Banners

I just purchased my Gurnee's Got It banner yesterday. Why? Because for $250, I get a banner on a busy Gurnee street for 1yr. Piggybacking on this marketing campaign is smart money in my opinion. I've spent more money on one day ads in the paper, or for weekly and monthly publications. This is for the full year! Check out www.gurneechamber.com and get yours!

October meeting

For those that missed the meeting, you missed out on a lot of relevant and exciting info about your chamber. Tony McFarland from Guidance Development, our web designer, went over our statistics for our web page. As you may or may not realize, the web page is one of the cornerstones of our benefits package to members. We set out to make the chamber web site a "top of the chart" Google site. In six short months we achieved our main objective and became the number one search hit in Google for the keywords "Gurnee Chamber".
Some key takeaway statistics that were mentioned today: 30,000 unique page views, 50% of our visitors were unique visitors, the average site visit lasted nearly 3 minutes, and we have a page ranking of 92 out of a possible 100.
For $150 fee, this has got to be one of the greatest values in web design ever!

How To Utilize Your Chamber

Like anything else being a part of a Chamber takes a little work. What you put into is what you get out of it. Here are a few tips on how to make the Chamber work for you.

1. Show up: Come a little early and stay a little later at meetings. Take the time to connect with people!

2. Follow up: After swapping business cards, make sure to follow up and meet with new people (and continue to stay connected to people you have met before.) Following up, doesn't necessarily mean an e-mail. Get to know that person, schedule coffee or lunch to really make a connection.

3. Build Relationships: Continue to keep in contact with the people you meet. You never know - what starts out as a business contact could turn into a great lead (or a great friend!)

4. Don't go to meetings with the intention to sell: Networking is a place for relationship building and making connections, not overbearing selling. Trying to sell at a meeting may turn people off. People want to get goods and services from people they have a relationship with and that they feel comfortable with. Let people get to know you first.

5. Practice your elevator speech (or positioning statement): You usually only have 30 seconds to get your word out. Utilize your time wisely and to the best of your best ability. Prepare a great statement that captures people (You may want to practice it at home). This introduction helps others remember you. It shows that you are knowledgeable and professional about the product or service you represent. If you are seeing the same people often, make them aware of new and interesting services. This may spark their interest.

6. Use humor: Introduce yourself with humor, listen to what others are saying and piggyback on something someone has said, or just be a little silly. This will show others you feel comfortable, are approachable, and will make you memorable.

7. Don't shy away from a meeting because of the size of the turn out or because you don't know anyone else that will be there: Sometimes not knowing anyone gives you the best opportunity to connect. People love to meet new people. As for the size of the group, sometimes you can make the best connections within small groups as things are more intimate You will have more time to focus on each other and more time to share about your businesses.

8. Don't let your competitive spirit show: Do not get frustrated with other people that show up that are in your same field of work. Take the time to meet them and learn from each other.

9. Join committees: Joining Chamber committees is a great way to get yourself more known in the community and to have a bigger say in your chamber. It is also a good way to give input for any ideas you may have.

10. Be enthusiastic: Show your interest in the people you meet, take the time to listen to others and remember that although meeting can be lots of fun, always be professional and respectful.

11. Invite others to check out the Chamber: Had to throw that one in, as spreading the word and helping your chamber grow benefits all!

The get more information on the Village of Gurnee Chamber of Commerce - please visit their website: www.gurneechamber.org

Cheryl Furstoss (Marketing Monkey/Send Out Cards)

This Is Your Chamber: Tell Us Your Thoughts

The Village of Gurnee Chamber is YOUR CHAMBER! This Chamber was built on the premise of having a Chamber that would focus and help grow the area businesses in Gurnee. We have now passed our first year anniversary and our looking for your input?

• How do you think the Chamber is doing so far
• What do you like about the Chamber
• Are there any changes you would like to see?
• Do you have any ideas for meetings or speakers?

This is your Chamber!

Member Spotlight: Salon Bliss

Village of Gurnee Chamber of Commerce

Member SpotLight

Salon Bliss

Owner: Lisa Ruley

Gurnee Town Center Mall

7075 Grand Ave. Gurnee, IL 60021

847-336-4554

Our first Village of Gurnee Chamber that was picked for our member Spotlight was Salon Bliss. I have personally been to this salon and have nothing but great things to say. They are always friendly, do a great job and yes, open on Sundays! Here is my interview with Lisa Ruley, owner of Salon Bliss. I hope you enjoy reading as much as I had finding out all about this salon in Gurnee.

Cheryl: What is something interesting about Salon Bliss that not many people would know?

Lisa: Our Mission is an Acronym Beauty-Love-Integrity-Serenity-Sharing which spells Bliss; I feel we truly try to work by that at Salon Bliss

Cheryl: How long have you been in business?

Lisa: Salon Bliss has been in business for 9 years and I have been in this industry for 27

Cheryl: What is the best way to get some specials or coupons for Salon Bliss?

Lisa: We try to get to get everyone’s e-mails so we can send them weekly e-mail specials

Cheryl: What are some interesting things about Salon Bliss that you would like to share with the Village of Gurnee Chamber members and those who follow this blog?

Lisa: We do a lot of donations! Especially in our community and our schools. We work with Woodland School District and give each child who receives a 3.0 or higher a discount card with a 10% discount. We also work with different issues primarily due to death or illness, for children’s organizations, and sporting events.

Lisa: Another interesting thing is that every year since we have been open we are in the Gurnee Days Parade. We have won a plaque for our float every year.

Cheryl: I have gone to the parade every single year since I moved here 14 years ago, and they always really do a great job!

Cheryl: What kinds of services do you offer at Salon Bliss?

Lisa: Our services include but are not limited to: full hair care, hair extensions, hair retexturizing, full nail care, nail enhancements, pedicures, full spa services, facials, massages, body treatments, microdermabrasions, and waxing.

Cheryl: What retail lines do your carry?

Lisa: Our retail line includes: Aveda, Aquage, L’Oreal Professional, Bumble & Bumble, Bioelements, Mirabella and OPI

Cheryl: When you walk in the Salon you also see some other “fun stuff”

Lisa: We have a great line of purses and jewelry that are designer inspired by Coach, Channel, Tiffany, and Juicy just to name a few.

Cheryl: Is Salon Bliss involved with any charities?

Lisa: We are involved every year in raising money for clean water and for breast cancer

Cheryl: Is there anything you would like to tell us about your employees?

Lisa: I think of my employees like family. Our clients too!

Cheryl: What can a customer expect when they come to your salon?

Lisa: We try to have a professional, classy, yet homey feeling in our salon

Thank you for sharing with us all about Salon Bliss. Lisa has included a coupon below for you to use at her salon. Please stop by and tell them you read about Salon Bliss on the Village of Gurnee Chamber Blog. From my personal experience, I can tell you that you will not be disappointed!

Print this page out and bring into Salon Bliss for 10% off one service.

Can not be combined with other specials. Limit one per customer.

Interview and blog by Cheryl Furstoss of Marketing Monkey

“Don’t go bananas…Get A Marketing Monkey”

One Year Down, ? to go.

It's official, the Gurnee Chamber completed it's first year. In case you haven't been following the progress, there's been plenty to celebrate. And celebrate we did! The annual celebration was held at Six Flags' Hurricane Harbor. The theme was of course an island luau theme to fit the location, and to fit the mood. After countless months of planning and strategizing, and one year of gathering members, it was time to let loose a bit.
In true chamber fashion, the cost of the event was a reasonable $45 per person, leaving virtually no profit for the chamber. The chamber is adamant about keeping costs low, and not being focused on fund raising. Attendees received an open buffet, draft beer and sodas, a souvenir cup, and a Hawaiian lei.
A 100% payback raffle was held; the winner taking home $400 for her efforts. Congrats Barb "Kay"! Of course there were other prizes. Six Flags kicked in 4 free tickets, KeyLime Cove Resort gave an overnight stay, Churchill Photography gave a $350 gift certificate, Scentsy donated a gift basket, Star Capital Management gave a free financial plan valued at $1000, Gurnee Flowers gave two arrangements, and TravelHost magazine gave tickets to SummerFest and the Renaissance Fair.
In addition to the prizes listed, there was a special prize of $50 given to the wearer of the ugliest Hawaiian shirt. It was well deserved in this case. Go get yourself another shirt!
The "formal" part of the evening (10 minutes in duration), was devoted to awarding the Business of the Year Award and the President's Award for distinguished service. Craig Hathaway from Churchill Photography took home top honors for Business of the Year, and Ken Lechman took home the President's Award. Congrats to both men for their dedication and hard work!
We of course are looking forward to another great year at the chamber, and who knows, maybe another luau to cap it off again!

May Meeting

The TribLocal was the headline speaker at our meeting this month. They have a great opportunity for businesses to post their own events and news stories. Members in attendance agreed that learning of these kinds of opportunities is one of the many benefits the Chamber is providing. We are moving ahead with our Shop Gurnee campaign, as plans are developing for the new program. Keep an eye out on the website for the updates. We are working closely with the Village of Gurnee to make the campaign a big success.
The official member count is at 135 and growing! Keep up the networking, and keep spreading the word. Email this blog link and/or our website to your friends and peers.