What does it actually take to build a thriving chamber of commerce from absolute zero (no staff, no members, not even a pad of paper) in under 18 months? Wendy Poischbeg did exactly that, scaling the Greater Everett Chamber of Commerce to 300 members in a year and a half by doing something deceptively simple: listening.
Wendy, CEO of the Greater Everett Chamber, joins co-hosts Matt Wolfe and Sarah Pattisall of Brand3 to share how she resurrected a chamber that had been missing from Everett for 15 years and why she built it completely differently this time. From curating member experiences inspired by the book Unreasonable Hospitality, to deploying AI to run lean, to quietly supporting Everett's Hispanic business community during a turbulent political climate, Wendy reveals what it looks like to lead with heart, hustle, and a hype-person mentality.
There's a tension every leader of a B2B service has to navigate: How do you scale without compromising the quality of your services - or the values that drive them? The CEO's Heart for Service is where accomplished B2B leaders share hard-won insights on walking that tightrope.
Matt Wolfe: Hi, everyone. Welcome back to The CEO's Heart for Service. I'm Matt Wolfe, and this is Sarah Pattisall, our amazing brand strategist at Brand3. Hi, Sarah.
Sarah Pattisall: Hello. I'm happy to be here.
Matt Wolfe: As you watch the podcast, you'll notice a whole rotating cast of amazing people from Brand3 who pop in and out to co-host this with me. I'm so glad Sarah's here today. We talked to Wendy Poischbeg, the CEO of the Greater Everett Chamber of Commerce, which will sound strange, but is a new chamber of commerce, and we'll find out why that is. It has seen explosive growth, has scaled from zero to three hundred very quickly, three hundred members. Sarah, what did you take away from today's conversation as we look ahead and preview this for folks?
Sarah Pattisall: I mean, there's so much valuable stuff to glean from this conversation that all different kinds of business owners and B2B service providers can take back and utilize. I think one of the areas that really stood out to me the most is how much Wendy cares about the experience that she is delivering, and how a lot of the thoughts and advice that she has in that realm can be taken and used when people are thinking about their own client experience, they're trying to deliver.
Matt Wolfe: Yeah, absolutely. We'll all be reminded of the simple power of listening, listening to the people we serve, listening to the people we want to serve, and I think much of the chamber's success is coming from that simple motion that is so easy to forget. Well, with that in mind, we'll hop on over there to the conversation, and, uh, I can't wait for everyone to meet Wendy.
Sarah Pattisall: Enjoy.
Matt Wolfe: Hey everyone, welcome back to the CEO's Heart for Service. And hi Wendy, Wendy Poischbeg is here with us.
Wendy Poischbeg: Great to be here. Thanks so much for the invite, Matt.
Matt Wolfe: I'm so glad you're here. CEO of the Greater Everett Chamber of Commerce, of which Brand3 is a member. And I live basically in Everett. We don't have to explain all that today, but basically, I live in Everett. Just right nearby. I'm really looking forward to hearing this story because I know some of it, I don't know all of how you managed to strategize, inspire, and muscle into existence a new chamber of commerce in at this point less than two years, I think. So we're gonna dig into that in a second, but first.
So this whole podcast is about B2B services, you know, how do you market and grow and scale B2B services? And the thing we always try to keep in focus, right in front of us, is that B2B services are all about relationships. It's all about humanity. We try to be human about the things we're doing. So we just have a quick, fun human question before we get into the business stuff.
Matt Wolfe: And the question is this: when you were a kid, what did you want to be? 'Cause I'm guessing you didn't dream of being the CEO of a chamber of commerce. So, where did you start, and how far from that mark are we now?
Wendy Poischbeg: Yeah, we're way off. I was supposed to be the next Madonna. I was planning on being a rock star or an actress or something, in some type of creative pursuit. I love singing. I joined a girls' choir in the third grade. I, I auditioned for a large, prestigious girl choir in Seattle. And though I was a very tiny little gal, I had a very big voice.
And so they moved me into, like, the older kids' group when I was very, very young. And so, that really was an amazing experience because I got to learn, you know, really how to sing and how to project in Latin and all of these historic, beautiful languages that I didn't really understand. And it also taught teamwork and collaboration. And then when I got a little bit older, you know, then I wanted nothing to do with any of that, just jazz and rock and roll and theater. When I was in college, when I really had to, like, pay my own bills and, and then decide if music and theater were gonna be where...I got a job at Boeing, you know. And so, to answer your question, when I was younger, I was supposed to be a rock star, but now I only sing in the shower.
Matt Wolfe: But clearly, you're still a rock star because of all that you've accomplished. We're gonna talk about that.
Wendy Poischbeg: Well played. Well played.
Matt Wolfe: Thank you. My follow-up question to that is, did you try to teach the Latin singing girls choir... did you try and convince them to do a Madonna song at any point? Did you bring a sheet?
Wendy Poischbeg: no. It was a very, it was very uptight. Now, as an adult, I can think about wrangling 40 young ladies twice a week, you know, and trying to keep everything together so you can, you know, learn operettas and things like that, was probably very challenging. Herding cats, right? So it was very strict. And so, today's girl choir would probably recognize that contemporary music could be a lot of fun. But back in the day, uh, no, there was, there was no, uh, there was no zhuzhing that guy.
Sarah Pattisall: However, I do imagine that a lot of that creativity you craved is coming out now in what you do, um, as the CEO of the Chamber of Commerce, because the growth that you've had, I'm excited to hear about the creative ways that you've accomplished all that you have.
Sarah Pattisall: And so with that, I would love to learn more just about the basics of the chamber, if you wanna tell us about it, and what you do, and who you serve.
Wendy Poischbeg: Yeah. Thank you. So, you know, our chamber had, had been around for almost 150 years. And about 15 years ago, there was a failed attempt at getting a large university to site in our community as an expansion. And the feedback that was received was that there were a lot of entities all begging for this university, but nobody really knew what one hand was doing.
You know, it was kind of like, there was just no confidence that a private-public partnership of that magnitude could be executed because there were a lot of players, but no real collaboration or no one vision around it. And the powers that be back then decided that we should take a number of entities and force them to merge together to create a larger regional economic development association.
And from that the Everett Chamber became the Economic Alliance Snohomish County, which is a, a, a fantastic organization that really is there to... for these large regional projects. They do business attraction. And there was always supposed to be an Everett Chamber under that umbrella. But as you can imagine, when you have this forced merger, and you have three very successful CEOs or executive directors of those individual organizations, now you merge them, and then it was like, "Well, you're not the boss of me, and you're not the boss of me."
And so it kinda fell apart, you know, quickly. The, uh, larger organization was firing on all, on all cylinders, but that piece that was supposed to still have, like, a chamber for Everett businesses, fell off to the wayside. was the CEO of that organization a few years ago, and our mayor had expressed that, "Look, uh, I will be returning a chamber to the Everett community.
Figure it out." And ultimately, we decided to split the organization back and restart that chamber as its own dedicated, hyper-focused organization for Everett businesses. In tandem with the alliance, we're a great complement to each other. They can work on those regional issues, and then as a dedicated Everett chamber, we can feed them the information that they need to, you know, perform their advocacy work and their business attraction.
And so we're, we're a great complement. But, that being said, you know, Everett does deserve to have its own dedicated business organization that can be a resource and provide that technical assistance. And so it feels so good to be involved in this venture because I know how bad that- badly it was needed. I've been hearing it for the last few years. You know, like how come we don't have... How come Everett, the largest city in Snohomish County, doesn't have a chamber of commerce? I mean,
Sarah Pattisall: Now you get to be part of the solution.
Wendy Poischbeg: Yes, mm-hmm. And to get to come to it in a new fashion. You know, so when we were formed, our formation committee was really clear. Like, "We don't want your grandpa's chamber. We want new and innovative and youthful and dynamic, and we want you to use new tools for today's entrepreneur." And so we have, you know, we do use AI. We really look at streamlining and automating. And we even have a DJ, though, at almost all, all of our events because we have a very youthful startup community,
Sarah Pattisall: where the Madonna comes back, and the rocks survive. Yes. It's all full circle. I see it.
Wendy Poischbeg: I, I, I've read a couple of books that really helped me when I was the CEO of the Economic Alliance. I read the book Unreasonable Hospitality, and that book, you know, I thought was just about, you know, maybe food service you ta- you talk about service to others, Matt, um, and service to the community. And that book where I thought I was gonna learn great customer service around, maybe like some food handling, which I don't do, but I- I really appreciated where this guy came from, uh, Will Guidara was, uh, part of this restaurant, 11 Madison. I've always wanted to visit this restaurant, so I think I read it mostly for that 'cause I wanted to hear how they craft this, you know, world-renowned service model?
Sarah Pattisall: Get the inside Scoop
Wendy Poischbeg: Yeah, and what I learned is that customer service is in every single business. And as I was listening to this book, I was like, how could, how can I take these insights and have a better experience for our own members of the Alliance?
And what brought me to that was, you know, like, okay, so when we have a networking event, how do I make sure that every person is getting their needs met? I mean, they're having to choose us between Netflix and Little League and, you know, all of these things that come at us every single day, right? And how to use our time. And so if you come to one of our events, like, how am I going to make it so that it was worth your while? And thinking about Unreasonable Hospitality, how can I make sure that you get to meet your next best client when you come to an event? Or something happened that you get to help, I get to help you grow your business because then it's gonna show, reflect on, oh, it's worth my time to show up to an Everett Chamber event or a class or a workshop. After all, we understand the needs of your business, so we can help you grow. And it's not just spray pray, you know?
Matt Wolfe: Wendy, that's awesome. I-- You know, in marketing, I often, often talk about we need to know the scorecard for any individual piece of collateral that's out there. So clearly the scorecard for the chamber is, did this m- move them forward, right? Did this help move the business forward in some way? But, you know, you talked about wanting to do things differently. You're looking for a different ethos of how to do all of this. How is that different from other maybe chamber experiences that you're familiar with?
Wendy Poischbeg: Well, I feel like what I'm trying to create is I curate an experience, you know? So I feel like that's a little different. I'm not just putting on an event or putting on a workshop. I'm curating it based on the feedback and the needs of our members. For instance, we had our branding workshop with you, developed specifically because our members said, "This is what's gonna help.
This is a pain point for me, and this is what would help me improve my business." And so- You know, and we're reaching out. Now it's like AI. We don't understand AI, so now we curate, you know. And then what does that look like for a business between 10 and 25 employees? Not, you know, massive corporations. That, that wouldn't be the right fit. So we curate the experience, based on what our, our members are asking for, and I feel like that recognition of people's time and what brings value sets us apart because we're paying attention to those details.
Sarah Pattisall: Yeah, I've got a follow-up question to that. You know, obviously, you're really doing things the right way, listening to what people need and using that to help deliver this experience. I'm curious, what processes do you have in place to gather that feedback and implement it? Or is it more so just that you are such a part of this community and with these people all the time, and kind of more of that active approach?
Wendy Poischbeg: It's not because I've been around. Some of that could be anecdotal, sure.
Wendy Poischbeg: But when you come from an economic development background, and we do a ton of interviews and surveys of businesses, as a retention exercise, you know, we don't want to, in true economic development, we don't wanna just attract new business. We want to first ensure that the ones that we already have in business can stay in business. It takes a lot to attract a new business into the community. It's more important for us to retain and help expand the ones that are already here, expand their business, as strategic growth for a city or for an economic development strategy. And then even being able to attract new business based on what's going to help the businesses that are already here expand, so the complement, right?
And so when we go and visit a company, we're asking, " What are your pain points? Tell us what's going on that's keeping you from growing." And then we document that, and then we can put that together, you know, like, um, our staff will go, for instance, As we survey, we can see, like, where are there trends, and then how does that inform maybe an advocacy policy or ways that we would go and approach a legislator or a policymaker that, "Hey, did you know that-" This said policy is impacting aseveralbusinesses. We've interviewed them, here are surveys, and then that way, we can provide the testimonials and the examples for folks to maybe have a change in policy that they didn't know.
So as a chamber, we can document that. So our surveys are really important, and then documenting. For each chamber member, after we visited with them, if there was a pain point, we put that into their customer retention, our CRM, and that way we can come back to it and see, hey, did this get solved for them? Or they have a permitting issue. I can tell you for Everett, Permitting is one of the, uh, number one issues that are impacting business growth, and that could look like construction permits, health permits for somebody who's trying to start a restaurant or a food truck. Getting, um, permits, it's so challenging, and we leave money on the table every day that we don't get a business operational.
And when we have folks that have taken out loans, and then this, extended period to get your occupancy permit because of the lack of staff at the city or local level, and it's dragging out, and you're not making a revenue while you're still paying loans, and paying, you know, that is a real hardship. And so ... The chamber, we can come and say, "Hey, this is a pain point. How do we help advocate for improved policy?" We just met with the state and said, "How are you leveraging AI in your permitting reform so you can review permits more quickly?" And that could be a strategy for you to, you know, to look at, and we, we brought that to the table at the state level, like, AI doesn't need to be scary if it can help streamline, and you can review much quicker, and so
Sarah Pattisall: So what I'm hearing is you wear all of the hats, right? Like, you're talking about advocacy work, um, education, that collaboration, connecting people. I mean, it's incredible everything that you all do and accomplish.
Wendy Poischbeg: It is ki- it's fun, and everything is interwoven, if you think about it. You know? So, advocacy is one of our main pillars at the chamber. We want to be that connection point between a business and a policy maker because we come as a whole organization with the weight of, "Hey, this policy," while maybe well-intended, here are the unintended consequences of what that could look like. And you're seeing it at the state level right now. You know, it seems like every millionaire should pay their fair share, and of course, I'm not suggesting that they don't. But some of the policy that looks like they may have unintended consequences of a lot of large businesses leaving the state, leaving smaller businesses to carry more of the load. So everything has consequences when you create policy on the back of business.
Matt Wolfe: That's wonderful. This is really helping me understand the full value of what the Chamber is doing. As you enter as a member, you've got networking on your brain, right? Who can I meet? How can I do that?
Wendy Poischbeg: Yes.
Matt Wolfe: But, but actually this example about the permits really punches home for me the incredible value of having an organization like this, 'cause no one else is gonna do that. No one else is gonna see, find that problem, you know? And I love that you're having the real-- I didn't know you were having all these conversations. And, from our viewpoint, as brand and marketing experts, if we get data, we get numbers. It's important. I would never devalue that. But I think some of the most valuable insights that we get that help our businesses grow are just from, again, human interactions. It is actually anecdotal, and when you're talking about people, the anecdotes are powerful data that move things forward.
Matt Wolfe: So speaking of moving things forward, I wanna capture this growth story that you've experienced. And so I've been to the Chamber, and there is a great... And maybe it's the DJ, but I think it's more than that. There is a great energy in these events, you know? People are-- You can, you can feel an excitement. You can feel a forward momentum. Let me just start, if I can. Can you just run me through the stats? Like, how many members are we at now, and when did the Chamber start?
Wendy Poischbeg: Yeah.
Matt Wolfe: The new iteration of it?
Wendy Poischbeg: Our chamber started on January 1st of 2025. We had a formation committee that, um, met a few times a week, for about three months as we got, you know, everything from the nonprofit status to identifying who would serve on our board, to identifying, you know, your mission and values. We invited board members; you didn't apply. Who could be on our board that cared deeply about not just the Everett community, the Everett business community, but who cared to see the chamber itself be the most sustainable, effective organization? So many folks wanted to be a part of the board, but they were there because their business was struggling or they wanted the cachet of being on the board, and less about, "Are you going to help us as an organization grow and be sustainable?"
Matt Wolfe: Yeah.
Wendy Poischbeg: organization first, you know? So the original Everett Chamber, as I said, became the Economic Alliance. So all of the assets of the original 150-year-old organization are at a different organization, right? I had to buy my own pens, my own pad of paper. You know, their original EIN is at the other organization.
So we started from ground zero. Today, I'm happy to report that just a year and a half later, we're at 300 members. We've done over 55 events last year. We're on point to do about 80 events this year, and those look like everything from professional women's networking to, uh, member meetings to industry-focused round tables, to workforce development. We just got back from Washington DC to meet with our federal legislators on some policy issues. And so, uh, it's very robust, and I feel like we've been able to grow quickly because we're small, we're nimble. We have a very effective board that is hyper-focused on sustainability and membership development, as well as our pillars, so we can provide value back to our membership.
Matt Wolfe: What is that? What are the pillars? I'd love to hear what that is.
Wendy Poischbeg: Yeah.
Wendy Poischbeg: I just wanted to mention that we also,o instead of being about Everett and being about the business growth of Everett, we are recognized as a membership organization, and that we have to care deeply about our members first. When we commit to their success, then that helps us be more successful, right? Our pillars are around, our number one pillar is around community engagement. How do we get out in front oof ur community for our members to connect with the right people? So community engagement is our number one pillar. We heard that from folks who, you know, coming out of COVID, they felt very isolated.
They weren't meeting, people. They wanted to feel more connected. They wanted to be more connected to each other. They asked us not to have a lot of Zoom meetings, to make sure they were in person so people could build relationships authentically and with intention. Our second one is advocacy. How are we advocating for Everett businesses so that policies are not put in place that do harm? Our third is growth. We have to be sustainable as an organization. So, honestly, so what happened fifteen years ago can't happen again. That we're such a sustainable organization that s- somebody can't come in and just take your funding and then move it to another organization.
So how can we be so effective and sustainable that we're here for the long haul, for another hundred and fifty years? Another pillar was within tourism and placemaking, but not for the leisure traveler. How can we leverage the chamber's business voice to amplify and promote our own business community in ways that people will look to Everett as a place for investment? And so our tourism is m- more about leveraging the chamber as that voice that can show off our own business community and be a business attraction. And, uh, we are just about to launch our brand campaign, uh, in about a month. We're just hiring out our video and photography work so we can tell Everett's story and reframe maybe some of the perceptions that people think they know about Everett, but reintroduce what they may not know about Everett and its business community. So I'm super excited about that too.
Matt Wolfe: Yeah, wonderful things are happening here.
Wendy Poischbeg: Oh man, you have a boat down on one of our biggest, best assets at the Everett Waterfront.
Matt Wolfe: I want people to know, for the listeners, I wish they could see it. You know, the largest public marina on the West Coast is in Everett, right? And, it was a pretty functional marina until 10 to 15 years ago, and around the time we moved here, it was just transforming. And we literally, couple months ago, watched four, if I got, if I got my count right, four or five brand-new restaurants in beautiful new buildings, all with views of the boats and the sunset and the water, and that's just, there have been apartments, hotels. There's way more development coming down the road, and it's such a fun place to go. And I tell you, Wendy, where I really saw it, 'cause we go down there a lot. They've got the splash pad. Luke likes, our son Luke likes the splash pad.
Wendy Poischbeg: Oh, yeah.
Matt Wolfe: We were down there, I think, last weekend. And we've been going there consistently for 10 years. We used to see some people moseying and strolling through the marina, those who knew it was there. Last weekend, I thought I was at a theme park. There were so many people walking up and down, and really, the word's getting out, and they're catching what's going on there. But I am really comforted to come back to the chamber, that there's an organization that's really making sure that that growth continues, 'cause it's an incredible transformation.
Wendy Poischbeg: And you're gonna see, you know, so this is a tran- you know, Matt's mentioned this transformational growth around the marina, and you're gonna see that in South Everett. We're, we're doubling down to ensure that when light rail comes from Seattle into our South Everett area, you're gonna see that transformational growth in, you know, what has been a marginalized community. and ensuring that when that growth happens, the businesses that have been there for all these years, that have been a part of that community, get to stay and get to still be represented in a way that still helps their business grow. They don't have to leave; their buildings aren't getting torn down, but they still get to access all of the new opportunities that light rail is gonna bring, including housing, mixed-use, and new development. So you're gonna see another huge transformation, south of our marina, so it's very exciting.
Matt Wolfe: It's really exciting, and it hasn't been lost on me that you've been doing a great job in the monthly events of telling the story of what's happening in Everett, you know, month by month, topic by topic, helping people see that transformation. You know, we-- I wanna mark for a moment something that, that I'm picking up on here in this conversation. We look for takeaways for the listener, and I think Sarah and I and all of our co-hosts that hop on here, we're finding that a lot of the most important takeaways from these growth stories are really elemental. They're really simple motions that make all the difference, and the thing I'm hearing here is just listening. You've spent so much time listening and not just doing, and so much of the power and effectiveness of what you're doing came out of that. And let me just recap.
I wanna make sure we don't miss this for the listeners. We're recording this on May 15th, 2026. You started on January 1st of 2025, and we're at 300 members in less than a year and a half. That is rapid expansion, and that gets me to the heart of what we like to talk about on the CEO's Heart for Service. You know, our biggest core theme here is that as any great service organization grows, the biggest challenge to them is gonna be how do we maintain the quality of service, the pillars, all the things you've been talking about, right, that make the chamber special? How do we maintain what makes an organization special and uniquely powerful in the market?
Matt Wolfe: So I'm curious now that you're new, we've just got a year and a half of stories, right? But it's been fast, and I'm curious what sort of challenges you have seen because of that rapid growth and scaling in the chamber.
Wendy Poischbeg: Right. I think the big thing is, you know, I have a very limited staff. So I now have two part-time supports, one specific to our Latino outreach. We really wanted to make sure that our Hispanic community was seen within our chamber, and our very first hire was our Latino outreach coordinator, and that has been an incredibly challenging position for this year. As you know, our immigration policies have been incredibly harmful, um, to this community. And at first, we were able to amplify and promote all of the work that we were doing with and for and in partnership with our Hispanic community, and now we have to do everything quietly and under the table.
We're not amplifying and promoting the work that the chamber is doing. We're doing it silently. We're doing it by invitation. We're doing it in ways that the community can still receive the services that they need, but not making them feel like they have a target, by having, for instance, a promoted event. Well, we did one specifically. We had a lot of food trucks and corner pop-ups that were happening in our community for, you know, food carts. Well, not all of them were licensed, and that causes conflict. And so, like, and then we discovered that many food carts want to get licensed, but because we have health permit issues, you know, they're not able to get all of their food.
Uh, and so they, they go out on the street corner to pay their bills, right? And so we did, a health district 101. So we brought the health district to them so they could get their licenses. But we didn't tell everybody about it because they were afraid to come out for fear that there would be, perhaps, like an ICE raid. So some of these things we do are very behind the scenes, but I bring up that, you know, so that's some work that we do, and we'd like to have that expanded. And then we have a part-time, you know, membership person that we would love to see as a full-time role. But our board has decided that a full-time advocacy person is the, is where we're going to be.
And so we need to, you know, drive more revenue to hire more people. So I would say that that's been a big challenge for our growth, as a membership organization, we've had to be very thoughtful about non-dues revenue and what we could do besides outside of membership dues, to create sustainability for us. So we've had to get really creative with programming, but that creativity has brought more value back to our members, which has driven more membership increase.
Sarah Pattisall: So surprising to hear how light your staff is right now with all that you have accomplished. I mean, wow.
Wendy Poischbeg: Well, I will tell you, if we were not in the days of AI, I would not have been able to do what I've been able to do without automating and streamlining my systems. And so, even for applying for my nonprofit status, you know, using a large language model like ChatGPT or Claude to help me navigate all of the rules and regulations around nonprofit development, I could do that in a week instead of three or four weeks.
And if you think about it, you know, so these are some of the challenges that we're also facing with our members. For instance, I don't have to take applications and my contracts to a lawyer right now. They have to review a final, but they don't have to... I don't have to use a lawyer to draft every single document I need.
Wendy Poischbeg: Before, I would have to spend those dollars to draft and execute. Now, I can use a large language model, have it draft what I need, and then I send it to an attorney. So, as somebody in business, right? This is crushing the legal, um, industry right now. Their billable hours are so diminished, and so they're ha- you know, they're greatly impacted. So things that are working really well for us as a way to streamline and improve a, a, a chamber or a business, other business portfolio. For the legal industry, they're like, "It's cr- it's killing us, and you're seeing that in finance, in everything almost but the trades.
Sarah Pattisall: No, I hear you.
Sarah Pattisall: Well, so I had a follow-up question to that, which is right over this past year and a half, you have grown to 300 members. Say that you have that same kind of growth in this next year and a half, I can imagine that would introduce a lot more tension and challenges. Do you have, um, a plan in place for that to ensure that you're still maintaining that experience
Wendy Poischbeg: So I don't have a documented plan.
Wendy Poischbeg: I know that the one thing that we implemented in the last year, six months before we had intended, was our ambassador program. And we did that because it became about a hundred and fifty, two hundred members, it became impossible for me to have a touch point with every single member as I had when we first started. And one of the things that is so personal to me is that I never wanted somebody to only hear from me when they got an invoice at the end of the year. That would just, you know, that was just something I was like, "We're not gonna be that chamber. You're going to have heard from me.
We're gonna be checking in on you. We're going to know about you. We're gonna know about your pain points." And around, you know, when it, we got to about 150 members, I realized I can't, I can't keep up any longer. And some of the day-to-day, like, uh, it is kind of funny, and I wonder if you guys go through this. Like, I spend, you know, gosh, probably an hour a day just helping people in admin access some of our tools, you know? And so I, I always think like, " Okay, how can I streamline that? How can I improve? How can I improve that for our members so they don't have those, you know, that our systems are so easy?"
Our ambassador program, we were gonna launch in year two, six months in, I'm like, "Hmm, I need, I need help." And they have been a godsend. They're selfless, they're volunteers, and we changed, so the way most chambers charge dollars for you to be an ambassador. You have to pay to play, and we flipped that on its head, and I've...I know the value of volunteering and how much work it is, and I'm like, "And we're gonna charge them to volunteer their time? No, we're not only not going to charge them, but we're taking you out for pizza. We're taking you out for wine." I'm setting, you know, like, what can I do to improve the way, so that way if you're volunteering for me, like I, I need to show my gratitude, right?
So having those ambassadors, each one takes on like 20 members, and they're checking in on them. They're d- documenting their pa- pain points. They're going out to visit, and then that helps their business because they're getting their foot in the door in ways of representing the chamber that they would not have been able to perhaps with just an ordinary sales call. And so it's a, it's a win-win. And so we have to grow that ambassador program as we continue to grow our membership, as a way to ensure that we can keep up.
Wendy Poischbeg: By the end of the year, we will have an advocacy person, whether that's a contracted position or a full-time actual staff, because navigating the legislative policies from the state and local is a full-time job. It is crazy, and it was really difficult for me to maintain that during just the short session this year. Every day is, is different, right? And so we need to make sure that our members are made aware of certain actions so they can come and provide feedback, provide testimonial, and that we can get them in front of these policymakers so they hear from a real, live businessman or woman how these policies might impact them.
Matt Wolfe: One of my other takeaways today is permits make the world go round, and we- we're a remote team, so that doesn't affect us the same way that it does any sort of brick and mortar.
Matt Wolfe: I wanna, I wanna go back and recapture one thing that we sort of moved past quickly and just ask about it. You mentioned creativity, you know, and it's come up, right? Creativity is a solution, but creativity around the events and making those happen. And could you just share a couple of the ways that you've--some of the creative solutions that you've been coming up with?
Wendy Poischbeg: Being creative is one of the most important parts of why I'm getting to do what I want. I know that about myself. I know I love building systems, and I love building, you know, processes that help move the needle, and being able to do something like this at the chamber and get to be in charge of something like that, um, is really important to who I am as a leader.
It feeds my soul. Everything from, you know, um, gosh, you know, we talked about the giant soccer ball that we're a World Cup fan zone city for, uh, 2026 FIFA. And the chamber, you know, we have the opportunity to help small businesses that maybe can't be part of the big fan zone down on the Everett waterfront, but how are we going to bring residents and visitors to these businesses for micro watch parties? And then in thinking about, okay, well, what would they need to be successful? And then getting to dream up like, "Oh gosh, if I had a business, I wanna make sure the experience is amazing." And, what, what would we need? So it's gotta be Instagrammable, right?
Or it's gotta be, you know, the smells or the, you know, the visual. So that's like a giant soccer ball, you know. Like if we had these lining the streets, that would be this ah moment where people would wanna take their picture in front of, or they would, you know, make sure that they captured that. And so, getting to kind of be a dreamer, in ways that, I think, also comes back to, you know, I love marketing.
I love storytelling and crafting stories. And so, okay, how will that feed into it? And so creating e- experiences is such an important aspect of any business. Doesn't matter if you're a walk-up counter at an auto merchandiser, you know. If you haven't created a great experience, people don't come back, right? And so it's applicable everywhere.
Sarah Pattisall: Absolutely.
Matt Wolfe: Again, that just punches home for me the value of a chamber. You know, we're all busy running our businesses, and it's hard to find time to sit back and think and brainstorm. There's this great opportunity coming. FIFA's coming. And so, you know, to have your team sit back and think about that and just offer those simple reminders. We would just lose that. Oh, right, Instagrammable. Oh, right, all these things. It's invaluable.
Sarah Pattisall: I love how much you've spoken about the experience that you're working to deliver, because that's something that we talk with our clients about all the time, right? That client experience is so important, and that is such an amazing way to demonstrate the promise that you're delivering to the people that you serve. And I love the creativity that you infuse in that.
Wendy Poischbeg: Thank you.
Wendy Poischbeg: You know, I had a small business when I was, I think I opened it when I was 22 years old. I opened a coffee shop in Everett. And in Seattle, coffee culture is well-documented and well-known, but in Everett, we didn't have it, and I was gonna deliver on that.
And it was so difficult to open this coffee shop. I had to explain to people what an Americano was. In Seattle, you know, you've got people lining up down the street to these little sidewalk cafes and espresso carts. And then here I'm having to, you know, try to explain to people what it was.
And I opened, I wanted a coffee cart, 'cause that's what was so popular. I wanted to freeze my ass off on a sidewalk. But in Everett, they weren't allowed, and so I ended up opening a brick and mortar, and I had no business opening a brick and mortar. I didn't know anything about food control, inventory, you know, gosh, minimum wage.
I didn't know anything, right? And I always think about there was a chamber, but I didn't, I wasn't aware of it, and I didn't understand the value of a chamber. And so I always think about what I need to be successful in a chamber, and how I can be that for somebody else. You know, how can I alleviate some pain points that you're having?
And now, because of these 30 years of experience I've had in government, and elsewhere, I do know the connectivity and the resources that we can find. And we're not gonna solve every bad business decision or, you know, you might have a great business plan, but it's just not the right time, or it's COVID, or, you know, s- things that have happened. But we could probably, you know, connect you to some great resources if you're willing to put in the work or if you're well-positioned to accept the help, you know.
Matt Wolfe: And I think if someone's listening to this, thinking about joining your chamber or any others, they're starting to get a sense of the depth of value that's really there, the things going on behind the scenes. When we talk about story, this is one of the last things I wanna ask you before we do our fun little questionnaire at the end. We talk about the story. What is the story that you want new and potential members to hear from the chamber? You know, about how it's gonna help improve their life and their journey.
Wendy Poischbeg: Yeah. You know, our, we're here to be your hype, your hype person, you know, your hype organization. We're here to hype you up. We're here to provide the resources to let other folks know that you're here. We want to give you access to networks and to business resources. One of the challenges for this, you know, coming back around after 15 years, is that this community forgot what a chamber is, and we're having to reintroduce what people think a chamber is about. And, when we think about the story around, we are your business organization in your pocket, if you will, that you can leverage us to help, you know, grow your business.
And the ones that are most successful,l the members, are the ones that are engaged. If you don't show up, if you don't engage, then you're just paying s, $500 ayeara to be in our member directory, or you know, it that, you know, we'll provide backlinks, and there's definitely some benefits to that.
But the ones that come and are engaged and show up and build relationships, those are the members that are the most successful for a chamber and the ones that we really seek out. And a chamber isn't gonna be a fit for everybody. It's like, you know, I think about a marketing agency. Not everybody's gonna be the right fit, right?
It's more important to find fit, and I think that's also the story that we can tell, as a chamber, we want the right fit for business. We wanna be the right fit for you, too. And so we seek the ones who want to be engaged. That's how we're gonna help the other people that are engaged, right? So it, it's the patchwork, right?
Matt Wolfe: From the jump, you clearly had a great sense of who you wanted this to be. I love the image of being the hype man, you know, w-we all need to hear that. We all need to hear, whether it's personally or for our business, oh, someone's gonna champion us. Somebody sees what makes us special. It's so important, you know, at Brand3, what we're... And you've heard me talk about this. You kindly invited me to talk to the chamber, and you know, w-we tell people, "Don't do any marketing, don't do any of this stuff until you know what the story is, and you're telling the right story to the right people. That's your brand strategy.
And then you're gonna take that and apply that story to your marketing, to how you approach sales, to how you approach your client experience, and it changes everything. But you have to know who you are and who you are, who you're serving, and what the story is of that relationship. But you clearly have a great sense of it, and I think we've been unpacking through the whole conversation here, you know, how that's playing out and how you tell your story, how you serve people, and even in how you're selling it and approaching people and
Wendy Poischbeg: I love it. Yep.
Matt Wolfe: That work at play. To us, that's what really drives growth. Story first, and then that applies across the entire client journey, to really help people feel cared for, to nurture their trust, hold it, and turn them into, you're advocating for them, and then they start to advocate for you, right?
Matt Wolfe: And say to the rest of the city, "Guys, something's going on here that you need to be a part of." I think my unified theory for why this is working so well, I think, sits around identity for me, right? You know, there was an issue of identity being taken away, and Snohomish County is not the same as Everett. Both are important, right? But this piece of identity and community of whoever it was had been taken away, and I think the idea that that can be reclaimed is a powerful m- motivator, along with I'll grow my business, and you know, and have
Sarah Pattisall: Right, and not only re-reclaimed, but reclaimed into something new that better reflects the community.
Wendy Poischbeg: Yeah, I think that that's been an advantage for us starting from scratch, while - while it had its challenges, we didn't have to rebrand
Sarah Pattisall: Mm-hmm.
Wendy Poischbeg: a hundred and fifty-year-old organization. We just got to start from scratch based on what we were hearing from folks, and I think that that has been a definite advantage for us.
Matt Wolfe: Well, I'm gonna take away from today's conversation absolutely the idea, the importance of listening again. That's so easy to lose.
Wendy Poischbeg: Yeah.
Matt Wolfe: The importance of creativity.
Wendy Poischbeg: Yeah.
Matt Wolfe: The importance of permits,s apparently. And all of those things. I always thank people for the good work that they're doing, but this is a little more personal because I live here. And I, and I know you. So I just thank you, Wendy, for everything that you're doing with the chamber. It's an un- it's a phenomenal story, and I was so glad that we got to talk about it today. Um, anyone who's in Everett, uh, can look at everettchamber.org. So that's Everett with two T's. Everettchamber.org. But if you're looking for a good example of how to run a chamber, and you can see there the kind of depth and breadth, variety of programming you're doing, all the things you're doing are well-represented there as well.
Wendy Poischbeg: Thank you.
Matt Wolfe: We like to end with a fun little questionnaire. As I said earlier, B2B marketing has to be human before, you know, people do need to know we're qualified, they need information, they need all those things, but they also need to know who is the heart behind this thing. So we're gonna take a minute, and folks will get a chance to know the heart behind Wendy Peuschbeg. And, you know, you're a lot of the heart driving this whole organization, and that's what we're gonna do. It's pretty quick and mostly painless, and are you ready?
Sarah Pattisall: I know I'm ready because I have been dying to ask you this question since we first hopped on, which is, drum roll, what is your go-to karaoke song?
Wendy Poischbeg: Ooh, my go-to karaoke song is Spandau Ballet Gold,
Matt Wolfe: Amazing.
Sarah Pattisall: I am not familiar with that.
Wendy Poischbeg: You're gonna have to look it up.
Sarah Pattisall: Okay,
Wendy Poischbeg: It is--
Sarah Pattisall: absolutely...
Wendy Poischbeg: First of all, it's a fantastic song. It's a really fantastic song. It fits my range very well, and nobody expects it.
Sarah Pattisall: Oh, that's always
Wendy Poischbeg: That's why I like that.
Sarah Pattisall: Doing the unexpected.
Wendy Poischbeg: Doing the unexpected.
Matt Wolfe: Alright, next question. What's the last thing that made you laugh out loud?
Wendy Poischbeg: Well, the very last thing was probably a TikTok this morning that I saw that, uh, I'm trying to remember what it was, but, um, it was hilariously funny. I'm, I'm sure it was cheeky and, you know, probably sassy.
Sarah Pattisall: What, what is your favorite way to get away from it all?
Wendy Poischbeg: Oh, favorite way to get away. Well, a couple of things. My, I love San Diego. I absolutely enjoy being in that city. I go a couple of times a year. I don't wanna live there. I like to visit there, I love the waterfront. We usually take this really long walk that takes, it's like eight or nine miles from one city to the next, just so we can go from one restaurant, walk it off, and go to the next restaurant.
Sarah Pattisall: Priorities, I love it.
Wendy Poischbeg: And I love the water. But then love- coming home. And then my other thing is I do a nightly walk, uh, along the Everett Marina, weather permitting, and that is just a great way to wind down the day. We finish our dinner and then head down there after. We're, we're walker people, and so I love going on a walk. I have... I can solve the world's problems on that walk. It gives me time to just, like, think through. I get to bounce ideas off of my favorite person in the whole wide world, the Kaiser of my friendship army, Matt. Matt Poeschl. Um, yeah. Um, but I, I absolutely, that helps me, decompress and, you know, that way I can stay grounded, and I don't have to actually leave.
Sarah Pattisall: Yeah.
Matt Wolfe: It's a very peaceful place. You know, you mentioned
Wendy Poischbeg: It is.
Matt Wolfe: I go down and work on the boat, same thing, I... Being able to get out and walk along the water is a great problem solver. I agree. I like this next question: what smell reminds you of a specific time or place?
Wendy Poischbeg: So, the first thing that came to my mind is this very specific orange vanilla pumpkin smell at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. I love that smell. In fact, I wanted... I found out you could go and you could order it, for some reason that specific orange vanilla, like, it... I just cling to it.
I just think it's such a beautiful... And you know, folks, like, you know, not everybody smells the same way. I didn't know that until I got older. Things that I love, jasmine, vanilla, those scents, I know folks that can't, that can't take it at all, and I'm like, "Oh God, how sad that must be."Butt for me, yeah, I, I crave those smells. So I'm sorry to say, it's kind of sad that a casino is what I love, but man, I love that orange vanilla smell at the Mandalay.
Sarah Pattisall: That-- yeah, I like those scents as well. That sounds like it would smell amazing. All right, the next question here is: What day in your life would you like to relive?
Wendy Poischbeg: Oh my gosh. Okay. So uh, when my son was 11 years old, we went to Thailand,d and in Phuket we had the most magical day, ay swimming in the surf, in the sand, and water would just rush, like roll over you. It was... that very fine, fine sand. We had the most fun day. I, we just laughed and played in the water for hours. The reason I would wanna relive that day is that it is my favorite day in the world. It was time to leave, and I realized that the fine sand had worn off all of the sunscreen, and he got horrible second-degree burns. And then for the next three days, he was, like, in ice baths and things like that.
I... So I would go relive that day, and I would still have the most magic and fun of us playing in the water, but then I would have a rash guard on him, and I would, I would make him wear I would, I would cover him up, you know, beyond just, like, you know, the regular sunscreen and the aloe vera because I didn't realize that it was just, you know, kind of washing it all off of us. Because it was the most magical day until it wasn't. And so I would relive that day because I absolutely loved playing with him all day long. You know, it was a great day.
Matt Wolfe: What three words would your loved ones use to describe you?
Wendy Poischbeg: Gosh.
Matt Wolfe: Yeah.
Wendy Poischbeg: Well, uh, in my mind, I would like to think of funny, loyal, and loving. I feel very confident that that would be the way that they would describe me.
Matt Wolfe: Those are three really good words.
Sarah Pattisall: I like that.
Wendy Poischbeg: It doesn't make me sad to think about myself, like, in those ways, I have to say. You know, 'cause I strive to be that. I really do. So thanks for asking that question. I'm gonna ask my husband tonight on our nightly walk, um, how he would describe me, and see if that's what he would say too.
Sarah Pattisall: I love it. All right, last question.
Sarah Pattisall: What would it mean to you to have truly succeeded in your work and not your company, or not just the chamber, but you?
Wendy Poischbeg: Oh, goodness. What would it mean? Have you guys read that book by Simon Sinek about the why?
Matt Wolfe: I'm familiar with,h yeah.
Wendy Poischbeg: It's a great book. And years ago, I think it was a part of his TED talk. Where I saw a snippet of, you know, his it's the why and how you get to the why. And I watched that video, and I really didn't understand it. I did- I didn't get it. And, later that week, my husband Matt came home, and he said, "Have you seen this video about the why?"
And, he asked me what my opinion was, and I said I don't have a why. And he goes, "Well, sit down, sis, because we're not leaving this couch till you figure it out." And we didn't. We sat for almost two hours, while we just dug into what makes me tick. And I discovered about myself that when I can amplify and promote other people, I feel the best about myself. And so everything that I have created, or I have worked toward,s has really been a selfish pursuit of making me feel good through amplifying and promoting other people. And so the work, you know?
Sarah Pattisall: Yeah.
Wendy Poischbeg: If I get to make somebody else's life easier, better by promoting what they're doing and amplifying the great work that they're doing, I sleep well.
Matt Wolfe: Wow.
Sarah Pattisall: Well, it's funny too that you say that this is all a selfish pursuit for what makes you tick now, because earlier when you were speaking and some of the things that you were saying about how the chamber is run, I was like, "Wow, so there's this huge element of selflessness to it." But you're like, "Nope, it's just because this makes me happy." So it's all
Wendy Poischbeg: It's totally selfish.
Sarah Pattisall: All about me.
Wendy Poischbeg: Absolutely selfish. It's so I can sleep well at night, and then I sleep beautifully.
Sarah Pattisall: Yes. That's great.
Matt Wolfe: The power in it.
Sarah Pattisall: Yeah.
Sarah Pattisall: Well, what a story we captured today. From aspiring rockstar to amplifier of others. Still a rock star in your own right.
Matt Wolfe: Yes. Absolutely.Thank you, Wendy, for spending the time with us today. again, everettchamber.org. Everett with two Ts. Everettchamber.org is where you're going to find Wendy and this organization. So again, we have been with Wendy Poischbeg, CEO of the Greater Everett Chamber of Commerce. I am Matt Wolfe. This was Sarah Pattisall with Brand3, and we'll see you next time.
MAILING
201 Market Street S
Suite 201
Havre de Grace, MD 21078
OFFICE LOCATIONS
Havre de Grace, MD
Lake Stevens, WA
