Chamber chief building local coalition

Matthew Crosson likes a challenge, and he has certainly found one in his new job as president of the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce. All he has to do is help businesses through the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.

Crosson, former head of the 5,000-member Long Island Association, replaced longtime leader Kara Kelley in late April.

Crosson jumped into the new position with both feet.

The new leader's first 60 days included numerous visits with member businesses. In May, for example, a typical day involved a two-hour tour of four companies, followed by individual meetings with business leaders. Interspersed with that effort were numerous appointments with local politicians, educators and labor leaders.

"I have been spending much of the last two months trying to understand the situation, and there is a list of things that would be a good idea to do," he said. "That would start with finding new ways to help businesses survive the economy they find themselves in."

Addressing record state and local unemployment rates are also at the very top of his priority list.

In Crosson, the Las Vegas Chamber has found a leader who has experience helping an economy in turmoil. He arrived at the Long Island Association in the early 1990s, after the area lost about 100,000 defense industry jobs with the end of the Cold War.

Building a coalition of business, political, labor and education leaders was a key component of Crosson's effort to bring jobs back to Long Island.

The Long Island Association, like the Las Vegas Chamber, had a mission of helping small companies, he said.

"We are here to help the membership of this organization," Crosson said. "To help small businesses stay in business and grow their businesses until the general economy improves."

Crosson promised important announcements in the next few months. Details of some of those upcoming chamber programs are still being hashed out, and therefore remain mostly under wraps. Crosson, however, did preview a few initiatives.

Helping companies to better market themselves and better use technology is at the forefront of the chamber's effort to aid small businesses.

To that end, the chamber recently added video to its website, and will be offering its members online commercials for as little as $100. The one- or two-minute spots are not moneymakers for the chamber. The businesses are paying only the costs of the videographer for basic spots.

"They can produce their own spots for a relatively minimal cost, $100, unless they want more elaborate production values," Crosson said. "We are keeping the costs as low as humanly possible."

Commercials will be listed by the member company's name on the site, to pull up for future use. He calls it a "Yellow Pages" of sorts.

"Members of our organization are among the most active in the community, and we certainly want to find ways to support them," Crosson said.

Small business, big priority

The chamber's membership comprises predominantly smaller firms. Crosson estimates 5,800 of the organization's 6,000 would be considered small businesses. But he agreed there is a misconception about the chamber.

Crosson, too, has heard the concerns of independent business owners who think the chamber is too focused on large companies.

"That is something that is said about every large organization, but it is exactly the opposite," he said. "A lot of what we do is aimed at helping small businesses."

To demonstrate the chamber's commitment to small businesses, programs such as the website commercials are being added, Crosson said. Independent companies and sole practitioners are being offered opportunities to network within a new chamber program called "turbo networking."

"It's like speed dating for businesses," Crosson said. "For example, if there are 50 businesses in a (turbo networking) group, each business will get to talk face to face with the 49 other businesses."

The idea is to streamline networking for small firms. Turbo networking keeps businesses from spending unnecessary time mingling with companies that are not valuable contacts for them.

"You might only get 12 or 15 good leads from turbo networking," he said. "But they will be good contacts."

A taxing issue

The chamber is also ready to fight against any new taxes that could further harm small companies, Crosson said.

"The one thing we don't want to do is to increase taxes," he said. "A general business tax might as well be called a small-business tax."

Adding another burden on the backs of small businesses would stall or kill job creation, Crosson worried.

"To impose more taxes on small businesses would directly affect the unemployment rate. You know, it is a direct connection between increased expenses on a small business and its ability to hire people," he said.

Large companies often have the ability to survive higher taxes, but little independent companies are often "just hanging on by their fingernails," he added.

As the 2011 legislative session nears, talk of massive tax increases persists. Taxes on corporate profits, or corporate income, are often thrown out as possible solutions to Nevada's economic crisis. Broader sales taxes, and a professional services tax, are other revenue generators being mentioned.

The chamber would want more accountability from state government before the business organization would consider supporting a professional services tax, Crosson said.

"It needs to be conclusively demonstrated to us that the government cannot provide services without increasing revenue," he said. "If, for the sake of argument, that case can be made, the question is, 'How can it be done in a way that is fair and also smart?' "

Any new or increased taxes should be applied in ways that don't hurt the state's economic recovery, Crosson said. He would also want the increased tax revenue earmarked for specific purposes.

Building unity

To emerge from the recession with a stronger economy, Southern Nevada will need cohesiveness, Crosson said.

The local economy should be positioned now for diversification in the postrecession years. Studying other states, and even countries, is important for assessing the competition for individual industries, such as health care, he added.

Most importantly, Crosson wants to unify different business factions in Southern Nevada. He has already met with educational leaders, including Clark County School Board President Terri Janison and University of Nevada, Las Vegas President Neal Smatresk.

Crosson has also reached out to organized labor representatives. He's met with Nevada AFL-CIO Executive Secretary-Treasurer Danny Thompson, Nevada State Education Association President Lynn Warne and Southern Nevada Building and Construction Trades Council President Steve Ross.

Residents, businesses, and the community as a whole, should be invited to develop plans for Southern Nevada's future, Crosson said.

"Everybody needs to throw in their
2 cents worth," he said. "Everybody should have their say."

And the Las Vegas Chamber might end up a little different under Crosson's leadership, too.

"This is the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce, not the chamber of Anytown, USA," he said. "We should be more creative."

Contact reporter Valerie Miller at vmiller@lvbusiness
press.com or 702-387-5286.