Editor’s note: Este artículo está traducido al español.
Christopher Shelton has worked in the pharmaceutical industry for 25 years, including stints at Eli Lilly and Johnson & Johnson, and has advised nonprofits through his own firm, CYS Consultants.
Now he’s bringing that experience to a new role: The Urban Chamber of Commerce in Las Vegas announced last month that Shelton has been named the organization’s new president and CEO.
“It’s a new era and it’s a new way of thinking now in the Urban Chamber under my leadership,” Shelton says.
He also brings extensive leadership experience, including as executive director of the Booker T. Washington Community Service Center in California.
The Sun sat down with Shelton to talk about the Urban Chamber’s mission, his goals for the nearly 50-year-old organization and more.
What is the mission of this organization, and what are your goals in this role, in alignment with that mission?
The Urban Chamber has been in existence for 46 years. So, I’m really standing on the shoulders of the people before me that have done a great job. But our mission is simple: It’s just to create an innovative, entrepreneurial space that promotes economic development for local and global businesses. And then, if we think about it, why are we doing this? We’re doing it for small and diverse businesses. I think the Urban Chamber of Commerce is not only an organization that provides access, engagement and opportunities for procurement in local and regional and national and global markets, but we are really here to educate them and to advocate for small businesses. We are going to be a mission-driven organization. We are going to be a governance organization, to where we will follow our bylaws, and if we feel that some things are necessary to change within the bylaws, we’ll make those changes, but we’ll make them collectively as a governing board.
What are the strategic goals moving forward?
Again, 46 years — long time, right? But it’s a new era, and it’s a new way of thinking now in the Urban Chamber under my leadership. We’re the 501(c)(6). We have a 501(c)(3), and that is the Community Development (Corporation) of the Urban Chamber. Now these two entities are finally playing in the sandbox together. And we need each other because the 501(c)(6), which I’m running, is membership-driven. It’s events-driven. And then if we’re partnering with our counterparts that are also a part of the Urban Chamber — there’s our grants; workforce development. …We have four verticals that we really click on, that are kind of dormant right now that I’m trying to revamp. One is government affairs, the second one is healthcare, the other one is sports and entertainment and then membership. So all four of those things are what I’m really looking to uplift because they will help us with financial sustainability, but they will also help our small businesses, which goes back to our mission. We are mission-driven. If it’s not helping small businesses, and if it’s not helping communities, let’s don’t even go down that route. And then the other one is, I want to continue to recruit and develop and maintain our board members; and just be recognized as one of Nevada’s premier business organizations.
What challenges are facing small businesses right now, and what does the Urban Chamber do to mitigate those challenges for its members?
There’s a list. But the first one is something that everybody knows. It’s access to capital. And when I look at small businesses, they don’t lack passion; they lack access. They’re eager, but if they don’t have access, it just makes it difficult. Also, the other one is operating cost. That’s big for small businesses to stay afloat. We think about workforce recruitment and retention. Those are challenges that small businesses have. The other one is government regulations, and also just navigating through all the BS, if you will. That’s a lot that they have to deal with, and then — this is a big one — access to contracts and also procurement opportunities. Las Vegas is becoming the sports capital, and if it’s not, the entertainment capital of the world. When these things happen, there’s bids that come out. I want to represent the Urban Chamber by being at the seat of these conversations, so when they do come about, I want to be like this: Give the Urban Chamber, give our small businesses, an opportunity to bid on some of these contracts. Many big corporations that we see today started out as small businesses.
What can the Chamber do to help that?
We have access to capital, and we have access to capital through grants, through programs, and so we are always encouraging our small businesses to take advantage of all of these opportunities that we have. We throw events all the time, and it’s not just for the Urban Chamber. It’s for all of my chamber colleagues, which I love them dearly, because it’s also networking. How can we put small businesses in a networking environment where they’re speaking to someone, and then all of a sudden he says, ‘You know what? I actually need a plumber. Oh my God, I need electricians. Oh, I need a carpenter.’ But that’s the access that we give our members at the Chamber to do these things. We have a program right now called the Capital Readiness Program. The Capital Readiness Program allows members and nonmembers who are even remotely thinking about opening up a small business — we’re going to train them. We’re going to give them a business adviser to talk to and say, ‘Is this how you really want to build your business?’ and be able to provide feedback, guidance and support. And it’s free. On top of that, they can also go to our platform from the Urban Chamber called the Small Business Academy. The Small Business Academy is a platform that we own as a chamber, to where anyone that signs up for the Capital Readiness Program can slide right over to the Small Business Academy and take a course on how to be a better business person in life. And that is also being charged for free.
You talked about sports and entertainment, as well as healthcare. Why the focus on those industries?
If you look at the landscape of Nevada, and you look at, not just small businesses, but just people in general — healthcare is big. It’s huge. And we know from a small business perspective, or I’ll even say a family perspective — I don’t care what it is — it’s expensive. So, I’m working with, say, the Intermountain Healths, to say, how can we come up with a program that helps small businesses succeed in this healthcare market that we’re tilting in, from premiums to whatever? What if they have employees, and they’re trying to get healthcare for their employees? So that’s one of the reasons why we’re focused on healthcare.
But then, when we think about sports and entertainment, that’s when I start thinking about opportunities for procurement, opportunities to do bids. Who supplies most of Las Vegas’ economy? The Strip, right? So, if we’re partnering with the MGM Grands and the Caesars, which we are, now it’s starting to have the conversation, well, if there’s something going on that’s being built or something’s being curated or whatever, I want to be the first one that says, ‘Hey, Chris, there’s a bid coming out for this.’ And then we educate our small businesses on how to actually do the paperwork. Show them how to pitch.
The Urban Chamber is almost 50 years old. How has it evolved, and how do you anticipate it continuing to grow?
When you have an organization, any organization, that is 46 years old, that means you’re doing something right. I am a very humble leader. I feel like I am a servant leader. I’ve always been like that. But I know the people before me that are still here, that have seen so many great things helping with the Chamber, and now I come in with my renewed energy, with my renewed zest and my leadership skills and the negotiation skills — closer skills. That’s where I take anything that I can possibly take from our ancestors and just play it forward. I’m very excited to announce, too, on Aug. 15, it’s one of our signature events. That’s our Green Tie Awards. And the whole theme this year, which plays right into your question, is — it’s a new day, it’s a new era at the Urban Chamber. We’re gonna honor all of our past chairmen, presidents, board members — and then the baton’s passed on to me, and I’ll have this type of conversation saying, ‘Hey, thank you, but this is what I see moving forward for the Urban Chamber.’
There are many other chambers and mechanisms for small-business support in Las Vegas. Why is it important that small businesses in general, and then specifically minority-owned businesses, have someone to advocate for them and to help them?
I talked to my counterparts, and we were saying, well, how can we as chambers really help uplift small businesses? And a couple of things come to mind. One of them is a big one: buy local. That’s going to help uplift them. Refer someone who’s local. Mentor someone who’s local. Hire someone local, and then partner with someone local. I just think that, as a chamber, we all have different identities. We have different memberships, and we have different strengths, but our missions are aligned. And guess what? None of us can do this work alone. Nobody. I really feel that for us to continue to make these small businesses move. We got to buy local. We got to do things locally and really support our small businesses.
Is there anything else you want to add?
At the Urban Chamber, like I said, it’s a new day. And I want just everything that we do at the Urban Chamber to be guided by our mission. I want to be guided by our mission. I want to be driven by our strategic goals and be measured by the value we create for all of our members and the community.
