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Chattanooga Chamber Fuels Professional Growth with Virtual Young Professionals Summit June 3


The Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce hosts its first Young Professionals Summit virtually on June 3. 

The Summit's energizing sessions and powerful panel discussions offer professional development for the region's young professionals.

“For so many of us, it feels like life has been put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Miles Huff, Senior Director of Talent Initiatives with the Chattanooga Chamber. “However, this doesn’t mean that professional development and networking opportunities should do the same. The Chattanooga Chamber is committed to continued support of talent development, and providing opportunities for young professionals to engage with one another, even during social distancing.”

“We believe that there will be valuable lessons from our presenters to help young professionals better themselves both personally and professionally,” said Josh Cropp, Young Professionals of Chattanooga program chair. “Whether you are looking for skills to find your next job, trying to define your sales or marketing techniques, or would like to work on some areas causing you stress, there will be something for everyone.”

$10 YP Summit registration includes:

  • Live access to 9 sessions from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. with local experts on topics like: how to know you're ready to start your own business, job search and interview tips, handling your finances and more (full session list below)
  • Opportunity to ask questions live during sessions
  • A personalized login link to watch the virtual sessions any time you want, even if you can't attend live

Find more information and register here.

June 3 Summit Schedule:

8:15 a.m. – Raising Brand Awareness Through Volunteering
Graci Burnette, Puckett's Gro. & Restaurant
Based on the podcast by Iven Misner, Ph.D., Visibility Through Volunteering. Using volunteering as a means to help develop your brand recognition is an effective way to market yourself and your company without spending hundreds of dollars.

9 a.m. –  Super-charge Your Marketing with StoryBrand
Josh Davis, InfoSystems, Inc. / 8Bend Marketing
Learn about the 7-part StoryBrand Framework (created by bestselling author Donald Miller) and how to super-charge your sales and marketing by crafting a powerful story that can be used everywhere – your website, social media, videos, sales presentations, etc. Plus, we'll conduct a live one-liner exercise. You'll walk away with a new one-liner you can be proud of.

9:45 a.m. – The Power of Developmental Experiences
Doug Sanville, Sanville Consulting
During this workshop, explore development with an emphasis on experiences, and examine what experiences tend to be the best and why. Some are profoundly more impactful than others and we will look at how to seek out those experiences for yourself and make a plan for future experiences that will have the greatest significance and meaning for your career.

10:30 a.m. – Insta-Business Plan
Sarah Mattson, TSBDC
An abbreviated version of the usual business planning workshop for TSBDC. Leave with a rough draft one-page business plan.

11:15 a.m. – How to Know You're Ready to Start Your Own Business
David Martin, Heed Public Relations
Ever wonder if you could work for yourself? But, what's it like? Is it terrifying or rewarding? And how will I know I'm ready to take the plunge? We will feature 3 diverse young professionals who've parlayed their work/experiences as employees into successful businesses of their own. 

1 p.m. – Top 10 Job Search & Interview Tips
Rose Opengart, Ph.D. Interviews That Work
Where you work can make all the difference in your happiness. Rose Opengart, Ph.D., Career Coach and prior HR manager, will teach you how to job search and interview to find the best job for you. She will help you determine what you want, how to answer the toughest interview questions and how to ask great interview questions.

1:45 p.m. – Motivational Management Measures Finding Your M&M's
Wade Rowen, Sandler Training 
To get the most from your organization, you need to understand why people show up for work… and tie that reason to your company’s mission. Learn about motivating yourself, your team and your company at optimum levels – by leveraging the inside and outside forces that inspire people to take action.

2:30 p.m. – How An Effect Is Created
Chase Ellsworth, Artifice
Learn the answers to these questions. What is the effect? Are we intentional with the effect our business has? How is the magic effect created? What effect do you and your business want to have on the world? How do you make people go WOW? How can you create a method/system that can create that effect consistently?

3:15 p.m. – Control Your Finances – Control Your Career
Rebecca Brooks, R&D Financial Coaching, LLC
By properly managing your personal finances, you are likely to be a higher performer, have increased efficiency and more focus than your peers who are concerned about their personal finances, making you a better candidate for the next promotion. You can take control of your career and choose when and where you work, or who you work for. Protect yourself against layoffs, cut hours or other reasons for loss of income. Finally, improve your work-life balance by not having to be so focused on earning that next paycheck. We will discuss an action plan to get started.

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