Veronica Giles has accepted a tough challenge in 2011.

As the Charlotte Mecklenburg Black Chamber of Commerce’s first executive director, she wants to grow the organization’s membership and make the Black Chamber more relevant -- a tough assignment in any environment. All the tougher given the current economy.

Giles, an electrical engineer by training who grew up in Alabama and moved to Charlotte 15 years ago, is undeterred. Since she started her new job in October, she has spent much of her time developing new programs and reaching out to perspective members.

Her early efforts are bearing fruit, she says.

Giles recently sat with Qcitymetro.com to talk about her goals for the Black Chamber. Below is a Q&A from that interview. Her answers were edited for brevity and clarity.

Q. What brought you to Charlotte?
I moved from Cleveland, Tennessee, and came to Philip Morris in Concord. I was trying to come back South to get closer to Alabama. I wanted a Southern-feel city but progressive. So I chose Charlotte.

Q. Now Philip Morris is gone.
As of 2009 they moved their operations to Richmond, Virginia. So at that point, I started my own business. I am a black belt, certified Six Sigma. It deals with statistical process control. I started a management consulting business. I had a few clients, but the clients who needed me could not afford me, so I came to the Black Chamber and asked them what could they do for me.

I got involved with the Chamber, got on a committee with Terry Jones, who is chair of the Black Chamber, and we did board development. I developed the bylaws and guidelines for the Black Chamber. I offered my services in developing board leadership and trying to develop the organization. I built in an executive committee that would run the organization and let the board govern. From that, they asked me if I would be interested in taking on the executive director’s position, this being the first time the Black Chamber has had one.

Q. So what are your early goals?
I’m trying to raise the Chamber to a new level, make it more visible, make it work for the members. I think in prior years you had people working fulltime who could not dedicate the time that was needed to the Chamber. Now I have stepped in to be more of the fulltime person, to develop partnerships, to get resources for the small businesses of African Americans.

Q. What do you mean when you say partnerships?
If another group has very good training going one -- financial training, for example -- and I think it can benefit our members, I’ll work with whatever chamber and I’ll bring my members that information.

I did a membership survey in October. I wanted to see what kind of membership I have, who makes up the Black Chamber. I want to be a leader who listens to my members and not be a leader who tells members what they need. They said they needed information. They said they needed networking. They said they needed connections.

As we face 2011, I want to give them what they need. So instead of me trying to do everything, I am partnering with people. I have some things planned as well. I have some renowned people in the community who I want my membership to meet. But instead of everyone doing everything, let’s work smarter. Let’s have the best doing the best and take the memberships there. In merging the memberships, we are creating bigger and better networking possibilities.

Q. As a former business owner, you must have some special insight.
Yes. I was out there. I was hungry. So I know what you want, I know what you need, because I was out there knocking on doors trying to get business. So that’s what’s driving me.

Q. How many members does the Black Chamber have?
When I started in October we had 32. Now we’re up to 80-plus. People are now seeing that we offer them something. Before, I think some people were paying their dues to say they had it on their resumes.

I’ve had people call and say, “Why should I give you my money?” Now, after putting together programs and events, I can say, “This is what is coming in 2011.” I’m asking them to be a part. I invite my membership to be vocal. I invite my membership to volunteer and help me.

Q. What are your membership goals for the new year?
I want to have 300 people by March. I know it’s aggressive, so my board is going to have to work real hard.

Q. How are you getting word out?
I have been invited to a lot of functions. Everywhere I go I speak out to let people know the Black Chamber is viable and we’re here, and I solicit membership.

Q. What’s your best argument for joining the Black Chamber?
I think if businesses want to do more business in Charlotte, they need to reach out to more people. A lot of the time, when you are doing business, you are focused only on your business. I try to be a catalyst that provides other resources without you really having to do anything. I just want you to be present. And if you are present and others are present, that’s when you start to networking and introducing your business to other areas.

Q. Tell me a success story.
I had a gentleman come in. He’s a contractor, and he’s from New York. He came in and he vented – “I can’t get any work, I can’t get any bids, I can’t do anything.” I’m not a contractor, but I was like, “Ok, let me see what I can do.”

I sent him links to become certified. I have a resource and a gentleman who is a member who has a contracting service. So I partnered the two together, and he helped him get the needed certifications so that he could start bidding on services in Charlotte.

I followed up to see if this worked. He told me he was very pleased to see that when he came and told me his issues that someone was interested enough to follow up with him.

Q. Why does Charlotte need a Black Chamber?
I think there are issues that are specific to African Americans in Charlotte. I don’t think we need to stay separate, but I think sometimes people may be comfortable telling their problems to someone like them.

Now, is this only for African Americans? By no means. I’m developing partnerships with multi-cultural chambers. I work very closely with the Charlotte Chamber. I’m getting in touch with African American organizations. People need networking. They need to meet people so that they can promote their services.

Q. What excites you about the new year?
I have a series coming for small businesses. It deals with how people build mission statements, increase self-esteem, money management, reducing stress. It’s a six-month series that I have starting in January. It will meet once a month on the fourth Thursday. I also have a newsletter that I put out at the beginning of every month to identify what we’re going to do in that month and invite people to come and participate.

I have an email list. You don’t have to be a member to get information from the Black Chamber. It allows you to see what is coming every month and what we’re planning for the future. I don’t want people to give their money until they are comfortable that this is where they need to be.

Q. Who can joint the Black Chamber?
Anybody?

Q. So you don’t have to be a business owner?
No. I invite people who are thinking about starting a business. I invite entrepreneurs. I invite business owners. I invite college students. I think we owe it to our youth to be there. I want business owners to mentor our youth so that when they start out on that business trail, they won’t make the same mistakes that a lot of us made at 35, 40 and 50. They’ll have an idea what a business looks like, what it entails. They can talk to people who’ve made mistakes. So I open the membership up to a lot more than just business owners.

To find our more about the Black Chamber, visit its website at www.cmbcc.org.

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