While local businesses have been recovering from the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak, the Southlake Chamber of Commerce has been there to provide support. It may have not been the year previous chairman Ryan Peabody was expecting, but he believes that the chamber is proving its role within the community during the crisis. After starting his business Peabody Law Firm PLLC in another city, Ryan knew he wanted to find a town where he could establish roots. Now, just a few years later, it’s safe to say he has a solid foundation in Southlake. While the outgoing chairperson may have handed over the reins to the incoming leader Justin Lewis last month, Ryan has no plans of slowing down the connections he is building with his neighbors.
WHEN I WAS MOVING TO SOUTHLAKE… I looked all over the state. I landed in Southlake because it was a city that was appealing. It was a place I wanted to raise my kids. It was what I was looking for long term where I could raise my family. It has wonderful people, outstanding amenities. It was very business focused. Southlake has a commitment to excellence that really shines through.
I GOT INVOLVED WITH… the Southlake Chamber of Commerce. They were instantly welcoming and gave me a lot of opportunities to meet people and get involved. The chamber in Southlake in particular maintains a very high level of professionalism. I certainly expected to make friends, but its No. 1 objective is helping you build your good name in the community and help you become trusted. The chamber has been a vehicle for me where I get more out of it than I put into it. It’s designed that way.
THE CHAMBER IS… nothing but a chamber of sweat equity. That’s what really translates across sectors. There are people in the restaurant industry, fitness industry, retail who I can stand next to at a ribbon cutting and relate to them. I have a tremendous amount of respect for someone building something for their family. That’s the American story.
I WAS INVOLVED WITH THE CHAMBER… for a year before I went to the chamber president Mark Guilbert and asked how I can get more involved. Mark gave me the opportunity to take over a networking group. I restructured it and rebuilt it from four people to 40 people in less than six months. I had a tremendous amount of success with that group by bringing structure into it. We started on time. We ended on time. We created an environment that welcomes people from all walks of life. I wanted to establish a precedent that we welcome a broad group of people.
MARK AND I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY… to work closely with that. I said, what more can I do, and he said ‘I’d love for you to consider serving on the board.’ For having a business in Southlake that’s less than five years old and being an attorney, I had to make a decision if I wanted to invest my time in the community. This is a long-term investment for me.
ON MARCH 16… our first newsletter went out exclusively focused on COVID-19 resources. It was the week before the chamber paused all membership dues. And the chamber started calling every business, not just that was our 540 members but every business in Southlake. We made the decision that we are not selling anyone anything. We are coming alongside them and saying, ‘Hey, we are getting through this together.’ We just want to be a resource for everyone and a central location where people can get factual, current information for businesses.
I LEARNED... that in a unique crisis like this, you need to be incredibly flexible and gracious with people. They are under a lot of stress, and there is a lot of nervousness out there. You have to be a good listener. Once I build a relationship, I want to get on a deeper level with someone. I want to know how I can help someone.
MY YEAR AS CHAIRMAN… made me make a lot of hard decisions. We canceled our awards banquet. We wanted to focus on information and stability instead of celebrating. There will be a time for celebrating, but I don’t want to do something that we could not do well. We completely redid the budget so we could retain our staff, so that when we come out of this, we are up and running and we aren’t trying to rebuild the chamber from scratch. [That] enabled the chamber to serve and come out stronger.
MY PIECE OF ADVICE FOR… business owners is to never stop innovating. A crisis is a good time to reevaluate your business structure, identify strengths and weaknesses and build up your strengths. Don’t become idle. Now’s the time to think outside the box.