Every year we shine a light on the vibrant community of small but mighty business owners in our city with the Small Business Week Calgary Awards and Expo. Help us celebrate these unsung heroes by letting us know who you think should be recognized for their valiant efforts.

Until 8:00 am on Monday, August 17th, we're accepting nominations and applications for businesses that are doing incredible things. Finalists will be selected by a panel of industry expert judges, and most award categories will then be voted on by the public.

Small Business Week in Canada was founded by our official partner the Business Development Bank of Canada, and is powered locally by ATB Business.

Hurry to SmallBusinessWeekCalgary.com to nominate (and apply) today!

As the longest election in recent Canadian history ramps up, your Calgary Chamber is closely following issues that are vital to the growth and success of Calgary’s business community.

With a plummeting loonie, unstable commodity prices, and slowed Chinese growth, whichever party forms Government this coming fall must grapple with an uncertain economic climate. Therefore, the needs of the business community must be front-and-centre on the campaign trail, and be of the highest priority for the new Parliament.

Read our latest blog delving into the key priorities for the election and the potential effects for Calgary business.

Wednesday, September 16, 2015
11:30 am – 1:30 pm
Fairmont Palliser
133 9th Avenue SW

In challenging economic times, changing the game in your organization or industry becomes vital to keeping your company competitive. But what does it take to be a game-changing leader?

The visionary leadership and passion of Brenda Andress, Founder and Commissioner of the Canadian Women's Hockey League, has helped carve a career pathway for women in a male-dominated world of professional hockey. As one of Canada’s most iconic female trailblazers, Andress will share her inspirational story of building the world’s first female hockey league from the ground up, and how it has helped reshaped both the professional sports and business worlds.

Join us for the latest installment of our Business of Sport event series, and learn what it takes to be a game-changer.

• Would you let employees come in late if they had spent the morning exercising?
• Highlights from the Maclean’s National Leaders Debate
• 8 master strategies for public speaking
• Alberta’s 20 most innovative organizations
• Is how you're delivering feedback doing more harm than good?

Wednesday, September 9, 2015
11:30 am – 1:30 pm
Hyatt Regency Calgary
700 Centre Street SE

This year’s recipient of the Distinguished Business Leader Award, and founder, chairman and director of Coril Holdings Ltd, Mr. Ron Mannix will deliver an inspiring talk on the positive outcomes and lasting impact ethical leadership can have in our businesses and community.

Mr. Mannix will discuss the importance of valuing employees in order to build a successful business, how to meet and exceed career goals even in challenging economic times and will share his story of how he got to where he is today.

Join the Haskayne School of Business and the Calgary Chamber for an engaging conversation with one of Calgary’s most prominent business leaders.

By the power of advanced traffic data wizardry, Google can now predict when your business will likely experience the most foot traffic. When people search Google for certain businesses, an interactive “popular times” bar graph appears at the bottom of the location card listing that gives an approximate glimpse of its busiest times for each day of the week.

Being savvy to what Google estimates are your business' “popular times” could come in handy for tweaking your product stock, staffing schedule, hours of operation and/or timing sales and other promotions.

Learn more about how this "popular times" feature could affect your business. 

Thursday, August 27, 2015
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
BMO Financial Group – Seton branch
618, 19489 Seton Crescent SE

Are you looking to network and build relationships with businesses in south Calgary? The next edition of Business After Hours can help you do just that. As summer draws to a close, we’ll head to the newly opened Bank of Montreal in the heart south Calgary’s growing mini-downtown: the Seton Urban District.

Come check out one of Calgary’s most up and coming commercial and residential communities, while building a rapport with some of the city’s finest business professionals. Not only will the networking be some of the best time you put into growing your business this summer, there’s an array of fantastic prizes to be won just for stepping through the door.

Please note that Business After Hours are members-only events. If you are not a Calgary Chamber member, please contact us at membership@calgarychamber.com.

Join us for our first after-hours networking in the heart of south Calgary.

The Calgary Chamber's new office space across from City Hall boasts modern style, clean lines and fresh colors that flow into our meeting space.

We offer three distinct rooms that can fit all of your needs. Our spaces are well-appointed with modern electronics, large format whiteboards and brand new office furniture from RGO Office Products.

Take a look at our space, and host your clients and staff with us.

Thursday, September 10, 2015
11:30 am – 1:30 pm
Calgary Chamber
600, 237 8th Avenue SE

This event is an exclusive benefit of our Growth and above members. To RSVP, please email membership@calgarychamber.com.

How do you attract really great people to your organization and foster the type of meaningful work that takes your business to the next level? It starts with you, mastering the challenges of work-life blend.

Modern styles of leadership view life and work not as separate but symbiotic, where the multitude of roles a person plays in different parts of their life come together to create a unique set of skills that add to the success of an organization. 

Join to us to hear from Fiasco Gelato’s Chief Idea Officer, James Boettcher, on mastering work-life blend when building your team.

Whether an expert in your field or simply looking for a brand-building opportunity, the Calgary Chamber regularly gets requests from media outlets wanting to interview businesses of all sizes and industries for business stories. Commonly media is looking to gauge opinion on a recent government policy change, understand how business is feeling about the economy or get commentary from an industry expert.

If you are a Calgary Chamber member, contact us at media@calgarychamber.com and we’ll make sure to keep your name on the list if any relevant media opportunities come up.

For those members that have already voiced their interest, rest assured we still have you on file.

Kinder Morgan is the largest energy infrastructure company in North America. With diversified and strategically located assets, they help to deliver needed energy products to high-demand markets.

But what Kinder Morgan truly takes pride in is being a different kind of energy company. What makes them different? It all starts at the top with their Executive Chairman Rich Kinder, who earns a salary of $1 per year and does not receive a bonus, stock options or restricted stock grants. President and CEO Steve Kean also receives an annual salary of $1. 

Learn more at KinderMorgan.com

As a Calgary Chamber member, you are eligible for exclusive savings on credit card processing rates with ATB Financial.

Take advantage of preferred electronic merchant MasterCard and VISA discount rates of 1.64% and 1.59% respectively, regardless of ticket size, as well as Interac processing fees of 6 cents per debit transaction.

Learn more about how an ATB Business expert can help you save on electronic merchant services.

These Prestige members have shown a substantial and unwavering commitment to supporting the work of the Calgary Chamber. We thank our Prestige members: Suncor, TELUS and Nexen for helping to make Calgary a better place to live and work for all.