By John English
Contributing Writer
Fort Worth’s robust business sector has made the city a model of economic prosperity and expansion throughout the country, largely thanks to a unique alliance among three local chambers of commerce.
Successfully transitioning from an economy bolstered by the aerospace and defense industries in the 1980s to a more diverse environment of small business development evident today, the local business community has demonstrated a resilience that makes residents, particularly those with an entrepreneurial spirit, confident to open up shop.
The result, according to the City of Fort Worth, is an economy that is diversified in many industry sectors such as services, trade, manufacturing, transportation, communication and construction.
Perhaps equally as important to diversification is a collaborative spirit that exists between the Fort Worth Chamber, the Metropolitan Black Chamber and the Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber—three independent entities that are, in reality, very much intertwined.
“When we signed a memorandum of understanding between the three chambers, I can honestly say that we had a lot of corporate leaders who said ‘thank you,'” Anette Landeros, President of the Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber, said. “They wanted to see everyone working well together because they understand the value of unity in the business community.”
The chambers have signed multiple statements of support together for particular actions, the most recent of which was the backing of the vote that was needed for the Fort Worth Convention Center.
“Instead of writing three individual statements, we wrote one that was signed by all three presidents and had all three logos,” Landeros said. “What that says is that not one chamber is behind this, but our business community as a whole is behind this.”
Landeros is the most tenured of the three chamber presidents at five years, and she presides over an organization that hosts 77 events a year and has just over 850 members.
Landeros has overseen the implementation of several new programs, including Launch Fort Worth, which is an entrepreneurship class for business owners from the “zero to two-year mark in their journey.”
The Hispanic Chamber has also embarked on a commercial revitalization project of the historic Northside district through a partnership with the City of Fort Worth and Main Street America.
Michelle Green-Ford, President of the Metropolitan Black Chamber, said that the partnership that exists between the three organizations has allowed each chamber to keep residents and business owners alike informed.
“We collaborate to provide information to the community around business growth and development,” Green-Ford said. “We have a lot of discussions where we are working with the city or the county. You’ll see us at the state of the county or meeting with city leaders, where all three chambers are critical to be in the room in order to maintain perspective.”
Increasing membership is key for the chambers, as well, and Green-Ford has helped introduce a business master class in which the Black Chamber partnered with Prosperity Bank to help new entrepreneurs navigate the potential pitfalls of business ownership.
“This class was implemented to address business needs from start to finish,” Green Ford said. “So for people looking to start a business, things like how do you start it? What do you do for the financial pieces and marketing? It’s a very holistic approach for businesses, whether they were start-ups or in business for a while, but needed some structure in order to grow.”
And grow it has.
Chamber membership within the Metropolitan Black Chamber has jumped from 450 to 710 members since Green-Ford assumed her position in 2022, and economic equity has improved dramatically.
“We had our state of the chamber recently,” Green-Ford said. “We started to look at what are the indicators of growth in the chamber and moving things in that direction. We saw a 50 percent increase in our business development programs for members, a 157 percent increase in members, a sponsorship increase of 200 percent and then our revenue has increased by $500,000. So we’ve had some pretty good financial indicators that we are moving in the right direction. The programs we are implementing
are having a direct impact on a number of people who have joined the chamber, and then a number of sponsors who see that work and want to be a part of it.”
For Fort Worth Chamber President Steve Montgomery, economic equity is an integral part of the collaborative effort of the three chambers.
“It’s super important,” Montgomery said. “It’s the old saying that a rising tide raises all ships. If you have a vibrant economy, that fabric of the local business community, that’s what matters. I value Michelle and Anette as colleagues and friends…and the local small business ecosystem that all three of us are working on is critical.”
The Fort Worth Chamber has about 1,400 members, and Montgomery, who recently celebrated his first anniversary as president, said of all the changes he has initiated since becoming president a return to focus on small businesses is perhaps the most important.
“I think we sort of got away from that,” Montgomery said. “And what really led me to that was talking to our big members, the Lockheeds of the world, Alcon, BNSF, because they want us to focus on having a prosperous local economy. They want to be able to show that Fort Worth is a great place to live and work, and you get there by having a strong and vibrant local economy.”
Montgomery has also introduced programs that look at how the Fort Worth Chamber can foster growth with veteran-owned businesses along with a new program that focuses on homelessness, and how they can bring the business community’s voice to that very complicated issue.
Montgomery said that an after-hour mixer is scheduled in the near future for members of all three chambers and said the solidarity of vision that exists between him, Green-Ford and Landeros helps keep the Fort Worth business community thriving.
“It provides a more unified voice when it comes to matters at city hall,” Montgomery said. “Whether we’re taking a public policy position, or we’re advocating for something. When the mayor gets a letter from all three chambers, she’ll take notice more than if it was just one of us. It shows that we are unified in our message about Fort Worth and the importance of economic development and the issues we all care about.
