On Creative Assembly’s The Spark podcast, our mission is to amplify Nashville’s diverse creative voices, foster growth through shared journeys, and inspire a city that thrives on collaboration.And now, here’s The Spark.Hello, everyone.Welcome back to The Spark.I’m your host, Mark Scrivner, and today I’m joined by a very special guest, Stephanie Coleman.She’s the president and CEO of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce and a great friend.We’ve known each other for a long time- Long timeStephanie.Yes.And so thank you for taking time out to be a part of The Spark podcast.It’s a real treat to be here,Thank you.Well, thank you.I’m excited to dig into everything that you and the chamber are working on right now, but, uh, maybe just to get the, uh, show started, maybe talk a little bit about, you know, you graduated from college.You went to DC, I believe.You were involved in, like, policy and advocacy for a little while before moving to Nashville.What, what got you to make that move to Nashville?So I, I was in Nashville for college, originally from Kentucky, and, um, I had gone back to Kentucky for grad school, and then the job in DC was working for my hometown congressman.Okay.And, uh, that congressman represented Central Kentucky, a 13-county region.What was really interesting about that job is it taught me how policy is made at the federal level, but also how important it is to spend time locally.So we’d come back to, you know, during recess, we’d come back to the region, and we’d travel all around those 13 counties in Central Kentucky, and you really get to see how policy is put into action at the local level and how it impacts individual lives and communities.So when I was looking to come back to Nashville, which largely was a result of, uh, my, my now husband and I were dating at the time- Mm-hmmand I wanted to find a way to, to get back here.I was looking for that opportunity to put, put that into practice, to be working at that local and regional level because that’s where I saw real meaning and, and fulfillment in the policy work that I had been doing in DC.Yeah.And you started, uh, with the Nashville Chamber- Mm-hmmreally at, at the very start, which is you started your career there- Yesin a, uh, role of communications, I believe.I know in the early days, I mentioned this before the show, but we had a chance when we had just started Snapshot- Mm-hmmto work on the, uh, Chamber annual meeting videos, and you brought us in, and it really was a great trajectory for us, uh, and the success Snapshot’s had.So first, thank you.But, uh, second, you know, starting at the very beginning of your career in there as an entry-level communications person- Mm-hmm, mm-hmm, mm-hmmyou’ve almost worked every single function- Yesat the Chamber.I believe I’ve had 7 roles at the Chamber.Um- So 17 years at being at the Chamber.Talk a little bit about that.Yeah.So well, before I talk about that, I, I do wanna say those, those early days of Snapshot, uh, are some of my favorite memories.Really?They really are.Uh, when I started at the Chamber in that communications role, I was doing marketing and PR.I was the Chamber spokesperson.So I got a chance to really understand the organization and the community as well as the businesses that we represented, and I got to get out and meet people like you, and you and I also met through the running community here in East Nashville.One of the things that I love about Nashville, and this is true to this day, is that you build relationships with people both personally and professionally, and those are sometimes interwoven.So you’re, you’re truly in community together, and it was so fun to work with you all in those early days- Ohand, and to see that growth and, and to be able to kind of be in the trenches working on a project together, like those videos for our annual celebration and, and some of the other work that you were doing at the time.Um, it’s just a really, really fun memory for me.And I really do think that starting out in that communications role set me off on a, on a path of kind of falling in love with the work of the Chamber- Mm-hmmand, and with Nashville and with our region.Um, I, I’m the kind of person who is always up for a challenge, and I don’t wanna kind of rest on my laurels.I wanna keep pushing myself, and that’s why being in those 7 different roles at the Chamber has been so great for me professionally because I’ve been challenged every step of the way.I’ve learned something new.I’ve been able to meet individuals, um, and, and get to know organizations from different aspects of the work we do at the Chamber, from, you know, interacting with all of our members when I led our membership and investor relations team, to, uh, interacting with the policy community, with elected officials, with policymakers when I was, uh, a leader on the policy team, to, uh, most recently before I took on the CEO role, I was leading our talent development team.So, you know, that was a really interesting role because I got to interact with the workforce system, and there are so many different players- Mmso many different organizations, entities, who are all working to build our, our talent, our workforce in Middle Tennessee.So I’ve learned a lot along the way.It hasn’t felt like I’ve been in one job for 18 years now.I just passed my 18-year mark.Um, it f- it feels like it’s been a, um, a different experience every few years that has- Built the foundation that I needed for the role that I’m in now Mm-hmm.Well, it’s been, uh, from an outsider perspective, it’s been great to watch your trajectory throughout the Chamber over the years, and you’ve had a very unique vantage point to be able to sit in a seat to see the really meteoric rise of, like, Nashville and the growth and everything that, uh, we’ve experienced- Mm-hmmover the last, like, 18 years that you’ve been- Yeahin the Chamber.coming from that vantage point, you probably have, you’ve not only seen the growth- Mm-hmmbut some real tension that’s happening.Yeah, yeah, yeah.Maybe talk a little bit about that.Yeah.You know, I’ll, I’ll reflect a little bit and then talk about where we are today.When I started at the Chamber in 2008, we were going into a recession.And- Mm-hmmthose were really trying times for the whole country and, and even globally.And, uh, we quickly pivoted our work at the time to focus on small businesses and try to understand what we could do to best help them in, in that economic environment.Follow that with the flood- Mm-hmmthat had a tremendous impact on our economy here, and then we moved into this, this boom time, and a lot of that boom time was driven by, I would say, um, big, courageous decisions, bold actions that were taken by leaders, um, in, in that, uh, time in Nashville’s history, things like, um, making the decision to build the Music City Center, the Convention Center was huge for Nashville’s trajectory and growth.Mm-hmm.There were a lot of other decisions that, that really fueled the growth.And now we see ourselves, you know, 18 years after I started at the Chamber, in a completely different environment.We have seen, um, like you said, meteoric growth in terms of jobs, in terms of population, GDP.Uh, we’ve seen a lot of opportunities come to Nashville, but with those opportunities come challenges.And those challenges have become ever more apparent, especially for those who’ve been here a while.Mm-hmm.You know, those who’ve, you know, maybe, um, native Nashvillians or those who’ve been here over, over 2 decades have seen the cost of living increase.They’ve seen, um, the transportation and commute times increase.Uh, they’ve seen housing costs go up.You know, childcare is also an issue that we’re tracking.Ultimately, at the end of the day, we know that in order to be competitive, we need to focus on affordability.How can we become a more affordable community so that the people who’ve, who’ve gotten us to this point as a successful city and region are able to stay here and continue to thrive here?That’s really the tension that we see today- Mm-hmmwhere we’ve had this, this benefit from so much, um, investment in our community, a lot of that investment coming from outside, but a lot of it homegrown as well.But all of that really bringing us to a moment in time where we’re having to, you know, watch some businesses, um, face challenges that, that are insurmountable and, and then others, um, really see the opportunity and continue to thrive.So as a chamber, it’s an interesting place to be- Mm-hmmbecause we, we really do want, um, all businesses to succeed in this environment, and there are, I believe, some creative solutions and things that we could be focusing on to make sure that those locally-owned businesses, the small businesses who’ve created the, the culture and character that make us who we are, can continue to thrive here.Yeah, no, I love that you constantly support the, uh, small business- Mm-hmmof Nashville, and I’ve heard that all through your career.And, you know, another thing, really, being an agency owner and a creative, I know that you talk a lot about the creative class and the cultural vibrancy of Nashville.And, you know, I’d love to hear, I know you’re also leading Partnership 2030- Mm-hmmwhich is a huge initiative.Mm-hmm.And, uh, you know, maybe talk a little bit about how you weave that in to protect the creative community.Yeah.So Partnership 2030, it started as Partnership 2000 back in 1990.Mm-hmm.So we’re now 36 years into that process.And, um, it’s really set the foundation for how we, how we work together across sectors, public, private, how we focus on an intentional plan for growth for our region, and hasYou know, I think you can kind of look at that dotted line back to the partnership initiative- Mm-hmmand see how so many of the successes of Nashville have come out of that.Um, but again, uh, in this planning process that we recently completed and we are now beginning implementation this year, um, of that new plan, one of the, the elements that organically came out of the planning process was, how do we make sure that what makes Nashville unique remains true?When we see ourselves growing at, at the pace that we are and we look around at a lot of our peer regions, we don’t want to become just any big city.Mm-hmm.You know, we don’t wanna look around and not really know where we are.ItNashville needs to still have that creative Music City brand that has made it unique.And, and y- to us, I think that that decision years ago to really lean in to the Music City brand, that is our global brand.Mm-hmm.That global brand has to be protected, and it, it can only be protected if we remain a place where people can move here, stay here, grow up here, and pursue their dreams, pursue- Mmtheir creative dreams, take those risks.That has to be done by having a place that is affordable for them to live and a place that supports that type of creativity.So we see that as really, um, part of the f- the fabric of who we are as a community, and certainly something that if we just sit back and, you know, kind of wait, relax, and, and don’t lean in, that we could lose that if we’re not really thoughtful and intentional about how we preserve it.Yeah.Well, I know that you and the Chamber and a lot of members- Mmtravel to cities around- Mm-hmmthe world- Yesuh, that wanna know what Nashville is doing.Mm.What’s the secret sauce of Nashville?And I think in one of those early Chamber videos we did, it was the secret sauce- Mmof Nashville.Maybe today, how do you describe that?Yeah.You know, the, the creativity is absolutely part of the secret sauce.Collaboration is part of the secret sauce, and leadership.And I wanna really lean into the leadership piece, because we’ve seen other cities that have all the ingredients- Mm-hmmto be incredibly successful cities miss the mark, and often if you really dig in and look at that, it’s leadership is at the core of what makes a city successful or not.And that’s not just leadership in one sector.It’s how do leaders across sectors work together, public sector, elected officials, the business community, nonprofits, philanthropy.We all have to come together.We all have to be rowing in the same direction- Mm-hmmand have a, have common understanding of what we’re trying to accomplish and, frankly, who we wanna be in the next 10, 20, 15, you know, beyond.Uh, w- h- who are we right now, and, and where are we going in the future?Yeah.What is that, uhYou talk about collaboration too.Mm.And I, I get the leadership- Mmand thank you for sharing that, but, like, on the collaboration, I mean, Nashville is a very collaborative community.Mm-hmm.People wanna help you when you ask.Mm-hmm.Uh, what do you see as that, like, secret sauce?What have you seen over your years that has really stood out- Mm-hmmfrom a collaborative standpoint?Yeah.You know, I think, from a Chamber standpoint, we talked about Partnership 2030.Partnership 2030 has always been a public/private partnership, which means that historically almost the entire history of Partnership, with a few exceptions, we’ve had a co-chair on the public sector and a co-chair on the private sector.Today, same thing.We have Chris Holmes with, with FirstBank as our private sector chair and Mayor Freddie O’Connell as our public sector chair.What that allows us to do is, again, look for those areas of alignment and look for ways that we can work together and figure out where our common goals will help us be able to do more together.Uh, at the same time, we know that collaboration is difficult.Collaboration requires building trust, and trust building takes time.Mm-hmm.And a lot of people don’t wanna, they don’t wanna wait.There’s, there’s impatience.There’s a need to, to act quickly and get things done, and I love that sense of urgency, but also there’s the reality that you can’t move forward, uh, beyond the speed of trust, right?Otherwise, things will fall apart.So, um, really focusing first on relationships and trust is so critical, and to me, that comes down to, you know, doing what you say you’re gonna do, transparency, having all the voices at the table, um, being able to hear from different perspectives, even those you may not agree with, because at the end of the day, if you have a broader set of perspectives, the end result is gonna be better for the community as a whole.Mm-hmm.Well, the Chamber sits at a unique position, and it’s right at, uh, like s- business, uh, it’s government, it’s policy, community.Like, and a lot of the times, those, um, maybe all the incentives don’t align.Mm-hmm.But you have to pull it all together.Mm-hmm.How do you, how do you and the Chamber do that?Yeah, yeah.Again, I think it’s looking for what’s the, the common goal.You know, where are there issues that we can work together on?And I’ll give a few specific examples.Um, recently we’ve been doing a lot of collaborative work around housing, and housing is an issue, like many, I mean, I would put infrastructure in this category, education, um, uh, I would put childcare in this category.Housing is an issue that can’t be solved by one sector alone.It can’t be solved just by government.It can’t be solved just by the private sector.It can’t be solved just by nonprofits and philanthropy.In order for us to build and, and preserve the number of housing units we need to, to support this growing community and make sure that people who are in the, the service community here and, and our Metro employees and others- Mm-hmmcan still afford to live here, and that creative class that, that we talked about earlier, we have to be working together and looking at all aspects of how you increase supply in, in Nashville and in Middle Tennessee.Um, so that is one example where the work is hard.It’s not immediate.It’s not a flip of a, a switch, but, uh, we can do so much more by working together than we could individually.And in fact, in some cases, you actually can’t get the work done- Mm-hmmum, if you are only look at, looking at it from one perspective.Yeah.Well, Stephanie, you’ve been 18 years at the Chamber.You, uh, Just got promoted to president and CEO a little over a year ago.Mm-hmm.Um, you know, you’re the first female CEO of the Chamber, and I think the best selection that could’ve possibly happened.So- Thank you.congratulations on that.What, uhTell me a little bit about like what that means to you.Yeah.You know, I, I do feel like in the years leading up to, um, the search process for a new CEO- Mm-hmmI was preparing myself for the possibility, uh, probably as many as 5 years before- Rightbefore, um, the search began.I was thinking about the possibility and wanting to make sure that if, if the opportunity arose, that I would be prepared, that I would have done the work in advance to make myself the best candidate for the role.Um, uh, with that in mind, when I was interviewing for the role and, and I was the only internal candidate, so I brought that particular perspective- Mm-hmmto the process.Uh, but when I was interviewing, I wasn’t thinking necessarily about being the first female potential CEO.I was just thinking about, you know, what will I uniquely bring to this organization that will help propel it t- forward for the next 20 years.And so I was really honing in on that vision, honing in on, um, what we needed to do to, to take a strong foundation and make it even stronger and, and even more impactful.And only after I was named the next CEO did I, did I realize the, the importance, the weight, the responsibility that comes with being a first, the first female- Yeahin this case.I was humbled by the support that I got from other female leaders in our community, nonprofit business leaders- Mm-hmmcommunity leaders who all kind of surrounded me with, with their support, mentorship, encouragement, connections.Um, I’m still humbled by it because I, I don’t think that is the case in every community.I think Nashville is unique that we have incredible, um, incredible female leadership and, and strength here that supports one another.And, um, I also, as a result, felt a responsibility to recognize that I’m an example for others, for that next generation of leaders.And so I’ve got to be really thoughtful and deliberate about how I bring up that next generation of, of female leaders and frankly of, of young professionals as a whole- Mm-hmmand make sure that they’re prepared, ’cause they are our future.Yeah.So we, we all have a role to play in, in making sure that they have every opportunity to be successful.Man, that is so great to hear that so many surrounded you- Mm-hmmuh, with, with anything you needed- Mm-hmmto be successful.Not that you need a whole lot to be successful, but, uh, but it’s great to hear that, and that is part of the fabric of like Nashville- Yesthat I’ve seen.You, um, you know, you also have a responsibility to protect the legacy of what has already been created, but at the same time rethink how the Chamber- Mm-hmmyou know, moves going forward.And- Mm-hmmyou know, I know you’ve talked many times about like the sense of urgency- Mm-hmmthat we have to have in order to move the Chamber- Yeahforward faster.Yes.And so maybe talk about that a little bit.Yeah.You know, I, I do think it’s so interesting coming into a CEO role.I have so much more appreciation and understanding for executives who have that sense of urgency and, and, uh, feel like things aren’t moving quickly enough because I feel that every day.Um, every single day when I wake up, I’m like, “Ah, I wanna do more faster.”but we are leading an organization, we’re leading teams, we’re leading people who we’ve gotta bring along, and that, that, again, that does take time.It takes real intentionality, planning in order to make sure that we don’t move so quickly that we, um, we, you know, go off course.Um, for the Chamber, I came into this role building on a foundation, an organization that had incredibly strong, uh, board leadership, membership, investor leadership, resourcing.Uh, we have a legacy and a track record of success over decades and decades, and I didn’t want to come in as, um, someone who would completely shift course.I wanted to come in as someone who would build upon that strong foundation, but really look forward to the next 20 years to figure out what, what would it take for this chamber that has been around f- since 1847 to meet the moment, to meet the need of where Nashville is today and, and where we will be, and that requires the organization operating differently.It requires us to be, uh, operating at a higher level of sophistication, and that’s internally.It’s how we use technology.It’s how we develop our talent.It’s how we, um, use new, newer technologies like AI- Mmhow we better serve our members, how we, um, make sure that we are providing that, um, concierge service, that, uh, unreasonable hospitality.Yeah.I’ll use that, that book as an example because we’ve, we’re reading it as a staff with that mindset of- That’s greatwe have to be able to, um, make sure that our members know how important they are to us.They are truly why we exist, and for us, that means our growth trajectory will require us to, to better know our members individually, and then, um, in aggregate so that we can speak on behalf of the business community in a much deeper and more informed way.Wow.That is, uh, that’s amazing you’re making the staff read that book, or you’re all reading it together- Yeahand what a, what a great book.Um, you know, you talk about the chamber membership.I mean, you have 1,800 plus- Mm-hmmmembers today, but you’ve set a really bold goal of growing it by 50%.talk a little bit about that.Yeah, yeah.So the, the strategic growth element of, of the vision that I set was really based on a recognition that we, weOur membership number had been pretty consistent- Mmover about a decade, maybe down a little bit.Um, now revenue at the organization had gone up, so from a business standpoint, if you just look at any business, that’s great, right?Mm-hmm.You’re getting more dollars from fewer customers.That makes a lot of sense.For a chamber, that begins to cut into our relevance and influence, so we know that in order to be the organization that is best representing this community, uh, we need to, we need to be growing commensurate to the community’s growth, and so I actually look to see, well, how much have we grown as a business community?Mm-hmm.And that’s how much we have grown.We’ve grown 50- we have 50% more business establishments today than we did a decade ago.Wow.And so that’s, that’s where the goal came from ultimately, and it is a bold goal.Um, it will require us to operate differently as a membership organization, but I do believe it’s critical for us to be the organization we need to be, um, to have more of the business community represented by the work we do, to have their voices providing input into what’s important, and for us to have those connection points in that broader network, and also to be able to connect them with each other, ’cause that’s a huge part of what we do as a chamber is connect businesses with each other.Mm-hmm.Um, so that broader network will help in, in all of those regards.And for us also internally to get into the operations side of things- Mmit will require us to focus quite a bit more on our retention.You know, we, we, if we were to retain, um, all of our members- Mm-hmmwe would get to that goal just in a few years’ time.Um, so, so thinking about, okay, what is it about the value we offer as an organization that will cause our members to stick with us over a longer period of time?Uh, it’s, it’s usually the smaller businesses that, that will, um, kind of come in and out of the chamber- Mm-hmmand we know they have completely different needs and, and perspectives than some of the larger corporations.A lot of them are heads down.They’re, you know, they’re not able to break away from the day-to-day often and come to chamber events and, and things of that nature.So we know that we’ve gotta be creative in making sure that we’re providing a value to all different types of businesses so that they, they really do see that being a part of this organization is gonna both benefit them as a business, their growth trajectory, uh, help them meet their goals, but also give them that opportunity to give back to the community and to be a part of something bigger than just growing their businesses.Mm-hmm.Yeah.How, when you think about it from your team’s- Mm-hmmstandpoint about staying in front of the chamber members- Yeahmore frequently- Yeslike, what’s that look like- Yeahmaybe in practice?Yeah.You know, I think part of it is pretty simple.I mean, yes, we have a large number of members, but I really want all of our staff to have deep personal relationships where they have- Okaygone, they’ve visited our members, they understand what’s happening at the, the front lines of these businesses, they know what challenges they’re facing, they know what they’re excited about, they know why they chose Nashville or, or why they started their business here.Having those deeper, um, uh, connections and those stories to tell I think will just make us so much better as an organization because we will, we will truly reflect the businesses that, that we represent as part of our membership.So again, it’s, I mean, that takes time- Mm-hmmbut to me, that’s time very well spent to go out, visit, and get to know our, our members.Who are really fueling the growth of our economy- Yeahget to know them on a much deeper level.Yeah.Well, you’ve, um, uh, you also talk about, uh, with growth, you’ve also talked about not growing for growth’s sake.But growth, uh, needs- Mm-hmmto also equate to a great quality of life- Yesfor people in Nashville.Right.And so I really do appreciate that- Yeahbecause it can makeGrowth can be a challenge for people.Mm-hmm.Right.And we’ve talked a little bit about it already- Yesbut, you know, I know you say that a lot- Mm-hmm, yeahabout the, uh, growing for just growth’s sake- Rightversus the quality of life.Yeah.Gr- growth, growth really should, if it is managed well, it should provide more and better opportunities for everyone who lives in our region.Job opportunities, quality of life opportunities, cultural amenities, education, healthcare, things to do.All of that- Mm-hmmshould improve with the growth of a community.And, um, I do think that that’s possible, but I, I don’t think it’s possible if we’re not paying attention to it.And what that looks like in practice, it, from, you know, we’ll, I’ll, I kind of look at a few different aspects.One is, as we grow, we have more, more needs in terms of our infrastructure, transportation.Um, we, we do need to build more housing units.We need to preserve more housing units.We do need more childcare seats.We need, um, to make sure that our education systems are connecting with the, the jobs, uh, that are currently being created, as well as what we’re expecting will be created in the future, and all of that, um, requires community coming together across sectors to really think about how we can, uh, make sure that growth is being done in a way that benefits the community as a whole.That, that looks like opportunity.It looks like where, um, those opportunities are being put in place.I mean, think about, just as an example, the Choose How You Move transit referendum here in Davidson County.Where are those investments being deployed?How will those investments help individuals more easily get to jobs, more easily get to education, more easily get to healthcare and other, um, you know, entertainment options as well?We have so many incredible things to do here in Nashville.We wanna make sure that what we are building benefits the community in, in real, tangible ways.Yeah.You know, Stephanie, you, um, you know, sitting in your seat, you can see things so much clearer than if someone came in from the outside to take on this role.What do you think is something that you maybe can see better than if they would’ve hired- Mm-hmmsomebody outside the- Yeahthe region?You know, I think because I’ve been at the chamber since 2008 and initially came to Nashville in ’99, I’ve seen how, um, how we as a community have come together to deal with challenges.Everything from the recession, to the flood, to the, um, the Christmas Day bombing on 2nd Avenue- Oofto the pandemic, to tornadoes.You know, we as a community have really shown that we are resilient.We’ve shown that, um, we’re willing to help each other out, business community and individuals, to lend their time, to lend their resources.You know, we have incredible organizations like Hands On Nashville that help provide a way to do that.Um, I really believe that knowing that that’s part of the culture and the fabric of who we are as a community helps us think about how we prepare for the future, how we prepare for what may be coming that, that, you know, we, we don’t even know yet, right?So that’s a piece of it.I think from an organizational standpoint, I’ve had that opportunity to walk in the shoes of so many other team members who I’m now leading, so I, I understand what their challenges are.I understand, um, you know, what, what is really fun and enjoyable about their jobs, and also the parts that may be less enjoyable.So I do think that that perspective can be helpful as I’m leading the team as a whole and, and helping to get us to that next level.Uh, but ultimately, I would say the, the biggest point I wanna make in response to that question is relationships.It t- Mmas I mentioned earlier, it takes time to build trust.It takes time to build relationships, and over nearly 2 decades, a lot of those relationships are, are kind of built in.They’re, they exist already.You know, we’ve worked together with so many of our partners and stakeholders for so long that, uh, we, we know what to anticipate from them, and we, we know that we can pick up the phone and call at any time, and we’re not calling for the first time when we need something.We’re calling to check in.We’re calling because we, we care about our partners, and, uh, we wanna make sure that we are strong partners as well.Yeah.You know, Stephanie, I hope there’s nothing else next as far as-uh, when you listed out all those things, I didn’t even, you know, think about, you know, the, from the recession to the flood, to the pandemic, to the tornadoes, and- Mm-hmmyou know, we’ve, being in East Nashville, we’ve been hit by all- Yeahof them.So gave me a little bit of chills when you, uh, said that, so thanks for, um, let’s, let’s predict that nothing more will happen.Well, the, the good news is, uh, you know, when things happen unexpectedly, we know that we have a community in place- Mm-hmmand systems in place to deal with it.Yeah.And that, that to me is, is the benefit of having been through those experiences already, is we, we’ve built a, um, kind of that strong muscle for, for how we deal with unanticipated challenges.Yeah.Well, leading, like, uh, Partnership- Mm-hmm2030.Yeah.Like, uh, it, when it works, what is Nashville gonna look like in 2031?You know, I’ll go back to, m- you know, my, my hope, my vision, is that we have truly made a dent in the affordability challenge, that we have, um, leaned into some of the investments that are currently now being offered up to focus on things like transit-oriented development, and, um, building more housing supply, and providing more childcare seats, and making sure that our educational institutions and training providersreallyare meeting the need and helping to connect more individuals with opportunities so that more people can say, um, “This is a place where I see my future.This is a place where I have economic opportunity.This is a place where I want to raise my family.”Um, to me, you know, uh, we need to see a, a little bit of shift of what’s in the news cycle, right- Mm-hmmto stories of people who are, um, maybe feeling a little less of the pressure that comes with growth and feeling more of the benefits that come with growth.And, and I do think while, while that’s a long-term game, you know, we, we, we, uh, we have to focus on long term and not just short-term gains, 5 years is not a very long time.2031 is not a very long time from now.But I do think that there are tangible things that we can do to be able to say that we have made a dent in those challenges- Mmin the next 5 years.Yeah.What’s a piece of advice, coming from Nashville- Mm-hmmseeing everything you’ve seen, a piece of advice maybe you would give a person starting a business in Nashville today?Yeah.You know, I think it goes back to what I’ve heard many people say is, uh, one of the special things about Nashville.I was just talking to someone the other day, and we were talking about some of these same themes of our creative Music City brand and, and what makes us unique, and the person I was talking to said, my experience has been this is just such a friendly place.People really do want to get to know you.They wanna help you out.They will say yes to your request for a coffee.”And the, the person I was speaking with gave an example of reaching out to a couple of executives through LinkedIn of allYou know, like you think-about reaching out-to an executive on LinkedIn and asking for coffee.In Nashville, they may actually say, “Sure.Yeah, I’ll meet you over at, you know, whatever local coffee shop,” uh- Mm-hmmyou wanna, uh, point out.Um, and I think that is unique.I think that is part of what makes us special.So for a new business starting out, I would say take advantage of that, right?Mm-hmm.Take advantage of the fact that we’re a community where relationships matter.We’re a community where, um, people want to see you succeed.They even wanna see their competitor succeed, which definitely is not the case in every community.I really do feel like that’s a unique aspect of Nashville, that we feel like there’s, there’s room for everyone to be successful.Um, so, you know, don’t be shy as a new business owner of, of making those connections, and you never know what opportunities they might bring you.God, you’re so right, Stephanie.I think you may have even given me that advice early on, and the amount of executives that I’ve reached out to, and they’ve taken my meeting- Mm-hmmhas been profound over the last, like, 16 years- Mmof our business.So you’re exactly right.The, um, you know, just thinking about this whole episode- Yeahyou’ve talked a lot about, like, Nashville and- Mma lot about where we’re at, what you’ve done.What are you the most excited about in the next maybe 5 years?Mm.You know, I think, um, I mean, I hate to say it, but, uh, because it’s- Yeahwhat everyone’s talking about, but the Super Bowl.Oh, yeah.I have to mention the Super Bowl.Mm-hmm.Because I think that Nashville hosting the Super Bowl, it’s putting us on not just a national, um, in the national spotlight, it’s putting us in a global spotlight in a way that we never have been before.Mm.And I believe that we are going to show the world- Who we really are, what we’re capable of, what makes us special, what makes us unique.It won’t just be the game itself, right?Mm-hmm.’Cause we know that, um, the NFL has a lot of, of say and control on, on how that goes, but it’s everything around it.It’s how we prepare, it’s how we connect, um, opportunity into this incredible moment.It’s how we kind of build out, uh, what happens around the new stadium, what happens downtown and in the East Bank, and then into the neighborhoods and into the surrounding region.I think there’s this incredible opportunity to leverage that, that, um, that, you know- Yeahamazing announcement to also accelerate some of the progress on issues we’ve been grappling with.S- sometimes it’s just good to have a deadline.Mm-hmm.You know?Yeah.Sometimes a deadline is all you need to, uh, get things going a little bit.So, um, I’m really excited about that because I think it will both, um, show us at our best, but also make us better.Yeah.Mm-hmm.Well, Stephanie, is there anything, as we start to wrap up- Yeahuh, is there anything maybe that I didn’t ask you or that you’d wanna- Mmshare with the audience?You know, I think, um, I guess just on a, on a personal level, I think that, uh, one thing I’ll say, I think a lot about leadership.I think part of the reason I’m in this role is because, um, I spent a lot of years trying to make myself a better leader, and I continue to do that today.That’s a lifelong goal is, is to be a better leader.Um, and I do think it’s reflective on the community as a whole and the work that we do at the Chamber and the work that we all do in our businesses and in our organizations.But at the end of the day, it requires us sometimes to actually slow down before we speed up.It requires us to stop and think about what’s most important, to think about the relationships that are also important that we need to cultivate, to think about how we prepare and plan for the future, um, to take that breath, to take that moment, to also take care of ourselves individually.I mean, we, one of the early ways that we interacted was through the running community- Mm-hmmand I think that’s so important as well.It’s important both to be focusing on health and wellbeing, but also to be part of community.And, um, that’s, that’s something I encourage anyone listening to this podcast to think about for themselves individually, uh, no matter what, what their, um, career trajectory is, what their business is, what their, uh, organization is.We can’t be our best as leaders unless we are taking care of ourselves, and, uh, we do that by really grounding ourselves in, in what’s important in our values and in those, um, foundational elements of, kind of, uh, life-giving, um, moments.So- YeahI would just lea- leave us with that, to keep the bigger picture in mind every day.Keep things in perspective.Yeah.Don’t take yourself too seriously.Have a sense of humor.You know, all of those good things.Well, I love that, Stephanie, and just for the audience’s sake, I mean, I remember when we used to run together, but you were usually a couple pace groups ahead of me, so, uh- I, I don’t know that that is true at all, Mark.But, uh, thank you so much for being on the show.Thanks for everything you’ve done for the Nashville community with the, through the Chamber, and thanks for everything you’re gonna do.’Cause I know you are the leader that’s gonna help us get to the next level as a, as a city, and really appreciate everything you’re doing in the Chamber, so thank you.If you’re not a member of the Chamber, it’s your civic duty to, uh, sign up, become a Chamber member.They do so many amazing things for your business, for us.They advocate for small business.Um, so as an agency owner, creative, please, uh, take a look at it.We’ll drop all that information in the show notes, Stephanie, but, uh, thank you.And if you would, just please, uh, subscribe, rate, and review the episode, just so we can, uh, get this message out to more creatives in Nashville.Thanks again for, uh, watching.Uh, without you, we can’t produce this show, so thanks for showing up week in and week out.Until next week, uh, we’ll see you on The Spark.That’s a wrap on this episode of The Spark from Creative Assembly.Thanks for spending time with us and exploring the minds shaping Nashville’s creative future.If you’re walking away more inspired, connected, or energized, that’s exactly the point.A big thank you to our sponsor, Snapshot, and the incredible team behind the scenes who make this show possible.Your support fuels every conversation and keeps collaboration alive.So if you haven’t already, subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and leave us a review.Thanks again for tuning in.Until next time, stay creative, stay curious, and keep that spark.