The Six Month Check-In

Staying On Top of Everything

We’ve made it to the 6 month mark which means only 6 months more until 2016 (unbelievable!!). The half-way mark is the perfect time for you to reflect on how your business has been performing the first part of the year. This month should be a “wake-up” call to motivate you to continue striving to accomplish your 2015 goals. The good news is, IT”S NOT TOO LATE, whatever your situation may be you are still in time to turn things around and end the year strong.

As a Chamber, we have accomplished many great things so far in 2015 and I would like to take a moment to share them with you as a way to encourage you to get involved and take advantage of our programs:

Winter Gala: Our Winter Gala was a sell-out event were we recognized 11 leaders in the community and awarded the first “Emerging Youth Leader” award to two local high school students. View the event photos on our Facebook page: http://on.fb.me/1QNXWbn

State of the City: Mayor Mike Maciel gave his inaugural State of the City Address to a record attendance of 300 guests. Keynote speaker, Kathy Thurston, Managing Director of Fed Ex Ground Northern California, shed light on why the Fortune 500 company decided to relocate to Tracy. In case you missed it, watch the video of the event on Youtube: https://youtu.be/XhOBvMBPqRQ

Business Walk: Chamber volunteers visited 70 brick and mortar businesses to find out the current business climate in Tracy. We concluded 89% of participants are doing good with improvements over last year which is a clear indication of a recovering economy. To see the full report, visit our website at this link http://bit.ly/1bvYVue

Plan For Success Business Workshops: This year we have placed an emphasis on educating our businesses. With classes in Marketing, Finance, Strategic Planning, HR, and Tax Preparation, our attendees are finding value and are better poised to plan for success.

Real Estate & Development Luncheon & Tour: This new event sold out in the first 2 weeks due to the popular demand of business owners interested in finding out about new residential and commercial projects in Tracy. In case you missed it, view the informational hand-outs that were provided by the City of Tracy on the City website: http://www.ci.tracy.ca.us/?navid=5409

Latino Award Scholarships: In April, the Tracy Chamber Hispanic Business Group awarded (8) $500 scholarships to Hispanic high school students in Tracy. During the ceremony, the group hosted a panel discussion featuring past scholarship recipients who are successfully completing their college educations at respected universities such as Harvard, UC Santa Cruz, UCLA, and UC Berkeley.

Leadership Tracy: The Chamber has launched its first ever Leadership Tracy program with 14 participants who will learn all about the community and will have the opportunity to interact with influential leaders who will motivate them to develop themselves into better leaders.

This is my 6 month check-in. I am extremely proud of the efforts of my staff, volunteers, board members, ambassadors, and Chamber supporters who have made all of our successes possible this year.

We still have 6 months left until the end of the year, and I encourage you all to stop for a minute and ask yourself the following questions:

• Have I accomplished my short-term goals for 2015?
• What obstacles do I need to address and find solutions for?
• What accomplishment am I most proud of so far for 2015?
• What changes do I need to implement in order to achieve my goals for 2015?
• How can the Chamber help me achieve my goals?

As I said before, it’s not too late to turn things around and find success before the end of the year. The Chamber is here to help you accomplish the goals you have set for your business. Next month’s blog articles will be dedicated to: “Get It Done!” and we will be featuring several “how to” articles to help you get back on top and end the year strong.

As always, I AM HERE FOR YOU! Reach out to me and I will assist you in achieving your goals of success for your business!

-Sofia Valenzuela, CEO, Tracy Chamber of Commerce, svalenzuela@tracychamber.org