This year, the Overland Park Chamber of Commerce took official initiative to help the city’s small business scene.

The chamber is working on forming and implementing a Small Business Council — a group comprised of chamber members who want to work together to address the common struggles among the city’s small businesses.

The group has met once so far

• Businesses from all sectors —from restaurants to retail — will be able to participate in the group.
• Tim Holverson, Vice President of Economic Development and Entrepreneurship for the Chamber, said one noticeable trend that led to the formation of the group was a struggle among businesses to find and retain employees.
• “There are a lot of small businesses in Overland Park,” he said. “The intention is zeroing in on those small businesses from all sectors.”
• The small business council will meet on a monthly basis.

The council has been a long-term goal for the chamber

• The creation of such a group came from the Chamber’s Opportunity NOW initiative — an effort that outlines the chamber’s five-year long-term goals for the city’s business community.
• While the exact direction of the council is unclear so far, Holverson said this early stage will consist of gathering feedback from businesses on what struggles they face and how those can be addressed — whether that’s through legislative policy changes, marketing or finding new sources of revenue.
• “We’ll be figuring out who wants to be at the table,” he said. “Sometimes it’s a matter of helping them address pain points in their business.”

The chamber has other resources for small businesses

• While the small business council is for chamber members only, the chamber offers other programs for both members and non-members with fewer than 50 employees.
• For example, the chamber partners with Kauffman Fastrac to provide a 10-week course that can help aspiring business owners create a “soft launch” plan for a business idea they have.
• The chamber is also working on building a resource dashboard for entrepreneurs who want to start or grow their business.

Go deeper: How the Overland Park Chamber wants middle schoolers to get involved in civic discourse