Published in the December 24, 2014 – January 6, 2014 issue of Morgan Hill Life

By Erin Machado

Machado,Erin-web“I don’t have time to join the Chamber of Commerce,” is a common comment I hear when I approach businesses, but as the director of membership at the chamber, all I can say is: “How do you not have time to join?” The Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce is a dynamic, growing and exciting association with nearly 500 active member companies (more than 100 new members joined us in 2014).

More business for you: Consumers are more likely to do business with a company if it’s a member of their local chamber of commerce. According to the Shapiro Group, when consumers know that a business is a member of their local chamber of commerce; they are 63 percent more likely to purchase from that business.

Easy networking opportunities: We make networking easy. We sponsor the following meetings to help you get yourself and your business in front of key people and businesses in the community:

Weekly informal Monday lunches: Come have lunch at a different member restaurant each week where you might be sitting next to the Mayor or the owner of a local business that needs your specialty.

First Thursday of the month breakfast: Get updates from the city and the school board, hear about new members, and learn about what’s happening in Morgan Hill.

Third Thursday of the month mixer: Grab a glass of wine, sample some appetizers, and network with a hundred or so members.

“I like the networking opportunities and staying connected with the businesses in Morgan Hill,” said Jayne Perryman of Exit Realty. “I’ve picked up two clients from the Chamber of Commerce and am working to close home sales for both of them. If you have a business in Morgan Hill you really need to belong to the chamber.”

Member discounts and perks: We have a member-to-member discount program for you and your employees. You can see a full page of these offers on our website. We also have a bulk membership stamp that your business can use at no cost to save you 40 percent off mailing costs.

Web traffic: Our website www.morganhill.org gets more than 12,000 individual hits every month from people who are searching for everything from restaurants, to plumbers, to real estate agents. Each member business has a web page on our site. Once people start searching we get almost 50,000 clicks on our event listings and searches for businesses each month.

Help with advertising: We do ribbon cuttings and publish a directory that highlights your business and is delivered to every home and business in Morgan Hill with thousands more for hotels, restaurants, and visitors. We provide referrals for your business to the hundreds of people who walk in or call the office.

Are you ready to join? The cost starts at just $205 per year for a home-based business and $305 per year for a business with 10 or fewer employees. From there the cost is determined by the number of employees in your company.

The Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce has been in business for 60 years. We have grown up with the town. We are here to support you in growing your business, be your advocate to local government and help expand the economic development in our wonderful city of Morgan Hill.

Erin Machado is the director of membership for the Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce. Reach her at (408) 779-9444 or visit www.morganhill.org,