The San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce is looking for a few good testimonials from happy members who can articulate how beneficial it is to be a member of the oldest and largest Chamber of Commerce in the area.

From leadership training to networking, from business leads to a boost in foot traffic or website traffic, the Chamber wants to know how it has helped local businesses gain success.

If you have a Chamber success story you’d like to share, please email the information to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

It could happen to any person, product or place. Just a few words from Oprah Winfrey and a company can see an influx in sales, a product can become a best-seller, or a place can be “put on the map.” Some call it “The Oprah Effect.”

San Luis Obispo, Calif. is only just beginning to feel it after The Oprah Winfrey show aired on Wednesday featuring San Luis Obispo, as “the happiest city in America.”

The day the episode aired, the San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce’s tourism website (VisitSLO.com) saw a 745 percent increase in visits over the same day last year (visits indicates the number of unique sessions initiated by website visitors, according to Google Analytics). The website normally gets about 290 visits per day in the slow winter months, and about 433 visits per day in the summer months when the tourism season occurs. But on Wednesday, VisitSLO.com had 2,443 visits.

“We knew we would see a spike in traffic on our tourism site, but we were so thrilled to see it increase that much,” said Whitney Diaz, director of Internet services and publications at the San Luis Obispo Chamber. “Even traffic the day after the episode aired is extremely high, with more than 1,000 visits midday. We’re hopeful that it won’t taper off any time soon.”

The Citizen of the Year Award is the Chamber’s most prestigious honor and is the only award presented at the Chamber’s Annual Dinner gala in recognition of unparalleled service to the community of San Luis Obispo.

In July 2006, Hind and his wife, Jane, established the Hind Foundation to provide funding for important projects that have enduring benefits to communities. In 2010, a year when both nonprofits and for-profits found it more difficult to establish funding, the Hind Foundation awarded more than $1 million to Central Coast projects, including the Performing Arts Center, San Luis Obispo County Community Foundation and Central Coast Economic Forecast.

Last year was a busy one for the San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce, especially online. Here’s a look back at some of the Chamber’s proudest accomplishments in 2010.

The Chamber focused on staying ahead of the technology curve by focusing on the search engine optimization of its websites as well as strengthening its social media presence (find the Chamber now on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Flickr and more.) The Chamber also presented its brand new online Business Directory, complete with an individual web page for each of its 1,400-plus members.

With absolutely no paid advertising, the Chamber’s tourism website, VisitSLO.com, received an incredible amount of traffic in 2010. Overall, VisitSLO.com received an astonishing 121,159 visits (100,808 of which were absolute unique visitors) and 438,688 pageviews. This site continues to rise to the top of search engine results, thanks to the efforts of the Chamber’s staff.

Gunther brings an important small-business perspective to the Chamber in a time when small businesses are facing new challenges. About 90 percent of the Chamber’s membership base is made up of these smaller businesses (with 20 employees or less), so there’s no doubt his leadership will be invaluable in the coming year.

As the oldest voluntary organization on the Central Coast, the San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce boasts a membership of about 1,500 area businesses and organizations and a staff of 15. The San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce is a nonprofit organization that is an independent business advocacy organization that is not affiliated with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce or any other Chamber of Commerce.

“I really see an opportunity for the Chamber to reinvent itself,” Gunther said. “This more competitive economy is the new norm, so how do we as a Chamber want to operate within this new norm? There is a real opportunity for the Chamber to build upon its strengths and stay on the cutting edge of technology and services to its members.”

Eight newly elected members of the San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce, plus one appointed member, joined the chamber’s Board of Directors along with incoming Chairperson Michael Gunther this month.

The Board of Directors serves as the Chamber’s policy-making body and its 21 members represent the diverse business and professional leadership of the community.

As the oldest voluntary organization on the Central Coast, the San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce boasts a membership of about 1,500 area businesses and organizations and a staff of 15. The San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce is a nonprofit organization that is an independent business advocacy organization that is not affiliated with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce or any other Chamber of Commerce.

Count 'em, 15 Chamber members made up the majority of The Tribune's 20 Under 40 list this year. More than 80 entries were submitted online for a chance to win the award that honors county residents younger than the age of 40 who have demonstrated excellence in their field and a strong commitment to community service.

Are you following the Chamber yet? The San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce has taken social networking by storm in the last year. Its members can now follow the Chamber on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Diig, Flickr and other social media websites.

“Social media opens a world of opportunity for small businesses like no other platform has before,” said Dave Garth, president/CEO of the Chamber. “We’ve seen social networks work as a bridge to bring our members together, and we use them to promote and strengthen the local economy.”

In the past year, the Chamber has amped up its presence on social media sites, like Facebook and Twitter, to promote its member businesses, organizations and tourism in the community. The number of people who “like” the Chamber’s Facebook page has increased by about 368% since this time last year (from 98 to 459). And the number of followers of the Chamber’s Twitter page has increased by about 95% since last year (from 395 to 773). 

The economic downturn has had a negative impact on nearly every business in some way, but the technology sector on the Central Coast seems to have been less negatively affected than others, according to the results of the Chamber's 2010 Technology Forecast.

“We were really surprised by results of the technology survey, which launched earlier this year,” said Brian Weiss, chair of the San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce’s Technology Advocacy Committee (TAC), which revised the technology survey from previous years and analyzed the results. “An astounding 41.5 percent of technology-related respondents said that the economic climate had either a positive effect or no effect on business.”

Based on the survey results, this year’s TAC made several recommendations to the Chamber and the community. These suggestions include offering continued support for initiatives, programs, etc. to develop and enhance high-speed Internet connectivity to allow for more telecommuting and industry growth, and enhancing air transportation so Central Coast technology companies can invite clients or easily visit potential clients out of the area.