Lindsay Keisler is the President and CEO of the Catawba County Chamber of Commercewhere she focuses on organizational excellence and overall innovation and relevance in the Catawba business community. In 2009, she obtained her bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a major in Marketing from UNC Charlotte. In 2013, she earned her IOM designation from the US Chamber Institute at the University of Georgia for Organization Management. She has been recognizedfor numerous awards including one of Greater Hickory Metro’s Top 10 Under 40, a Woman of Distinction by the Girl Scout Peaks to Piedmont Council, and as one of the 2018 Trailblazers by Business North Carolina Magazine. In addition to her work with the Catawba County Chamber, she also serves as the Treasurer for the Carolinas Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives and has served on several boards throughout the community.

 

Carmen Eckard is the Editor-In-Chief of the Foothills Digest. Foothills Digest is a magazine dedicated to sharing stories of the foothills in Hickory, North Carolina through breathtaking photos and captivating articles.

 

Lindsay joins me today to share her career journey, what led her to start working with the Catawba County Chamber of Commerce, and how the chamber is impacting the local business community. She explains the various programs available for new and veteran entrepreneurs as well as job seekers and military veterans including The Edison Project, the Talent Jam event, and the Tapping Into Talent Symposium as well as the Catawba Military Task Force and Welcome Home, Hickory Metro. I also spoke with Carmen to learn how The Edison Project has helped her take her magazine from a basic idea to creating an actionable business plan to successfully launching her business.

 

“Something that chambers have traditionally always been good at is providing opportunities just to connect with other individuals that are either like-minded, potential customers, power players, and influencers within our community.” - Lindsay Keisler

 

 

This week on the Supportedly Podcast:

 

• Lindsay’s career journey and how she began working with the Catawba County Community Chamber of Commerce.
• How she is breaking the chamber out of the “old and pale and stale and male” stereotype within the community.
• How Chambers of Commerce impact the business community and the areas she believes they should focus their attention the most.
• The biggest challenges that Catawba County Chamber of Commerce hopes to solve for businesses and entrepreneurs throughout the county.
• What is the Entrepreneur Consortium and how it helps connect and encourage local support for entrepreneurs to start, grow, and scale their businesses?
• The Edison Project entrepreneurial competitions and how they help entrepreneurs launch successful, viable businesses within the community.
• The type of entrepreneurs that THe Edison Project is most suitable for.
• The chamber’s unique partnership with the Small Business Technology Development Center and how this partnership has helped entrepreneurs throughout the community.
• The Tapping Into Talent Symposium and how it helps businesses use unconventional strategies to find and hire talent.
• How the Talent Jam event helps connect job seekers with local opportunities.
• How the Catawba Military Task Force and Welcome Home Hickory Metro events help transitioningmilitary members andtheir families re-enter the civilian workforce.
• What led Carmen to create Foothills Digest.
• What inspired her to focus the magazine’s topics on the Hickory Metro foothills.
• How she discovered The Edison Project and her first impression of the program.
• How participating in The Edison Project helped her “fill the gaps” of developing her business.
• The three parts of business development that The Edison Project helps entrepreneurs plan.
• Carmen’s advice to new entrepreneurs.
• The best mistake Carmen has made in her career.
• How local entrepreneurs can begin getting involved with the Catawba County Chamber of Commerce and their programs.
• Short-term and Long-term initiatives at Catawba County Chamber of Commerce.
• Lindsay’s advice for new entrepreneurs and startups.
• The importance of viewing mistakes and failures as opportunities to learn, grow and improve.
• What every entrepreneur should ask themselves before working with the Catawba County Chamber of Commerce.

  

“The Catawba County Chamber of Commerce supports the business community by helping us support each other. I think that’s the most important thing.” Carmen Eckard

  

Free & Low-Cost Programs at the Catawba County Chamber of Commerce:

 

• The Edison Project
• Welcome Home, Hickory Metro
• Catawba County Chamber of Commerce Events Calendar
• Catawba County Chamber of Commerce Programs

 

Connect with Lindsay Keisler:

 

• Catawba County Chamber of Commerce
• (828) 328-6111
• [email protected]

  

Connect with Carmen Eckard:

 

• Foothills Digest

 

 

 

 

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