The Business to Business event at Crown Center was a huge success for our Organization, we were fortunate to meet with a number of new and established businesses that we were not aware of both locally and from out of town, what we found to be interesting is the confusion we may be causing as to who could join or how to become an active member with our organization, we were asked a number of times during the course of the day “If I’m not Indian can I still join?”
I think its important to explain what our Organization is about, what we do and how it benefits our Mission and Goals in relationship towards the American Indian community, the AIEBC is a very positive but aggressive organization, we do NOT have meetings that bring you together with someone trying to sell you something unless of course you ask, we do NOT charge our members to attend our meetings or to attend our events, we do NOT offer what some people call “community recognition” by joining our organization, community recognition is only given by the Tribal community or Nation that you claim you are part of, we do however want to include you and your business at events and places like Crown Center, if you cant make it to the event, we represent your company’s interest in the form of flyers and line cards explaining who and what you do as well as your certifications, we assist new businesses with Businesses plans, feasibility studies, we try to walk you through the red tape and avoid the pitfalls of DBE, MBE certification, we even assist with providing hourly/salaried employee manuals but most importantly you certainly do NOT have to be American Indian to join our organization.
That’s why we’re proud to bring you innovative member benefits and programs that provide measurable returns.
This results-oriented approach has earned us recognition we are proud of, we are a progressive, active organization. We invite you to learn more, and see what we can do for you. Discover an Investment that Pays Dividends in Success.
Templates for Hourly and Salaried Employee manuals (we did all the work for you, just fill in your name)
We’d like to suggest that now is the time to take full advantage of your AIEBC membership. Our many programs and events will gain your business exposure, educate you, and provide countless networking opportunities – making you stand out from the pack. The AIEBC has planned an array of events that are sure to get your business energized.Just as importantly, we encourage you to participate at the legislative and public policy level as we redouble our efforts this year on behalf of business, and watch for our regular email bulletins on legislative and public policy issues.
As your voice – the voice of business – the AIEBC represents our members, from all industries and of all sizes. Our commitment is to advocate for favorable policies and legislation having to do with business.The AIEBC is committed to fostering an environment where economic development projects are encouraged and supported and a positive climate for local companies to grow. A strong business community is a catalyst to a dynamic area in which to live and work.We appreciate input from members and encourage you to share your comments and suggestions. Member involvement in our many programs and committees is paramount and we urge you to take advantage of the many networking opportunities that the AIEBC offers.
The AIEBC relies on member support and volunteers to supplement the efforts of its staff. Over the past year, more and more of you have stepped forward and we want you to know that we are grateful for your volunteerism.
Finally, please do business with your fellow members. Supporting area companies and organizations is important to our economic stability and vitality.
As for the American Indian community, the AIEBC realizes that there is an extremely limited amount of access for American Indians entering both into the job market and the business arena so we try to have our established businesses mentor these people looking to start their own business and upon completion of the mentoring program we assist with certification, the business plan, the feasibility study and registering the business, its our hope that when the new company leaves its incubation period they will hire those that decided for one reason or another that starting a business was not for them. We also work towards assisting in education, health and community assistance such as toys for tots, meals on wheels, American Indian Awareness Month and the Christmas turkey giveaway program and that is our focus at the end of the year, that is what we address as a not for profit and that is where our support goes to.
On the business side of our organization and in order to truly be an effective organization, we have to first acknowledge that each person we try to work with is different and unique so in order to better understand the particular need of the Business we try to meet each Business owner at his or her point of need, which will usually be a different “point of need” for every person, some need a contact person of a particular company or business and others simply need more exposure, others need assistance with DBE, MBE, WBE Certification while others need help with a new business plan.
We are willing and able to adapt to the particular person and give them what he/she needs and we are always very aware of that practice when working with businesses that are members of our organization. Some of course are going to call this way of thinking “unfair” to the group as a whole, but in all reality, the very definition of fairness is every person gets what he or she needs, not necessarily the same thing or the same amount. You can’t confuse the concept of fairness with equality. I’ve met a number of people, including City officials and Chambers who tell me that fair means everyone should get the same thing; however I guess we at the AIEBC tend to think differently than some because we feel that fairness is when a person/group/organization gets what he/she/they need.
There is a fundamental difference between a need and a want; The AIEBC understands that the concept of fairness and equality are not synonymous. Equality means to us that everyone gets the same and is treated as equal. An example between the difference of fairness and equality is this: If a child needs to wear glasses in a classroom in order to see the notes on the board, fairness would be to ensure the child is able to wear his/her glasses; equality would mean that every child in the classroom was given glasses.
And that is exactly how we work here at the AIEBC, we treat everyone equally but we are fair as well when it comes to meeting your needs.
I try to remember that I to am a member of a team, and I rely on the team, I defer to it and I sacrifice for it, because the team, not the individual, is the ultimate champion and the effective and meaningful collaboration is the glue that binds a successful inclusion organization together. Collaboration involves all persons who are involved in the organization.