Join The Club Chambers of commerce can help you get your foot in <I>lots</I> of doors.

Although photographer Melissa Leeper enjoys travelingto photo locations and meeting people, she describes attending herfirst local chamber of commerce event as more than a littleintimidating. "They had me stand up, and they introduced me. Iwas so nervous," recalls Leeper, 35, who founded Leeper Photo,her own homebased studio, nearly two years ago and is a member ofthe Greater Royal Oak Chamber of Commerce, a suburban Detroitgroup.

"Joining the chamber and the Business Women's Networkreally helped me make the transition from a corporate environmentto [entrepreneurship]," agrees training and communicationconsultant Christine Gloss,a past BWN president. "It gave me a lot of practice in talkingabout my business and what I do."

Still, chamber membership provided a much-needed jumpstart forLeeper's networking efforts. By attending smaller gatheringslike morning coffees and her chamber's Business Women'sNetwork (BWN) meetings, she gradually became more confident."I eventually developed a three-sentence spiel about what I doand was able to practice that at chamber events," she says."That helped me better deal with clients on the phone aswell."