Michael Jacobson, President & CEO, Greater Arlington Chamber of Commerce

The mission of the Greater Arlington Chamber of Commerce is to champion prosperity by providing all the tools and support that small businesses need, said President and CEO Michael Jacobson. “To foster overall economic growth, we’re focusing on our government entities and making sure that we have the tools and resources to grow our economy,” he told Invest:

How did the past year unfold for the Chamber in terms of significant milestones or highlights?

This past year we focused on creating new resources and greater value for our small businesses. We had two successful key deliverables during the year: we created an AI robot business resource tool that is nicknamed Scott the Bot. He’s online to answer whatever resource questions a business might have. And he can do it in over 140 languages. I believe we are one of the first chambers to have a business resource AI solution. If you are wondering what the latest regulation means to you as a company, Scott the Bot will give you answers. If you want to know how to do a market analysis, the bot will lead you to all the tools needed to do a market analysis. 

Secondly, we went old school and held a business expo this past year. Our business expo, held at Texas Live, was focused on businesses that provide resources to other businesses. We had over a thousand people participate in our first business expo. We’re going to double down on that next year, projecting over 2,000 attendees. 

Plus, we added close to 25 new business resource engagements, which included seminars, throughout the year. We are proud of the results we achieved this past year to support the needs of smal business.

What are the organization’s main goals?

Our mission is to champion economic and community prosperity. How do we do that? We help our members grow their businesses. We foster overall economic growth. We amplify the voice of business. We develop the future. If we accomplish our priorities, we are on target to achieve our mission. 

To foster overall economic growth, we work with our government entities to make sure that we have the tools and resources to grow our economy. A key role for the Chamber is to help galvanize our community to support economic development.  For instance, the ballot initiative to fund the Economic Development Corporation was led by the chamber.  

To develop our future we work closely with our school districts, our community colleges, and our universities to create a workforce pipeline. This past year, we had over 250 high-school students in internships with local companies. We had 3,500 3rd to 8th grade Arlington ISD students engage in an entrepreneurship program and contest called “What’s Your Big Idea.” The winners go to a weeklong summer camp to take their ideas to the next level and learn to pitch them. That workforce development side is critical for us. 

How important is the entertainment sector for your region?

The investment in economic engines like the entertainment district is a priority for our city and it’s a priority for the chamber. The recent growth in the entertainment district has generated a tremendous increase in tax revenue. And that tax revenue can be invested back into the city to build roads and parks. It works wonderfully. 

We’re back to having over 16 million visitors a year.  It’s not just about a Rangers game or a Cowboys game. It’s how we activate those sports facilities to drive economic development year-round.  The economic impact has been staggering, and Arlington is now on the world stage with up-coming events like the Arlington Grand Prix and the FIFA World Cup.

How is the chamber leveraging partnerships or new programs to support these industries?

Basically, everything we do in Arlington is centered around partnership. The Chambers tagline is “Together, We Succeed.” The city, the Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Economic Development Corporation, Downtown Arlington Management Corporation, our educational institutions like the University of Texas at Arlington and Tarrant County College, and our business community work so well together. One of the things that sets Arlington apart is how we all come together and work cohesively without any sort of interruption. We genuinely enjoy working together to deliver bigger results than we could by ourselves. That’s just part of who we are. 

On the logistics and the advanced manufacturing side, there are big efforts around workforce development and manufacturing technology and capabilities. For example, the University of Texas at Arlington is a leader in advanced manufacturing. They also help maximize the growth of manufacturing companies through the efforts of Texas Manufacturing Assistance Center to bring the latest thinking to processes, products and people. Then there’s our workforce development organization, Tarrant County Workforce Solutions, and Tarrant County College. All these organizations are engaged together to make sure that we both have the processes and the people to be a leader in advanced manufacturing.

One of the big wins this year was E-Space, which will be growing up to 4,000 jobs in South Arlington, near our airport. They are a satellite and telecommunications company, and we’re excited to be bringing them to Arlington. It takes that level of partnership to get us to the point where we can land somebody like E-Space.

How does the chamber help small businesses?

We believe that the more we work together, the more we succeed. One of the best things that we can do is bring our small businesses together, so they know each other, they mentor each other, they support each other, they buy from each other. If we can create an ecosystem where we are intimately involved in each other’s success, I think then as a chamber, we’ve done our job. Each and every day, that’s something we work to do, to create that environment. In Arlington, we have all the tools that a small business needs to succeed, from the workforce to the regulatory environment, to investors. We have everything you could need as a small business. 

It is critical for a city to understand the importance of small businesses to your economy, and to celebrate those small businesses. In Arlington the goal is for small businesses to feel just as connected to the successes that are happening in our community as any large business may feel. We’re all in this together, and we’re equal partners in what we do. While some of the bigger announcements may be sexier, the success of our small business is the strength of our economy. To create an environment where small businesses prosper, the Chamber works hard to provide the support that they need, the relationships they need, the information that they need and emotional support that makes them feel welcomed, inspired and connected.

What are the next stages of growth for the region and your organization, and what are the challenges? 

 Arlington does not have a lot of greenfield opportunities, so redevelopment is critical.   The good news, though, is that we have the tools to mitigate whatever cost redevelopment would have on a developer to make sure that it doesn’t become a barrier to the bright future that we see for Arlington.  We will work with developers to create a more walkable, livable community, with an atmosphere where young professionals want to live, build their careers. and raise their families, perpetuating our mission of economic and community prosperity.