Professional Development

Time to Act

Sunshine, outdoor patios and summer break have been taking over my mind the last week or so.  It is so exciting to see people out and about, supporting our businesses and celebrating a return to the new normal.  I hope that you and your family are also enjoying all that summer has to offer.

But I also need to take over a small bit of your brain to think about action in the name of business.  We have a number of opportunities that are circulating throughout the community that are in need of...

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Continuing Thought Leader Speaker Series with Dan Heath

We are just a few days away from the 2019 Thought Leader Speaker Series. This signature event brings in nationally renowned authors, influencers and other leaders to share insights that will change the way you do business. This year, New York Times best-selling author, Dan Heath, returns to town, to speak of his latest book, The Power of Moments.

Here are the top reasons to attend the 2019 event:

Interact with one of America’s top business thinkers
Self- and/or professional developm...

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Nationally-Renowned Speaker Coming to Fort Collins

Here’s your deal of the year. On the morning of May 10, best-selling author Dan Heath will be at the Hilton in Fort Collins. Books he has co-authored with his brother, Chip, include: The Power of Moments: Why Certain Experiences Have Extraordinary Impact; Decisive: How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work; Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard; and Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die. Mr. Heath is a senior fellow at Duke University’s Center for the Advancement ...

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What Northern Colorado is doing to attract talented workforce

Finding talent continues to be one of the top two topics among business people in the Fort Collins area, with Interstate 25 being the other.

In February, a coalition of Larimer County business associations, government entities and the United Way presented a workforce plan titled Talent 2.0 Regional Workforce Strategy, Fort Collins-Loveland Metro Area. The partners included the Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce, city of For...

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Making Our Future

This morning I had an interesting conversation with a member who owns a manufacturing business. He came in to talk about the future of the region and how the various communities and economic development-type organizations in the area work together to promote Northern Colorado.

During our discussion, he made a point similar to one that I’ve made in the past: it’s great to be us, meaning Northern Colorado. Our robust economy is reflected in employment statistics. At 2.6% Colorado has the lo...

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Resources for Your Small Business

Should I open a business here or somewhere else? Do I have potential customers in this market? I think I'd like to expand my company but is that a good idea?

Even if you are a seasoned small business owner, your 'gut' will only take you so far. Sometimes there's no substitute for hard data.

A couple of weeks ago the U.S. Census Bureau introduced the Census Business Builder, which is a suite of services that you can customize to generate demographic and economic reports for geographic areas...

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Successful Moving Fort Collins Forward! Campaign Buys Impact and Quality

As you know from the update in today’s Chamber SmartBrief e-Weekly, the Chamber’s annual Moving Fort Collins Forward! campaign is over and was very successful. When the residual pledges and numbers finish coming in, campaign volunteers will have raised over $700,000 and recruited 100 new members in just 11 weeks. Very impressive!

But while we measure progress with numbers, what do they really mean?

First of all, as I’ve said in this space before, we don’t raise money for the sake o...

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Winners and Losers as Baby Boomers Retire

Last month the Chamber hosted Mark Lautman, author of the book When the Boomers Bail. I wrote about the book in a previous post, which you can find here. It was an interesting opportunity to hear first-hand from an expert on community economics and workforce / demographic changes.The very short version is that communities will be engaged in talent wars to find enough people with the skills for local employers. There will be winner and loser as companies cast their recruitmen...

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Great by Choice

Last Wednesday the community experienced one of those rare cultural events that will impact the community for years to come. That morning 1,050 people gathered at the Lincoln Center to see best-selling author Jim Collins. The audience included people from small businesses, large companies, area nonprofits, city and county government, law enforcement, and the school district.I don't remember the last time I was at an event with the CEO's of the leading companies in town, the ...

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Jim Collins, Tomorrow – Only 80 Tickets Remain

There are only 80 tickets remaining for tomorrow's event with best-selling author Jim Collins. Collins will be presenting at the Lincoln Center 9:30 - Noon. The auditorium seats 1,180 people so we are nearing sellout. If you want to attend, call 970-482-3746 or go online www.FortCollinsChamber.com....

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