August 26, 2019

Upcoming Events

Food Trucks on Main
08/30/2019
05:00 PM - 09:00 PM M
Spanish Fork Library Park
49 South Main St
Spanish Fork, Ut 84660

Farmer's Market
08/31/2019
08:00 AM - 01:00 PM M
40 South Main St
Spanish Fork, Ut 84660

Ribbon Cutting--Venue Sports Cards
09/05/2019
12:00 PM - 01:00 PM M

Chamber Office

Mon - Thur 9 am - 3 pm
67 E 100 N, Spanish Fork, Ut
801-798-8352
office@spanishforkchamber.com

Our Mission Statement


To PROMOTE a vibrant local economy, to PRODUCE collaborative business partners, and to SERVE as the voice of business in enhancing the Spanish Fork & Salem area.

3 Most Common Business Challenges and Ways to Slay Them

Christina R Green

Being a business owner has its rewards and its challenges. If you’ve been in business longer than a hot second, you’ve likely experienced both. Often the freedoms override the dissatisfaction, but if you find that the negatives are wearing on you, don’t get discouraged. The earlier you recognize the most common challenges of business ownership, the more likely you’ll be able to take them in stride.

3 Most Common Business Challenges and Ways to Slay Them

Hiring

This is one of the biggest decisions you’ll make as a business owner and it will color all areas of your business. The first challenge for most businesses when it comes to hiring is deciding when it’s time to hire the first employee or grow past the first employee.
 
After you make that decision to add headcount, deciding who that person will be is your next big challenge. If you hire poorly, you’ll be doing it again soon, or worse, it will affect morale if you already have more than one employee.
 
Tips for hiring well: know what you want and what you need in the position. Know the difference between both. Be logical in understanding what’s required of the position and whether the candidate has what it takes. Be honest about the job and its challenges, especially if you’re one of them.
 

Making Time for Yourself or Your Family

The problem with finding what you love and opening a business that helps you follow your passion is that you often don’t see it as work and you’ll spend an absurd amount of time thinking about it, dreaming of new idea, and planning next steps for your business. Even if you don’t feel like you need time for yourself, there are likely family and/or friends who want to see you.
 
Small business owners often neglect themselves and their loved ones because they are singularly focused on achieving success. Unlike working for someone else, when the success relies solely on you (at least in the beginning), it’s hard not to be obsessed with it.
 
Tips for making time for yourself (or at least those who love you): balance is essential in everything. Even if you’re enjoying yourself and don’t think of your work as work and you enjoy it, there are people in your life who want to spend time with you. It’s in your best interest to make sure your loved ones get that.
 
Schedule time to be with them as if it were an important meeting with your biggest client. One PR consultant I know promises to be home to the family every night by six so they can have dinner together. Her family knows they have her undivided attention for three hours. If she needs to go back to work after that, she does. But she never allows anything to take the place of those important hours.
 
Figure out what parts of your day work for you and then don’t schedule anything else for that time….ever.
 
 

Staying on Top of Your Industry and Tech

When you work for someone else, you likely have a manager giving you ideas for professional growth. Your company may pay for you to attend valuable conference sessions each year. They may purchase association and chamber memberships for you.
 
But when you are the business owner, there’s no one telling you what to stay on top of or what skills to develop in order to stay competitive. You have to decide that for yourself and find ways to accomplish this with your already full schedule.
 
Tips for continuing education and professional development: There are plenty of online options like Lynda and Udemy to take courses in areas of interest. You can also join the chamber and partake in their Noon Networking or other educational opportunities. Follow a few blogs in your areas of interest and read their posts over coffee every morning. Set up a Twitter account and follow people in your industry. You can use that social network as a way to scan what people are talking about in your niche.
 
If you’re a small business owner there are a lot of freedoms to enjoy and challenges to navigate. If you’re able to master these most common ones, you’ll be in a good position to take on additional obstacles as they surface.

Street Fair on Main

DownTown on Main

Downtown Spanish Fork, which we define as between 400 North to Center Street and 100 East and 100 West, has historically been the commercial center for Spanish Fork City. As the city continues to grow and develop, particularly in other areas of the community, downtown continues to play an important role in the economic well-being of the city as well as the the quality of life for the residents.

If you would like to fill out our survey to give your input about our DownTown area, you can do so HERE

Firefighter Combat Challenge

Noon Networking Luncheon


If you enjoyed listening to Congressman Curtis at our Noon Networking Luncheon last week, and would like to receive his newsletter, you can sign up to receive it HERE

Chamber Today Advertising




Would you like to advertise on our Chamber Today Television Show?  Our show is aired 6 times per week on SF17!

The cost for chamber members is only $75 ($100 for non-chamber members) for each 30 second commercial, per month you choose to advertise. 

If you do not have a commercial produced, you can talk to Pete Hansen with SF17 and he can help you out.  Pete can explain the costs involved with producing a commercial for your business.

You can watch our latest episode HERE
 

Chamber Champions

These businesses invest $2,500 or more each year to support the mission of the Spanish Fork & Salem Chamber of Commerce.

Weekly Newsletter - August 26, 2019