Welcome
Message from our Chairman

What a year! Does it really even need stating that there have been a lot of challenges for business in late 2008 and early 2009? Is there any doubt that the next couple years may also prove challenging?

I talk to business people every single day. Business and economics is my passion and supporting business starts and providing a little inspiration in this difficult time is my sole hope and goal. It seems the more people I speak with the more I get the sense that there are two important answers that people are searching for. First they want to know THAT it will be OK. Second, they want to know when and how. To these two questions I have to respond that I do not, and frankly, no one can possibly, KNOW the answers. But, I can share my absolute conviction that it will be.

You see, I believe! This is the most powerful force in challenging times. I believe that I will be successful and that my community will be successful and that the Chamber will be successful. The great enemy of entrepreneurial success isn't ignorance, it's fear. Belief is essential.

There is a famous line by Admiral James Stockdale that says, "You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end - which you can never afford to lose - with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be."

Things are tough, consumers and companies are still battening the hatches and holding onto dollars rather than spending them now and risk needing them later. The government seems to be the only spender and they are spending enormous sums on a mixture of stimulus efforts and policy goals. But, if history teaches us anything, it is this - humans in general and Americans in specific are innovative and adaptable. All human experience teaches us faith in the future - especially faith in our own ability to transcend challenges. There was a day, not too long ago that the only music we could listen to was the song that was being played by the orchestra/band at that moment. Today, we can turn on our i-pods and have an infinite selection of tunes to hear at a moments notice. There was a day when we communicated via letter delivered by a man on horseback, today we have streaming video phones that allow us to communicate with people (live) on the other side of the planet or even on the space shuttle.

The point is simply that we are an innovative people and that much entrepreneurial success can come from the innovations that we are currently working on in areas of biotech, nanotech and green tech as well as industries that have not yet even been invented. At the Chamber of commerce our aim is to support these businesses as they get started and grow. We aim to put policies in place in the city of Berkeley and in the region of the Bay Area that are supportive of these endeavors and supportive of the risk-taking of entrepreneurs. We aim to, through our network of members, support businesses in all their efforts.

We believe that through creating an environment that is supportive of businesses we will see more skilled jobs in our region. More skilled jobs means more income into the region and more interest in an educated populace. This means more people in our region supporting our local businesses, restaurants and arts organizations. The more economic success we have the more we can enrich the lives of the entire Berkeley Community. It is our belief that a strong economic foundation is absolutely essential, in the same way Hope is essential, to a truly great community. It is our ultimate aim to contribute to that economic foundation.

Jonathan DeYoe

Chairman