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West Hartford Chamber Blog

Welcome to the West Hartford Chamber of Commerce Blog! Check back here for updates on the Chamber and its Members. We will also curate a collection of articles, tips, and resources to assist you and your business.
Monday, April 15, 2024
25 Ways to Grow Your Email List

If you want to increase sales, you need to find a way to stay top-of-mind with your audience. An email list is one of the strongest, most versatile ways to do this. Your audience’s preferences on offers may vary so try several of these strategies and you’ll see subscribers (and sales) grow.

Christina Metcalf

Monday, April 8, 2024
Main Street Is Changing What the Remote Work Trend Means for Your Small Business

​Do you work from home, or do you have a brick-and-mortar business? While COVID taught us about the convenience of working from home (who can give up a one-minute commute?), it’s been the inflated economy and increase in costs that have driven many small businesses to embrace a location-independent business. That could mean a big change for communities over the next five years.

Christina Metcalf

Monday, April 1, 2024
Is This What’s Holding Back Your Sales?

Ask yourself a simple question—what’s holding your potential customers back from buying from you? You might think cost. Perhaps it’s ease of purchase (online ordering), location, or not knowing about you. But there could be something much easier to fix than cutting your prices, moving, or rebranding/launching a huge marketing campaign. While all these things are important—pricing, location, and top-of-mind recognition—there is something else you could be doing to get more people in your business. You

Christina Metcalf

Monday, March 25, 2024
If You’re a Gig Worker (or use them) You Need to Know This

If you’re a gig worker, or you use them in your business, it’s important that you are aware of recent legislation that went into effect this month.

Christina Metcalf

Tuesday, March 19, 2024
Are You Forgetting The Most Important Part of Hiring?

​Hiring is one of the costliest things you do as a business as it can leave you exposed and vulnerable. While a good hire can be a turning point in your business, a bad hire can leave you (and your employees) reeling. That’s why the interview and selection process are important. However, it’s what you do after that that will shape the employee and your team the most. No matter the size of your business, if you are bringing someone new on, you must consider the onboarding process.

Christina Metcalf

Monday, March 11, 2024
It’s Time for a Content Audit. No, Seriously.

I can already hear the groaning—nobody reads, nobody likes to write. While we can argue these points forever and ever, it’s probably been a while since you looked at your business’ website content. If your content is stale and doesn’t resonate with your target audience, you need to fix that stuff now—even if you think no one reads anymore.

Christina Metcalf

Monday, March 4, 2024
Turning Your Passion into Profit: A Short Guide to Transforming Your Hobby into a Business

Whether it’s part of a work/life balance personal initiative, an idea to follow your bliss, or you simply want to change things in your life, if you have a hobby you want to turn into a business, we have some advice for you. It can be a huge leap of faith moving from a steady paycheck to relying on others to buy from you. But it can be done successfully if you do your homework first. Going into business for yourself has the potential for personal and financial fulfillment. But it comes at great risk. For

Christina Metcalf

Monday, February 26, 2024
Become an Addictive Brand

​Does your morning begin post coffee? If so, then you know the importance of that routine (and caffeine addiction). Your morning just isn’t the same without it. You can create the same addiction to your business. It just requires a more carefully created artifice or brand. Without the help of caffeine or other addictive substance, you’ll need to use marketing and a persona that draws people in and makes them want to be a part of your business. Whether you are a company of one or 100, there are ways to

Christina Metcalf

Tuesday, February 20, 2024
Is It Time to Hand Over Your Brand to Your Customers?

For years now, marketers have touted word-of-mouth marketing as the most powerful, influential, and effective marketing out there. Business owners heeding this advice have begged, borrowed, and bribed people to review them. But it’s been an uphill battle for most. That’s because when customers have a good (or even great) experience, they are less likely to review a product or service than when they are disgruntled.

Christina Metcalf

Monday, February 12, 2024
Beyond Likes & Follows: Finding the Ideal Social Media Superhero for Your Business

Social media is a Hulk-size time suck, but it is also one of the most effective ways to connect with your audience. That’s also why it’s so dicey to freelance that kind of thing out. But there are a lot of really talented folks out there who can help you expand your reach and connect. You just have to find the right ones. And since everyone thinks they can post to social, there are a lot of ineffective people posing as social media superheroes. Here’s how you can separate the talent from the try-hards:

Christina Metcalf

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