🚨 Only 5 days left to vote in the KPMG People's Choice Award!

Tell your friends, family, neighbours, colleagues: there are only five days left to cast your vote for the awesome local business you think deserves to win the 2018 KPMG People's Choice Award. The company that wins this particular SBWYYC Award is completely up to you. Have you voted yet?

Hurry, voting is open until midnight Friday, August 10th!

Expanding your influence

[Webinar] Preparing for cannabis legalization

📅 August 15, 2018   🕒 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm   📍 Your desk [webinar]

Join us for a webinar with 420 Advisory Management to learn more about the cannabis sector, what your business needs to know prior to the legalization of recreational cannabis on October 17th.

420 Advisory Managment will share lessons and insights from Colorado, who recently went through similar legalization.  

Connect at upcoming events

GenYYC information night 

📅 August 21, 2018   🕒 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm   📍 Calgary Chamber

In partnership with the Calgary Foundation, GenYYC is a new Calgary Chamber program designed to build the relationship between our future leaders, business, and community. Participants will take part in a two-year program centered around people, environment, leadership and culture. 

Applications are currently open for GenYYC class of 2020.

This is our final information session before the applications close and it's free! Don't miss your chance to learn more about participating in this unique leadership program.

Set your business up for success in Q4 with The Hunt: Sales  

📅 September 21, 2018   🕒 8:30 am - 11:30 am   📍 ATB Entrepreneur Centre

With fall just around the corner, it's time to start thinking about how you're going to reset and slay your sales targets once the summer sun fades. We have just the thing to give you a leg up on the competition: a workshop with Hamish Knox from Sandler Training.

Leading the fourth installment of The Hunt workshop series, Hamish is a renowned executive sales coach. Here you'll get practical tips to take your sales game to the next level as well as help create the road map you need to successfully close out your year.

Tips to grow your business

Digital tip: 7 practical tips to boost engagement on your LinkedIn content

LinkedIn isn't just a place to keep a digital copy of your resume. It's a thriving content platform that allows you to get massive visibility with your ideal clients for free—if you do it right. 

Read this article from Entrepreneur for seven tips you can apply to how you use LinkedIn to help get eyes on your content and capitalize on organic reach, all without spending a dime. 

What we're reading...

• 6 steps to make your strategic plan really strategic
• Understanding the federal government's changes to its carbon tax plan, and why you should care
• Calgary becomes the first Canadian city to allow businesses to start online
• New oilsands exploration tech leaves forest intact
• Olds College's 'smart farm' trains new farmers — and tests cutting edge tech

Member insights

Chamber member: CN

CN is a true backbone of the economy, whose team of approximately 24,000 railroaders transports more than C$250 billion worth of goods annually.

The company's rail network of approximately 20,000 route-miles – spanning Canada and mid-America – supports a wide range of business sectors, ranging from resource products, manufactured products, and consumer goods.

Let First Data meet or beat your current payment processing fees 

If they can't meet or beat your current payment processing fees, you will earn a $1,000 MasterCard gift card!

First Data’s trademark is providing fast, safe and cost-efficient transactions.

Regardless of your banking relationship, they can provide Chamber Members with an unbiased opinion on their merchant services and offer great rates and customer service.

From our community partners

Creative Destruction Lab: Call for applications

Are you the founder of a massively scalable, technology or science-based startup? Then you need to know about the Creative Destruction Lab, a program that offers startups world-class mentorship from serial entrepreneurs and opportunities to raise capital. 

If you're looking for a program that can help bring your seed-stage startup to the attention of seasoned business mentors and angel investors, then you should apply for their 2018/19 cohorts.

Deadline to apply for CDL's 2018/19 cohorts is August 12, 2018. 

Community leaders