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Austin Area Chamber of Commerce President Joe Bower was busy Monday afternoon, watching over and running people here and there as part of the Chamber’s annual AMIGO Day at Meadow Greens Golf Course.

It was just one facet of his new position, a position he took over from Elaine Hansen in June of this year after eight years with Wells Fargo. The goal of combining facets is all geared toward one goal — business advocacy.

“I don’t think any two chambers are the same because your business mix is different, your size is different,” he said late last week, describing Austin’s Chamber as being able to wear multiple hats. “We get to run some really fun events and I think that’s what a lot of people recognize us for, but at the same time the work we do here I feel is much more important. I think advocacy is the most important thing we can bring.”

Bower was both a branch manager and worked in a facilitation position for corporate training for Wells Fargo, but he also was a part of the chamber by serving on the board for six years as well as the executive committee.

He also chaired a couple other committees and participated in still others.

“I’ve been passionate about the Chamber since then …,” Bower said. “I’m still learning and have a lot to learn, but being able to be a part of that at a deeper depth  and learning more about it was really enticing.”

“I think Austin has a great business environment,” he continued. “The important part is having good advocacy and that’s what the chamber really needs to do, and what I’m here to carry on is really what Elaine started doing.”

It’s that advocacy portion that Bower is really honing on. They are there for the concerns of the business community and to be a part of helping anything that might need to be adjusted.

But he also promotes a close working connection with local government, because he knows that they are two areas that often walk hand in hand.

“Representing our businesses at places like the City Council meetings and having a conversation,” he said. “Having a seat at the table, so to speak, with the people that make the decisions that affect our businesses.”

“To me that’s important,” he added. “I don’t want to be a politician. I’m not here to get into politics, but I do definitely enjoy having a seat at the table with politicians so I can talk to them about what’s important to our business community.”

That, perhaps, has carried over more weight than what usually would be experienced over the last few years. Bower said that to a certain extent businesses are still recovering from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A major part of that is locating and facilitating a growth channel for businesses as they look for ways to not only continue the path forward, but to also thrive.

“You talk to many businesses big and small and getting staff can be one of the struggles,” Bower said. “It’s helping businesses maneuver. People deserve to be paid for what they do, but that puts a big burden on businesses. Businesses are trying to figure out how to do what they do with less and less, a lot of time with staff. How do we as a chamber help them make it easier?”

While Bower admits the chamber doesn’t have the magical key, he said it can act as a facilitation hub to get businesses to where they need to be.

At the same time, he said that Austin is an ideal and growing community. To strengthen that more, Bower said he would like to work more closely with is the people.

“I think one of the advantages we have is our diversity,” Bower said. “If you look at the diversity we have as a city, we have better diversity than many, many larger, cities. We’ve got to be able to capitalize on that.”

Another area is the size of Austin itself, which allows for a certain amount of dexterity when it comes to business.

“We can be somewhat nimble as a business community when we do something,” Bower said. “We can make things happen a little faster than a large city could. We are able to move a little quicker.”

Bower also wants the chamber to be a place for younger business owners or those looking at getting a business off the ground.

“What the chamber likes to do is go and talk with young businesses, old businesses, emerging businesses, people who are thinking about starting a business and explain to them what we can do,” Bower said. “I think they just need to understand there are channels and a lot of opportunities to help.”

Bower said he has long term goals and plans for his time at the chamber, as they focus on things that need fixing or adding ideas in a place that can be bolstered.

But when his time at the chamber is all said and done, he hopes people will return to what his main goal is — advocacy.

“If there is anything I want to be known for when this is all done is that this was a chamber that had a strong voice for business,” he said. “We want to be an important part of the business life blood in this town. I want to build us even stronger as advocates.”

“I want to make local businesses stronger,” he continued. “It’s just not about the chamber here and my place in the chamber. It’s what can the chamber do in the community to make businesses stronger.”