Houston Business News category interest

The Houston area has always been a strong hub of entrepreneurial spirit with new businesses being formed daily across the greater metropolitan area. Anywhere you look in Houston and the surrounding suburbs you can find new businesses popping up in almost every sector from small food trucks and home based businesses to multinational conglomerates. From Houston area hotels to hospitals, auto dealerships to art galleries, churches to car washes, petroleum to pet sitters, plumbers to printing services, retail to real estate, or tattoo artist to taxidermists, every type of business is welcome at your local chambers of commerce. Assisting in the growth of a lot of these Houston area businesses are the myriad Houston area chambers of commerce and other small business assistance organizations. It really doesn't matter what part of the greater Houston area that you are in, if you start up a business, there is a likely a local chamber of commerce available to help you network, learn, and hone your skills. 

Oddly enough, a lot of Houston area small business owners are not even aware of their local chamber, what purpose it serves and how it can help them.  So what exactly does a chamber of commerce do? 

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Well, to put it in simple terms a chamber of commerce exists to promote, lobby for and protect the interests of its business members. A "chamber", as they are typically referred to, is typically made uo of a group of business owners, operators, managers and marketing officers who share a specific geographical area, cultural similarity or mission. The members typically engage in monthly activities, learning sessions, networking events, community involvement events, grand openings, and promotions. Chambers are normally hyper-local to their specific community and a  local chamber will only promote the interests of its members. There are pros and cons to joining a chamber of commerce, but I really don't want to go into them in this article, other than to say that all too often, local businesses can get so entangled into the culture of a chamber in the same way they do some of the small networking organizations like BNI, etc. that they only network with other chamber members, often missing out on greater opportunities outside of that core group, especially in the B2B (business to business) world. It's a bit too easy sometimes for small business owners to fall into the "comfort zone" that chambers of commerce provide, and this causes many newer business owners to ignore the wealth of opportunities that exist outside that world. That said, chambers of commerce definitely play a vital role in the early development of a new business as well as its continued growth through all stages as long as you treat it as what it is, a launching pad for opportunity. 

The greater Houston area is home to just over fifty unique chambers of commerce, each serving a specific segment of the metropolitan area, mostly geographical, sometimes cultural. Below I have listed out all of the greater Houston area chambers of commerce, from Galveston to Conroe, Katy to Baytown, Kingwood to Richmond and everywhere in between. If you are a local small Houston area business owner and are not currently a member of a local chamber of commerce, I'd urge you to at least take a look at the choices that apply to you, do some research and decide if they are right for your business. 

Houston Downtown, Midtown, Inner Loop
Greater Heights Area Chamber 
Greater Houston Partnership 
Houston Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce 

West Houston area
Houston West Chamber of Commerce 
Katy Area Chamber of Commerce 
Fulshear Katy Chamber of Commerce 

Southwest Houston area
Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce 
Central Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce 

Northwest Houston Area
Spring-Klein Chamber of Commerce 
Houston Northwest Chamber of Commerce 
Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce 
The Woodlands Area Chamber of Commerce 
Conroe Chamber of Commerce 

East Houston Area
East End Chamber of Commerce 

Northeast Houston Area
Partnership Lake Houston 
Kingwood Chamber of Commerce 
Greater E. Montgomery County Chamber 
Greater Cleveland Chamber 

North Houston Area
Houston Intercontinental Chamber of Commerce 

South Houston Area
South Houston Chamber of Commerce 

Galveston, Texas City, Bay Area
Clearlake Area Chamber of Commerce 
Texas City-Lamarque Chamber of Commerce
Bay Area Chamber of Commerce 
Galveston Regional Chamber of Commerce 

Cypress, Tomball, Magnolia Area
Cy-Fair Houston Chamber of Commerce 
Greater Magnolia Parkway Chamber of Commerce 
Tomball Chamber of Commerce 

Baytown, Channelview, Pasadena Area
North Channel Chamber of Commerce 
Pasadena Chamber of Commerce 
LaPorte-Bayshore Chamber  Of Commerce 
Baytown Chamber of Commerce 
Deer Park Chamber of Commerce 

Pearland, Friendswood, Alvin, Santa Fe Area
Alvin-Manvel Area Chamber of Commerce (https://www.alvinmanvelchamber.org/)
Pearland Chamber of Commerce (www.pearlandtexaschamber.us)
Santa Fe Texas Chamber of Commerce (https://www.santafetexaschamber.com/)
Friendswood Chamber of Commerce (https://friendswoodchamber.com/)

Culturally-based Houston area chambers of commerce
Greater Houston Black Chamber of Commerce 
Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce 
Columbia-Texas Chamber of Commerce 
Argentina-Texas Chamber of Commerce
Brazil-Texas Chamber of Commerce 
Tri-County Black Chamber of Commerce 
Texas Turkish American Chamber of Commerce 
Greater Houston Womens Chamber 
Caribbean Chamber of Commerce 
Italy-American Chamber of Commerce of Texas