Find Business Partners Through Virtual Chamber Meeting Wednesday

BROOKFIELD, WI — The Greater Brookfield Chamber of Commerce will host a morning meeting on Wednesday to allow member businesses to connect with each other and pitch products or services.

The Brookfield Chamber Business Connections meeting will take place at 7:30 a.m. over Zoom, chamber President Carol White told Patch. To join the meeting, members will have to register and pay what they can for admission, typically between $10 and $20, according to the chamber website.

"Every member business has an opportunity to share with everybody else about themselves and their business," White said. "Once we finish the individual introductions, we have a five minute deeper dive presentation by one of our members."

Members will then have a chance to network, schedule one-on-one meetings or form partnerships.

Chamber meetings have already led to some fruitful partnerships. Beth Dobrzynski, the executive director of the Elmbrook Education Foundation, had a golf fundraiser with chamber members as most of her sponsors.

"The businesses she had met through the Brookfield chamber were able to support her and her nonprofit," White said.

The chamber doesn't just have members in Brookfield; there are members from Milwaukee, Madison and Racine as well, White said. Many members are mid-sized or small businesses that typically hire around 25 or fewer employees, she added.

The chamber is looking for a venue that can accommodate in-person meetings, White said. Before the coronavirus pandemic, a typical meeting would gather between 70 and 80 guests, she added. Now each meeting draws only about 40 members.

"We're hoping once we go back to in-person, it will increase those numbers to where they were before," White said. "Some people are just not comfortable with a virtual environment, and we understand that."

Members will be sent a meeting link in their confirmation email after they pay the admission fee. Interested guests are encouraged to contact Melisa Maroo at melisa@brookfieldchamber.com or 262-269-5777.