Dynamic Business

More than trade
Although trade forms a key area of a chamber’s objectives, Backhouse says other things are also important. “You look at advocacy to government, business representation on business boards and committees and other consultative forums,” he lists. “Also representation on international bodies, such as the international labour organisation, research and policy development, on national business issues, surveys and business products.”

The other end of the spectrum includes industrial relations advice and policy advice, everything from the Environment Trading Scheme and its effect on business through to the training and education space. Lobbying government at local, state and federal level is therefore a key function of a chamber, with the critical mass of membership being more powerful than a single business speaking out.

“Take the changes to the EMDG [Export Market Development Grants] scheme: if members were particularly unhappy with what’s happening in that area, they’d ask us to lobby the government on their behalf. So the chamber also acts as a key conduit of information to the government,” explains Backhouse. “One of the best things about the chamber is that it is very representative of our members.”

The right chamber
If you’re interested in becoming a member of a chamber of commerce, it’s best to look in your own backyard first as there’s probably one representing your area already. Try to match the chamber with the scale of your business—local businesses should stick to local chambers of commerce while international businesses would probably need to tap into state, federal, bilateral and international chambers of commerce.

If you do a lot of business with a particular country or region, there may be a chamber representing that link, for example the Australia Chile Chamber of Commerce looks after business relationships between Australia and Chile, but you may also be interested in the Australia-Latin America Business Council, which is for Australian businesses dealing with the Latin American region.

You can usually ‘try out’ a business chamber by attending a networking event or a seminar to get a feel for the kinds of activities and assistance they offer before you commit to membership, or in some cases make a polite enquiry about something and see how they handle it.

Chambers of commerce do have their limits in terms of the kinds of help and advice they can offer, however. “For export documentation we can offer full advice but when it comes to post-business matching, at the point of market entry, we would recommend that people speak with overseas consultants, of which we have a lot on our books,” suggests Backhouse. “We can provide initial advice, but when it comes to setting up we’d recommend they speak to an expert.”

All in all, a chamber of commerce is a helpful ally for small and medium businesses, not only for dispensing trade advice, facilitating local and international networking, and finding a business partner, but for representing their commercial interests using a much louder voice than your small business ever could on its own.

International chambers

Here’s a list of some popular international chambers of commerce assisting Australian business with inward and outward trade.

American Chamber of Commerce in Australia: www.amcham.com.au

Australia Arab Chamber of Commerce and Industry: www.austarab.com.au

Australia India Business Council: www.australiaindiabusiness.com

Australia-Latin America Business Council: www.alabc.com.au

Australian British Chamber of Commerce: www.britishchamber.com

Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry: www.acci.asn.au

Canadian Australian Chamber of Commerce: www.canauscham.org.au

China-Australia Chamber of Commerce: www.austcham.org

International Chamber of Commerce: www.iccwbo.org

Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Australia: www.spanishchamber.org

People who read this, also liked:
E-commerce and the global marketplace