I recently commissioned a poll of Nashville business leaders regarding their satisfaction with the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce and its leadership. The poll was directed to 1,755 leaders and focused on satisfaction with membership benefits, the fees associated with membership, the chamber’s leadership, the chamber being involved in education, the recent and significant budget cuts and more.
It is no secret that I have not been pleased with the chamber and its leadership. They don’t focus enough on Nashville’s growth, nor do they give enough attention to Nashville’s small businesses. I also think that the city cutting the chamber’s budget by 50 percent in 2020 was indicative of the job the body is doing. More recently, I’ve wondered what other business leaders in the community think of the chamber as an agent of Nashville — and so I commissioned the poll. Some results did come as a surprise to me.
For instance, 70.83 percent of respondents said the benefits of chamber membership were not worth the investment. Some did say the events are good, but they still don’t see the full benefit for the cost. Other members said the chamber is not a helpful ally; that its emphasis is on recruiting businesses for other counties and not Nashville or Davidson County. When asked about the chamber developing businesses outside of our region and not focusing on Davidson County, 32 percent “strongly disagreed” with this approach. Another 12 percent “somewhat disagreed.” So in total, 44 percent would rather the chamber focus on Davidson County and Nashville alone, over building commerce in Davidson-adjacent counties.
The results further showed that the chamber’s focus on big business versus small business is off course. According to the poll, 28 percent said the chamber focuses too much on big business, and 32 percent more said the chamber doesn’t give enough attention to small businesses. That means 60 percent of respondents are unhappy as to the chamber’s focus.
Respondents were also asked to mark their level of satisfaction with the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce’s representation of Nashville’s businesses on a scale of 1 to 10. Thirty-eight percent gave the chamber a low-scoring 1, and an additional 21 percent scored the chamber between 2 and 5. That means 59 percent of respondents are not satisfied with the chamber’s overall representation of Nashville businesses.
Another question addressed the mayor significantly cutting the chamber’s budget in half in 2020. Nearly 71 percent said the budget cut was “appropriate.” When asked why, respondents relayed that the city and its taxpayers should not have their dollars go to the chamber, and that if the chamber lures more business to adjacent counties over Nashville, then the mayor was justified.
Another question asked specifically, “What is your level of satisfaction with Mr. Schulz’s leadership as president [and CEO] of the chamber?” Recipients were asked to use a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being “very unsatisfactory” to 10 being “very satisfactory,” to describe their thoughts on Ralph Schulz’s leadership. Ten percent scored Mr. Schulz below the requested 1 to 10 range, with numbers lower than one. Forty-eight percent gave Mr. Schulz the lowest score of 1. Another 14 percent gave Mr. Schulz scores between 2 and 5. Only 28 percent gave Mr. Schulz scores greater than five. Overall, 72 percent of respondents feel Mr. Schulz is failing in his responsibilities as a leader.
Respondents of this poll are not happy with the chamber overall. Even though some voiced contentment with events or networking options, they are not happy with the fees associated with membership. According to the survey, most are not seeing the value in chamber membership, they don’t see the value in what the chamber does for Nashville’s commerce, and they don’t see the value in Mr. Schulz’s leadership. Nashville has an area chamber whose budget has been cut by the mayor, does not provide enough benefits for the fees it charges, is seen as lacking focus in the right areas, is not seen as an ally to Nashville businesses and their owners, and whose leadership is unsatisfactory to the Nashville business community.
I think it’s time for Ralph Schulz to hand over the reins to someone who can do it … better.
Bill Freeman
Bill Freeman is the owner of FW Publishing, the publishing company that produces the Nashville Scene, Nfocus, the Nashville Post and The News.
