunder their umbrella, like we do
, Some do not, and they partnerwith that private or
public-private partnership ofeconomic development resources.
And so here in Naples it ispart of our purview.
We focus a lot on retention andgrowth of our existing
businesses and making sure thatthey have the proper environment
to do business well.
And then there's an element ofunderstanding you want to
(13:52):
relocate your business here andlet us be that go-to resource to
help you do so.
What is the regulatoryenvironment?
How do I get connected with theright you know, maybe
potentially brick and mortarspace that I'll be needing?
How do I expedite permittingand who do I talk with?
And so ultimately, we want tocut the red tape and roll out
the red carpet for those thatare interested in coming to our
community right, and so helpthem, make that a positive
(14:12):
experience and then justunderstand who we are so they
can be successful.
Not every business is going tobe a fit in every community
right, and so what we have thatI love about this area we call
it the Rodeo Drive effectUltimately, do you fit our
tapestry Sure, and will you havethe opportunity to be
successful in our footprint?
Because this is who we are,this is what we value as a
community, and we'd love towelcome you in with open arms
(14:34):
and make sure that you'repopular and successful and
well-supported and all of thosethings.
So part of that is just helpingto understand their business
model and how it fits theculture of any community so it
can help perpetuate the culturethat has been established here,
and that's part of thatpreserving what makes us so
special.
Jennifer Johnson (14:49):
Yeah, and I go back to that.
It all points back to makingsure that you have the right mix
of businesses within yourcommunity and down here in
Florida we are very seasonal andit's so great because you can
look at a business and be like,okay, well, I know that they can
bring year-round jobs to thearea and that, I would imagine,
(15:12):
is a pretty important aspect.
Kristina Park (15:14):
I'm really grateful that you touched on the
seasonality, because I've beento many markets across our
country where they didn't keepan eye on that and the
seasonality created a situationwhere individuals can't afford
to become homeowners or can'tafford to live there full time.
They're six months here, sixmonths there because it is so
seasonal and so building in thatyear round sustained business
recognizing hospitality is ournumber one sector.
(15:35):
Tourism is huge here in thegreater Naples area and so
helping support our conventionand visitor bureau to tell that
message to come visit us inthose shoulder seasons, for all
of these wonderful reasons,right and um, so we want to help
fill the gaps of theseasonality and create less
seasonality, uh, so that we cansupport our business community
year round.
Jennifer Johnson (15:53):
I definitely agree with that, you know.
But is that ever with bringingin a new business to somewhere
that is seasonal?
Is that?
Does a new company look at thatin a positive or a negative
light?
Kristina Park (16:11):
I think it depends on the nature of their
business, right?
If you're here designed tosupport the locals versus
support the visitors, and who,who is your target audience?
What type of service are youproviding?
We're seeing a huge trend ingrowth.
I don't know.
We'll talk about that later.
We'll talk about the next fiveand 10 years for organizations
like ours but, where you canlive anywhere, but you may want
to choose to live in paradise.
Right and so you are a remoteworker and you want to relocate
(16:32):
here.
You're a company that has a hubbut not a physical brick and
mortar, that the seasonalitydoesn't impact you as much.
So that's part of the guidancewe try to do on the front end of
understanding welcoming a newbusiness is do you understand
the seasonality of our market toensure you're going to be
successful and you set your paceand expectations and perform a
business plans accordingly?
Jennifer Johnson (16:51):
And I'm glad we were talking about this,
because I was just having thisconversation with someone else.
We're a special place in that.
Again, yes, seasonality is veryimportant.
A lot of people I'm going intobusiness, I'm opening a business
, this is what I'm doing andthey don't think about the
(17:13):
seasonality.
And that's what gets them introuble.
Because you've got, you knowyou're making your money when
it's in season and you have topreserve that to get you through
your summer until we startgetting those snowbirds or the
seasonal residents back intotown.
Absolutely, but people don'talways think about that, and so
that's where you know thechamber is like hey, this is
(17:34):
what we're like here.
Kristina Park (17:36):
Yeah, I mean, you can read the business books,
you can write the plans, you canhave been successful in
business for so long.
If you miss that element, itcould be game changer.
And so we want to make surethat those that are relocating
again understand timing,understand the cadence of our,
of our visitation, so that theycan be successful for a long
time.
Jennifer Johnson (17:52):
So a burning question that I've had for a
while is how does a chamber andyou can answer this generally or
you can answer it specificallyhow does a chamber balance the
needs of the small business andthe large corporation that may
be in the area of that chamber?
Kristina Park (18:13):
So you said it earlier, right, a successful
community has a blend of bothand they have different needs,
and so our goal or aim or effort, our focus, is recognizing that
there are differences in needsand understanding how to service
those, because we recognizethat the mix of both creates
success.
So it's not one's better thanthe other, it's how are we going
to create an inclusiveenvironment in which both types
(18:36):
of businesses can thrive, theycan get the connections that
they need, all of those things.
And so you'll see that ourprogramming, both from an
education perspective, fromnetworking and even advocacy, is
geared to recognizing thedifferences in the needs.
There you'll see programmingfrom us morning, noon and night,
for a reason you know.
I know you and I have spokenabout.
Like, entrepreneurs are up inthe middle of the night doing
(18:57):
things.
Where is our digitalprogramming that they can do on
demand, right?
So, just being responsive to theneeds, and a huge part of that
is improving our feedbackmechanisms.
We do some survey work, we havesome anecdotal conversations,
all the different pathways wecan create because we are a
member based business, we arehere to serve the needs of our
members, which means we betterknow the needs of our members,
right, and how are we gettingthat and how are we continuing
(19:18):
to improve those pathways andopportunities.
We have a great robustambassador program.
So alongside our staff we havea collection of dedicated
volunteers that know ourbusiness model well and they are
out becoming that conduitbetween us and the member,
collecting more stories,experiencing their businesses
and having a chance to bringthat feedback to us.
So I will say our doors arealways open and we are aiming to
(19:41):
just collect as much input aswe can so that we can shape our
programmatic elements around theneeds of our businesses, and
I've seen the ambassadors atwork and it's more than you know
.
Jennifer Johnson (19:52):
When you think of a chamber, you think of all
the ribbon cutting, the bigscissors, the ribbon right.
It's so much more than that,because those ambassadors are
not just doing the ribboncutting, they are, but on the
outset of that, they're outthere saying, hey, are you a
member of the chamber?
Right, this is what the chambercan do for you.
I'm a member of the chamber.
Kristina Park (20:12):
They're out there talking about the chamber,
which I think is so great yeahbeing ambassadors for what it is
that we do and all the workthat we're trying to do, and I'm
with you.
I mean, once upon a time it wasopen a business, join the
chamber of commerce.
That was linear, that's justwhat you did Right, and that is
not the expectation anymore.
I mean, ultimately, I can getmy networking in certain places,
I can get my marketing donecertain ways Right, but, and so
(20:35):
how we redefine the role of achamber of commerce?
Even chambers themselves preCOVID thought of themselves as
event planning organizations.
Jennifer Johnson (20:43):
Really, and since I've recognized.
Kristina Park (20:45):
we're community impact organizations.
I mean we are taking thatholistic view of how it's going
to affect business and resident.
We're advocating forpro-business policy and the
business needs and againcreating a livable community.
Our vision is economicopportunity for all right and so
while some are thriving, someare surviving.
And we recognize that there'sdisparities and we are trying to
work to ensure that the risingtide floats all boats and then
(21:09):
ultimately, you know so achamber of commerce really is
that nexus with the for-business, not-for-profit I'm sorry for
profit, not for profitgovernment entities kind of the
lead collaborator.
Jennifer Johnson (21:23):
I never really thought of the chamber thinking
of themselves as an eventplanning business, but now that
you mention it, Right, you saychamber of commerce.
Kristina Park (21:28):
sometimes it conjures up a certain
perspective in one's mind aboutthe ribbon cutting or the
networking event, and so, toyour point, it's educating that
it goes beyond so much more.
I didn't know what a chamber ofcommerce was until I got into
this line of work, believe it ornot.
I came from a tourism marketingbackground and I fell in love
with the business stories, andthe reason I did what I did was
to bring more visitors, toinfuse more economic resources
(21:48):
to support the businesses sothey could have the livelihood
that I fell in love with whenthey told me their story.
And so a partner of mine cameand said have you ever thought
about working for a chamber ofcommerce?
Because, in addition to themarketing opponent, this is
everything else they do and itwas the advocacy piece that
really got my attention.
Jennifer Johnson (22:04):
So we've been talking about you know small
business.
We've been talking about bigbusiness.
What about the solopreneur?
Because you had touched on,business has changed a lot and
so on and so forth, and you canwork from anywhere.
So there's a lot of thosepeople Do.
Chambers of commerce support asolopreneur.
Kristina Park (22:27):
So it varies, and I will say, having kind of an
individualized membership is notnecessarily a common thing.
I say, exceptions are made inexceptional situations.
Jennifer Johnson (22:36):
And we have an exceptional community.
Kristina Park (22:39):
We have an exceptional community, and so,
to your point, here we havesignificant number of retirees
that have chosen to live inparadise.
And we have the solopreneursthat can work from anywhere, and
so we've created a newmembership level called an
individual community contributor, because ultimately, they care
about the direction of theircommunity and they want to
contribute to the vision and theexecution of how we're going to
get there, and so, while thatmay not be common for all
(23:00):
businesses or, I'm sorry, allchambers of commerce, it is
something that we value, andwe're really excited to engage
more solopreneurs in the workthat we're doing.
Jennifer Johnson (23:09):
That's so great because we do live in
paradise, we do.
And so many people I havetalked to are like well, I'm
kind of a nomad, I can work fromanywhere and so now I'm hanging
my hat here for the next twoyears or whatever, and then they
end up staying Right, but theywant to be just as plugged in as
anyone else.
Kristina Park (23:29):
Absolutely, absolutely, and that's just.
It is, you know.
Again back to the individualcomponent, whether they're
solopreneurs or they work for alarge corporation.
I mean, we have the Googles,and you know some of the large
businesses that are national orinternational have
representation here.
Google's not joining thechamber of commerce for every
one of their community'semployees, but, to your point,
those individuals still careabout having helping to drive
(23:50):
success in our community wherethey live, and so we want to
give them the pathway to do that.
Jennifer Johnson (24:02):
That's great.
So, looking ahead five, 10years, what do you see as the
biggest opportunities andchallenges that chambers and the
members of the chamber face?
Kristina Park (24:08):
Sure so chambers of commerce in general.
I think helping get theirbusinesses future ready is a
huge part of it.
With the National Associationof Chamber Executives, we create
a plan called the HorizonInitiative where we're taking a
look at what are the trendscoming in the next 10 years.
Jennifer Johnson (24:23):
And that's on a national level.
Kristina Park (24:24):
It's on a national level.
Okay, what are the trendsnationally in the next 10 years
affecting the business communityand our business owners?
What are some of these themes?
So that we can then take thatto our community and right size
it to our community and theirneeds.
And so we're creating HorizonInitiative 2.0.
It's really fun to take a lookat that and reflect from the 1.0
edition how many of thosethings came to fruition and what
(24:45):
those changes looked like.
It's like a time capsule, andso it's just.
I love futurists, I love peoplethat are looking ahead, saying
how might our future change andwhat will that all look like?
Right?
So one theme, for example, ischurn.
When you have people movinginto a community, you have
people moving out of thecommunity.
You say we had a net growth ornet loss of this many.
But when you talk about culture, you have this many individuals
(25:07):
with a new culture, vision,expectation, belief system
coming in, and then you alsohave this many people leaving.
What made that tapestry of yourcommunity right, and so we call
that churn.
But ultimately it's not just netfive, it's a whole set of
values coming in and a whole setof values leaving, and how that
changes the landscape of yourcommunity, because you can't be
(25:27):
so remote and nomad and go allthese places.
So how are chambers of commercepreparing for that change and
shift in their community and howare they adapting?
We did a really fascinatingthing at the national conference
this year.
Raise your left hand if you'vegot people leaving your
community.
Raise your right hand if you'vegot people pouring into your
community and you knew which onewe had.
And some were both, some wereboth.
But here in Florida, andparticularly here in Naples,
(25:49):
with such desirable livingqualities of life, we have a lot
of people moving into ourcommunity and so again, just
kind of how we're adapting that.
So I think it's how chambers ofcommerce in general are
reshaping the value we'reproviding to our members forward
thinking, future thinking,community impact organizations,
introduction of technology andnew things AI I mean it's huge,
(26:10):
that's funny, did you see?
Jennifer Johnson (26:12):
I wrote down AI because I'm like I bet that
came up in that conversation.
There's no way that it didn't.
Kristina Park (26:16):
Absolutely, absolutely.
So what is AI going to do tothe business climate?
How are we getting ourbusinesses future ready?
How are we leveraging the powerof AI?
How are we protecting some of,maybe, the potential unintended
consequences of AI?
How are we teaching people howto be prompt?
What is the right word?
But ultimately you're learninghow to utilize AI.
(26:37):
Prompt engineering, thank you.
Prompt engineering, right.
And so how we're preparing ourbusinesses to do that.
We've got some fantastic expertsAgain Small Business
Development Center that will beteaching classes on this yeah
community, specifically, whenyou want to talk about the next
five and 10 years.
In our community we're seeingexpanding support, you know, for
these technology driven things.
(26:58):
We're attracting entrepreneursand remote workers.
How are we fostering all ofthat here in our footprint and
then just recognizing thecounter side of that?
How are we creating housingaffordability and how are we
ensuring the workforce is herefor the things that are not
remote?
It's going to be that balanceof the pros and cons and how
we're kind of managing bothsides of those things in the
five and 10 years to come.
Jennifer Johnson (27:17):
Right, there's so much to think about when you
look at.
I bet it's so cool to look backat the other.
You know the 1.0 that youlooked at and, yes, like you
said, what did we achieve orwhere are we at?
Kristina Park (27:30):
from that.
I bet that's so cool it reallyis.
And yeah, again, justbrainstorming where we could be
in five and 10 years when youthink about where we've come in
the last five and 10 years, howmuch things have changed 10
years from now and how we'repredicting that and getting
ahead of it so we can help ourbusinesses get ahead of it.
Jennifer Johnson (27:44):
I just I have to think of, you know, like back
in the long, long long time ago, how did they really move as
fast as we're moving now?
You, how did they really moveas fast as we're moving now?
You know, like I feel in thelast, the last five years, we've
probably made 20 years ofprogress in five years with
technology alone.
Like, did they have that backthen?
(28:04):
Did they feel?
Kristina Park (28:05):
the same way.
That's a good point, I guess,with new and you don't know, you
don't know, and new andinnovative.
But the pace certainly feels,feels like we're just Expedited?
Jennifer Johnson (28:15):
It does, it does.
Am I missing anything else thatyou want our listeners to know
about the chamber?
Kristina Park (28:18):
Ultimately, just the welcome invitation to get
involved.
I mean, at the end of the day,if you weren't aware of what a
chamber did, this intrigued you.
This made you pause for amoment and say I wonder if
there's help they could provide,because this is what's keeping
me up at night, or even I needto make sure they know that this
is what's keeping me up atnight, because they didn't touch
on that.
It's the open invitation andwelcome to become part of what
we're up to.
And so, whether you're in thiscommunity or listening remotely
(28:41):
in another community, Iencourage you to take another
look at your local chamber ofcommerce and all the value they
can provide, not just for yourbusiness and your everyday
operational business needs, theconnections they can make for
you that you otherwise wouldnever have had.
And then, ultimately, are theydriving the community in the
direction of the place that youwant to live in the long run,
creating those sustainable plansfor the future.
So I just invite you to beinspired to look into your local
(29:04):
chamber of commerce and becomepart of what they're up to.
Jennifer Johnson (29:06):
And I agree with that 100%.
I know I'm so thankful that Igot involved in the Greater
Naples Chamber because it is aspecial organization and they do
great things Well we'regrateful for you and all the
time you give to help make itthat way.
If our listeners are intriguedand they want to reach out to
you, how can they do so?
Kristina Park (29:24):
Absolutely, I'm happy to connect.
So, Kristina K-R-I-S-T-I-N-A atnapleschamberorg, find me on
LinkedIn Happy to connect thereas well.
And then again, ultimately,just the open invitation to
connect with our offices andfind out more about how we can
help you be part of thecommunity and the things we're
building.
Thank you so much.
Thank you so much.
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