The local chamber of commerce was useless compared to the Edmonton Small Business Meetup

I paid $400 for a year of chamber membership and got cold leads and awkward networking breakfasts. Switched to the Meetup group for $10 a session and landed a contract with a bookstore on Whyte Ave within 3 months. Has anyone else found the chamber overrated?

2 comments

2 Comments

cole9946h ago

Honestly I used to be one of those people who thought the chamber was just the standard way to go for networking. But after a year of paying all that money and getting nothing but awkward small talk over bad coffee I totally get what you mean. The meetup groups are way more specific and the people actually want to help each other out. That bookstore contract sounds like a solid win too.

grace_wright6h ago

The membership fees for those big organizations really add up fast, and its hard to justify when the return is just a room full of people who already know each other. That bookstore contract is a great example of why the meetup model works better for actual small business owners. Those generic chamber mixers feel more like a social club for established businesses who don't need leads anymore. The meetups I've been to have way more focus and everyone's there because they genuinely need to connect, not just because their company paid for a membership.