Make A Positive Start In The New Year

Our next Business-Building Lunch features speaker Dr. C. Dwight Bain, who will explain how to achieve maximum results in your personal and professional life, and how to move from stress to success.

Join us at Faith Hall Conference Center at First Baptist Orlando, 3000 S. John Young Parkway, Orlando, Tuesday, January 5, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Doors open at 11 a.m. Member price: $20; nonmember price: $30.

Register online or call our office at 407-814-1124

This luncheon is sponsored by Bellhaven College.

The lord tells us … fear not

A Video Message From Mark Goldstein

Please join us at for the chamber Christmas party, sponsored by The Plaza Theatre, Dec. 17 at 5 p.m. We'll have delicious holiday food and live Christmas music. You can even do some Christmas shopping with Bajalia Trading Company.

Community Blood Centers of Central Florida's bloodmobile will be in front of the theater, so you can give "the gift of life."

Showtime is 7 p.m. for The Child, a musical story, narrated by Joseph, telling the birth of Jesus Christ. Performed by the same talented ensemble that brought us The Rock & The Rabbi, The Child is a perfect addition to your Christmas celebration.

This is the first time The Child will be performed in Orlando.

Chamber Christmas Party followed by The Child
Thursday, Dec. 17, at The Plaza Theatre, 425 N. Bumby Ave, Orlando.
Christmas Party: 5 p.m.; Showtime: 7 p.m.
Cost: $29 per ticket (for party and show)
This price is for chamber members only and is not available online. To buy your tickets, either call the box office at (4070 228-1220 or go to the theater box office.

Not many tickets remain, so please act fast! We look forward to seeing you there.

One way to mitigate the health insurance coverage crisis

The census bureau says 15.4 percent of people living in the U.S. lack health insurance.

One of the primary obstacles self-employed people and small business owners face in getting health insurance is the high cost. Chamber President Mark Goldstein announced at our December 1 luncheon that our members can now get supplemental health insurance at group rates through Transamerica and Aflac.

We’ll have an informational meeting December 11, 9 a.m., at Belhaven College -- 2301 Maitland Center Parkway, Bldg. 200 Suite 165 -- in Maitland. Representatives from both companies will present program benefit options and answer your questions.

To attend this meeting, please make a reservation by by calling the chamber office at (407) 814-1124. Or send an e-mail from the chamber Web site.

If you are not currently a chamber member, now might be a great time to join. You can find membership information on the Web site. Chamber representatives will be at the December 11 meeting if you wish to join at that time.

...And I do appreciate you being round....

Paulette Weir at Christian HELP is looking for Facebook users to give HELP some help.

If you have a Facebook account, just click this link to vote for Christian HELP Foundation Inc. in the Chase Community Giving promotion. Chase will give $25,000 to the charities with the most votes.

When you get to Chase's Facebook page, just enter "Christian HELP Foundation Inc." in the search box.

Paulette tells us that this year, Christian HELP is helping more people than at any other time in its 18-year history. "Yesterday, in the first hour and half of being open to job seekers, we saw 70 people," she says. "The lobby was so jammed packed all day that we had to line up chairs outside for people to sit."

With so many people needing assistance, Christian HELP can use all the help it can get.

Lunch, with a chance for lunch

Every person who attends our Business-Building Lunch Dec. 1 will be entered into a drawing to win a $50 Darden Restaurants gift card, good at Olive Garden, Red Lobster, Seasons 52, Bahama Breeze, Longhorn Steakhouse, or The Capital Grille.

Invite a nonmember to attend, and you'll be entered into a drawing for another $50 Darden gift card. You will get one chance for every of your guests who attends.

As if that wasn’t cool enough, your guests can attend the December lunch for the member rate of $20. If they register online, they should click the Member Lunch option and put your name in the comments section. If they call our office to register, they need to mention your name. If you choose to pay for nonmember guests, that counts too.

Our Featured Speaker

David Zerfoss retired in September from his role as president of Husqvarna Professional Products. At that time, he and his team were serving over 10,000 independent retailers and running a $500 million business across North America. And all of it continent on the strength of personal relationships.

Building a business rests on engaging people with a compelling vision of how they can serve the customer, the community, and the Kingdom. At the December luncheon, David will share how God's Word inspired him to ask for guidance, to seek for collaboration, and to expect transformation as the way to grow sales and profits.

Prepare to realize greater abundance in 2010 by nourishing your team and yourself at this month's Business-Building Lunch.

When: Tuesday, Dec. 1, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Doors open at 11 a.m.

Where: Faith Hall at First Baptist Orlando, 3000 S. John Young Parkway

Cost: $20 for members and members' guests

You can register three ways:

1. Online at www.cfchristianchamber.com
2. By phone: (407) 814-1124
3. By mail: CF Christian Chamber, 1631 Rock Springs Rd., Suite 239, Apopka FL 32712 (payments must be received by Nov. 27)

Join the Select few

Marcher Lord Press, a Colorado company that publishes Christian speculative fiction, is putting a new spin on publishing.

"Marcher Lord Select is American Idol meets book acquisitions," says publisher Jeff Gerke. About 40 completed manuscripts will be presented, and readers will decide which one should be published.

The contest will proceed in phases. In each subsequent round, voters will get larger glimpses of the competing manuscripts.

The first phase will consist only of the book's title, genre, length, a 20-word premise, and a 100-word back cover copy teaser blurb. Voters will cut the entries by half based on these items alone.

Following rounds will provide voters with a 1-page synopsis, the first 500 words of the book, the first 30 pages of the book, and, in the final round, the first 60 pages of the book.

The winner of the final round will be published by Marcher Lord Press in Spring 2010.

Marcher Lord Select begins Nov. 1 and runs until January or February 2010. All voting, discussions and other Marcher Lord Select activities will take place at The Anomaly forums in the Marcher Lord Select subforum. Free registration is required.

Central Florida Christian Chamber of Commerce member Kristen Stieffel’s novel is among those chosen for the competition. Contestants are admitted by invitation only, but anyone may register to vote for the winner.

"In order for this to work as we're envisioning," Gerke says, "we need lots and lots of voters. So even if you're not a fan of science fiction or fantasy, I'm sure you love letting your voice be heard about what constitutes good Christian fiction. So come on out and join the fun!"

We love to brag on our members, so if you have good news to share, please let us know by using the "Contact Us" link at the Chamber Web site. We'll be happy to post your news and Thanksgivings here!

4 Keys to Social Media Marketing Success

By Pam Lontos

Social Media Marketing (called SMM) is the newest buzz in public relations and marketing. As with any new tool, people have lots of questions about how to utilize it.

Just as you can forward your favorite jokes by e-mail to friends, with SMM, people can spread your message for you with a click of a button.

To ensure SMM works well for you, employ these keys to success:

Put your message on the right sites.

With so many social media sites available, you need to determine where your market is, and post your messages on those sites. Being on the wrong site wastes your time and could hurt your credibility. If your topic is business growth, for example, you don’t want to be on a site for people whose hobby is baking. With SMM, being anywhere and everywhere is not the answer. Be strategic: target your market for the best results.

Also realize your market might change. Just because a certain site attracts your market today doesn’t mean it will tomorrow. People are fickle in SMM, and they get bored easily. For example, LinkedIn almost fell out of existence in November 2008. If it had not moved to where its market shifted, it would not be here today. But LinkedIn had to make a huge shift in services it provided, because its market moved. And when the market moves, it tends to go in mass.

So if you don’t watch your market, it may leave the site you’re sending messages to. Now your messages are going to the bakers again.

Understand the purpose of each site.

To post to the right SMM site, you need to know the focus of each site. Even people new to SMM have likely heard of the Big Three: LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.

LinkedIn is the leading business networking site -- think of it as a corporate boardroom. Facebook is for keeping tabs on personal and business contacts -- think of it as entertaining clients in your living room. Twitter is for short, sound-byte updates -- think of it as a billboard.

A couple of others that are useful for business are Naymz and Plaxo.

Naymz is a reputation site. By registering, you essentially do a background check on yourself and post it to the Internet. It’s a well respected site among corporate decision makers, who often use Naymz to check people out.

Plaxo is a hub site. It lets you link multiple Internet resources in a single place. People can go there and find their way to everything about you, if you choose to allow that.

For business purposes, you should probably stay away from MySpace, which often worries executives. Why? Because there have been more corporate scandals and sexual harassment suits in the past year over things posted on MySpace than on any other social networking site. If you have a MySpace page, hide it.

Think in sound bytes.

Anyone who has done any type of PR knows the importance of the sound byte, which is also important in SMM. You want your message to be original, useful, valuable, fun, problem solving, and interesting. And brief: 140 characters or less. Characters, not words. So your message must be succinct.

That character limit is not set randomly. In fact, 140 characters is the convention for text messages to cell phones internationally. You don’t want the end of your message cut off because it was too long for the cell phone to display.

And don’t think you can take your long message and split it up into two or more feeds. That’s called giving a double message or a split, and people are annoyed by such tactics. Do it too often and you’ll quickly lose your followers.

Remember, your goal is for people like your message enough to pass it along.

Post responsibly.

A common question is: “How often should I post messages onto these sites? Daily? Twice a day? Hourly?” Unfortunately, many people post too often. Sending too many messages produces two negative effects.

First, you become an interruption rather than a welcome interlude. People who are having your messages forwarded to their cell phones are constantly being interrupted by you. Now you’re a nuisance.

Second, search engines are designed to ignore these 140-character messages. But there are strategic ways around that rule so your messages become alerts. But if a search engine sees too many posts from you during its standard interval, it could flag you as a spammer and lock you out.

The best posting interval is 48 hours.

When you combine SMM efforts with traditional PR avenues, you can create a publicity campaign that gets you noticed by prospects, clients, and key decision makers. The sooner you put SMM to work for you, the more profitable your business will be.

Guest blogger Pam Lontos is president of the PR/PR public relations firm in Orlando and will be the featured speaker at the chamber’s October luncheon.

The 15 Most Common Publicity Mistakes Businesses Make

By Pam Lontos

As a business owner, you probably know publicity is important to success. But many businesspeople make costly mistakes in publicity campaigns.

For example, saying the wrong thing to a reporter may only cost you a quote in a national magazine. But in advertising dollars, that quote could have been worth thousands. And you never really know who would have read the interview. Maybe a reporter for USA Today or maybe Oprah’s producer -- or even Oprah herself. And what about all the time and effort you spent to get the reporter on the phone?

Everyone makes mistakes. But you can take action to avoid them by considering these mistakes businesspeople commonly make:

1. Thinking hundreds of customers will walk through the door from one hit. Name recognition takes time and repetition to build. A person will need to see your name and logo about six or seven times before they actually remember it.


2. Not being unique in approach. Develop a unique angle that sets your business apart. For example, if you own a restaurant, consider what’s distinctive about your menu or management. The more you make your message different from the “old way,” the more attention you’ll attract.


3. Thinking they can’t get into a large publication. Editors, even at high-profile media outlets, scramble daily to find knowledgeable people to interview. And editors must find new, exciting people either weekly or monthly, so the more experts they can add to their database, the better. Make yourself stand out as a reliable source and you will get the media’s attention.


4. Thinking small publications don’t matter. Even big-name businesses had to start small. Although small publications and trade journals aren’t sold on newsstands, you never know who’s reading them. Don’t overlook these as a foundation for publicity.


5. Thinking their ideas are wonderful. Explaining why your business is wonderful to an editor is not an effective way to pitch your ideas. In fact, it’s a turn-off. Realize that editors and reporters only care about their readers. Instead of telling them about your business, learn about their readers and what they want.


6. Pitching themselves, instead of a story for the audience. Always highlight the benefits you can offer their particular audience. Consider what uniqueness you offer and why their readers or viewers will be interested.


7. Pitching the wrong person. Besides wasting your time, pitching your ideas to the wrong person will likely frustrate them. If you have an article you’d like to publish, talk to an editor. But if you want to score an interview, you need a reporter.


8. Not finding out what reporters really want. As you present your idea to a reporter, ask questions about what their audience needs. Then change your initial idea based on their responses. Don’t try to “sell” your idea if it isn’t a good fit; instead, emphasize your ability to address a variety of issues.


9. Not answering the reporter’s questions. Always let the reporter or interviewer lead the conversation. Don’t attempt to talk about points the reporter doesn’t want to cover. They simply won’t include you in the final story.


10. Not getting to the point. Audiences and readers love to hear firsthand accounts, but don’t overload the reporter with information that isn’t directly related to the story, and don’t ramble. If you can’t convey your message succinctly, it won’t be used.


11. Not respecting the reporter’s time. Reporters work on strict deadlines, and nothing will irritate them more than you being inconsiderate. So before you start pitching, ask if they’re on deadline. If yes, ask for a convenient call-back time.


12. Not gearing the pitch to the publication. If you get a “no” from an editor, reporter, or producer, always ask, “What don’t you like?” Then adapt your presentation on the spot. The more you learn about their needs and customize your message for their audience, the more likely you’ll be featured.


13. Making it an advertisement. Authors spend a lot of time selling their books because the profession demands it. But interviews and articles are not the place to go on and on about your expertise. Let your knowledge speak for itself. By giving solid, useable information, you will automatically show audiences how great your book is.


14. Not providing their publicist with material in a timely manner. Business owners are busy—that’s a given. But so are publicists, editors, and reporters. To get your information into the right hands, your publicist must get requested information from you in a timely manner. Your publicist can’t pitch you and your book without the most recent, relevant information about you. If you make your publicist wait, you may miss your chance to be featured in your desired media outlet.


15. Not understanding the importance of frequency in publicity. While it takes a long time to build name recognition, it takes no time at all for people to forget about you. So you have to maintain the frequency of your publicity, especially when your competition maintains theirs. Otherwise, you become old news.

Just as everyone makes mistakes, everyone can avoid them by being aware of the common ones. With such awareness, you can make the most of every publicity opportunity.

Guest blogger Pam Lontos is president of the PR/PR public relations firm in Orlando and will be the featured speaker at the chamber’s October luncheon.

Turn your opinion into new business

By Pam Lontos

Writing an op-ed piece is one excellent way to make yourself known and establish yourself as an authority. The op-ed page (“opposite editorial”) faces the page on which the newspaper publishes its own statements of opinion.

When you’re choosing an op-ed topic, the more controversial, the better. A good op-ed piece promotes a strong point of view in 500 to 700 words.

The reason your topic is important right now should be crystal clear. Academicians tend to save their juiciest conclusions for the end – that’s expected in peer-reviewed journals. An op-ed piece is the opposite. The most compelling fact must come first. Well-crafted arguments should follow, making a clear case and concluding with a call to action. Read several opinion pieces in local and national newspapers to gain a feel for how they are done.

At large organizations, it’s not unusual for the op-ed piece to be ghostwritten by a staff member or freelancer, then submitted to the newspaper under the byline of the CEO or other relevant expert. If you don’t have the time to pen your own op-ed piece, you should be able to easily find someone to draft it for you.

Your piece will hit home if you combine a passionate approach with logical analysis. As with any writing submitted to the news media, language must be clear, punchy and direct. Editors are looking for plain English with concrete imagery.

Put a brief note outlining your credentials at the end of the piece to save the editor from the work of tracking that information down. Editors are likely to be receptive to pieces written by someone within the local community, so be sure to submit to your hometown newspaper as well as to all the newspapers in your state.

Some large newspapers will demand exclusivity. Ask the editor’s preference when you submit your piece. But many opinion-page editors understand that op-ed pieces are distributed to newspapers nationwide.

If you have expertise on a topic or have written a book on the subject, mention that. Experts have an edge on the op-ed page. For instance, the opinion editor of the Charleston Gazette in West Virginia was happy to receive a piece on the dangers of secondhand smoke written by the dean of the nursing school and the director of the cancer center at West Virginia University. Not only because they knew about the latest research, but because the had seen patients who suffered from cancer and other lung diseases as a result of secondhand smoke exposure. This gave them credibility.

Here are some tips to keep in mind when crafting an op-ed piece:

• Be provocative, original, timely. Tie your subject into a natural disaster, social trend, or other current news.


• Give examples. Use facts and statistics. Explain why you have come to the conclusions you are drawing.


• Write about ideas you feel passionately about. Tie your argument into your own experiences. Effective op-ed pieces are based on values and emotions, not simply dry reasoning. The ordinary reader must be able to relate to it.

Guest blogger Pam Lontos is president of the PR/PR public relations firm in Orlando and will be the featured speaker at the chamber’s October luncheon.

A powerful way to develop business

In the midst of a recession, with revenues down and prospects for improvement far off, many companies see marketing as an unnecessary expense.

This is dangerous thinking.

It’s precisely when business is slow that increased efforts are needed. Even the most dedicated sales staff needs support in generating new business. Marketing and publicity are important parts of that effort.

Pam Lontos, founder and president of the PR/PR public relations firm in Orlando, will address this important issue at the Christian Chamber of Commerce luncheon Oct. 13. Her program, “I See Your Name Everywhere,” will explain how your organization can generate more business through the power of publicity.
Pam will explain how easy—and economical—it is to:

• Use social media to promote your business


• Write press releases to get media attention


• Generate business from publicity in magazines and newspapers


• Stay positive and motivated through tough times

By using publicity wisely, your business can not only survive a recession—it can thrive.

A doubly good deal

The Plaza Theatre has provided a fabulous package for its fellow chamber members for two evenings of fellowship, entertainment, and inspiration.

In October, The Witnesses, part two of The Rock & The Rabbi trilogy, returns to The Plaza. If you enjoyed R&R, you will love part two, in which Peter, Paul, and James debate what the church will be. If you missed part one, that's OK. The Witnesses stands on its own. Besides, if you're a member of this chamber, you presumably know the story that precedes the Book of Acts. Visit www.thewitnessesmusical.com to learn more about the musical and sample some songs.

Prior to the Oct. 17 performance, The Plaza Theatre will host a reception for chamber members. Hors d'oeuvres will be served.

Then, in December, we'll be back at The Plaza for a The Child, a musical account of the birth of Jesus Christ as told by Joseph.

Our chamber Christmas party will take place at the theatre before the Dec. 17 performance.

The Child is performed by the same crew that brought us The Rock & The Rabbi. Their unique format is different from the usual musical theater. It's more like storytelling with musical accompaniment. Or a concert with storytelling. Either way, it's phenommenal.

Chamber members receive $10 off tickets for The Witnesses, and $9 off tickets for The Child. If you purchase tickets for both events as a package, you'll get an additional $2 off.

But act fast! Since these performances are also open to the public, there are a limited number of seats available.

So here's the breakdown:

Show	Regular Price	Chamber Price
Witnesses	$33	$23
Child	$38	$29
Package	$71	$50

You can purchase tickets by calling the box office at (407) 228-1220 or go to the theater at 425 N. Bumby Avenue in Orlando. Since this is special price is for chamber members only, it's not available through The Plaza Theatre Web site.

So save these dates:
The Witnesses, Oct. 17, reception at 6 p.m., showtime at 7:30 p.m.
The Child, Dec. 17, Christmas party at 5 p.m., showtime at 7 p.m.

Both events are at The Plaza Theatre, 425 N. Bumby Ave., Orlando

Hope to see you there!

Flu needn't leave us wallowing in misery

News that a colleague contracted the flu -- yes, that flu -- led me to write. As increasing numbers of the clunkily named H1N1 flu are reported, it’s easy -- dare I say tempting -- to give in to fear and dismay.

Let’s not. That will not help our employees, our clients, or our community.

There are several important things to remember about H1N1:

It’s no worse than the normal seasonal flu. In fact, some cases are milder. So far this year, 593 deaths nationwide have been attributed to H1N1. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that seasonal flu and its complications kill an average of 36,000 people a year.

“Pandemic” isn’t as scary as it sounds. It just means the disease has been found on more than one continent. While this was unusual 100 years ago, air travel has made intercontinental transmission much easier.

Young people are more at risk. Usually, the elderly are at an increased risk for flu, but with H1N1, people over 64 are more likely to have resistance due to exposure to a related strain earlier in their lives. Younger people lack this immunity.

It's not swine flu. The virus was misidentified early on because of its similarity to swine flu. An inappropriate amount of media coverage followed, spurred by memories of the swine flu epidemic of the 1970s.

The CDC advises these precautions for all cold and flu viruses:

• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Then throw away the tissue.


• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth. Germs spread this way.


• Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough, sneeze or touch your eyes, nose, or mouth (because we all will, especially when we're trying not to). Alcohol-based hand sanitizers are also effective.


• Try to avoid close contact with sick people.


• If you have a flu-like illness, stay home until your fever has been gone (without the aid of fever-reducing medicines) at least 24 hours.

What employers can do:

• Offer your employees paid sick leave. One of the primary reasons people work while sick is that they cannot afford to lose pay.


• Make sure no one in your company is “indispensable.” Cross-training will ensure that staff members do not work while sick just because no one else is able to do what they do. Every person in your company -- including the owner -- should have a backup.


• Sponsor flu shots for your staff. Reimburse employees for all or part of the cost of a flu shot. in addition to the seasonal flu vaccine, an H1N1 vaccine will be available this fall.


• Keep a clean workplace. Flu viruses can survive on surfaces like door knobs for up to 8 hours. Clean regularly with disinfectant.


• Educate yourself. General information about influenza is available at the easy-to-remember flu.gov, while information specific to business owners is available here.

August 4th Business-Building Lunch Exceeded Expectations

This lunch exceeded my wildest expectations. We had over 150 attendees and over 20 business people joined the chamber! The September 1st event promises to be just as exciting as keynote speaker Des Cummings, Executive VP of Florida Hospital presents "Ideas From God For Business Leadership".