Going through boot camp changes a person’s view on life.
For Chuck Gifford, his boot camp experience in 1969 taught him to appreciate the freedoms and pleasures of everyday life.
Drafted into the Marine Corp in Dec. of 1968 during the Vietnam War, Gifford said boot camp was tough, causing him to lose 20 pounds in two months. Looking back he said the experience was positive.
‘In boot camp, suddenly I was aware of what freedom was. You realize and appreciate what you’ve taken for granted,? said Gifford.
‘I was number four in line. They were counting off one, two, three, four and every fourth person became a marine,? he said.
Gifford spent two years at Camp Pendleton in California working mostly payroll services before getting out of the military in 1970.
Since then, Gifford, of Independence Township, has shown people how to prosper in the business world by networking and building an infrastructure of revenue producing relationships while working from the comfort of his home.
Currently, Gifford is the President of Local Business Network, a business referral agency with over 50 chapters in southeastern Michigan including Lansing and Flint.
Local Business Network’s first chapter was opened in a matter of a few weeks by Gifford in Clarkston in Feb. 1999. The chapter started with seven or eight members, but has grown to about 28.
‘We started in Clarkston because I live here, so it was an easy place to start. I knew some business people here. When I started it, I went downtown and talked to some of the businesses there. I went into Clarkston State Bank which was just starting up and the president gave me five names and said we could meet there,? said Gifford.
The group prospered throughout the area, causing another chapter for Independence Township to open.
The chapters meet twice a month at early morning meetings. Each business representative gives a 60 second presentation about his business, followed by a 10 minute presentation by one featured member.
Members of the network pay $30 dues for membership per month. LBN has a chapter developer who visits the first four meetings of a new chapter and trains four officers to run the chapter, said Gifford. A regional director helps support the group through recruitment and training. Members receive a member portfolio and a free 2?-hour network training on effective networking.
Some of the unique aspects of LBN are the use of intranet and tracking of referrals to be sure members are successful bringing in contacts. LBN makes membership for certain fields exclusive; meaning if a real estate business has a member in the chapter, no other real estate members are allowed to ensure referrals flow to all members.
‘Every business has key referral partners you should be looking for. We help them to understand who they are and how to build those relationships, ? said Gifford.
Events like an Industry Exchange, where people in the same industry are invited to meet with each other at a separate site to establish contacts, also exemplify the services provided by LBN.
‘One of the things that separates us from our competition is the regional element. Once you go on to LBN you can visit any chapter you want as long as there’s not a direct competitor,? said Gifford.
One of the key principles taught by LBN is ‘power networking.?
‘Power networking is the development of a team of proactive referral partners who promote your business for you, in exchange for helping them promote theirs,? said Gifford.
According to Gifford, networking is invaluable to business because of the competition and challenges involved. Obstacles facing small business owners today are the constant struggle to keep updating technology, marketing that generates high sales and that most business owners know their business, but have no idea how to provide it, said Gifford.
Future goals of LBN include expanding throughout other regions of Michigan, particularly Lansing, and eventually spreading out of state.
‘We want to put training online as well, to reduce the amount of manpower needed,? said Gifford.
After serving in the military and spending a semester in a doctoral program in business and marketing at Michigan State University, Gifford left school to work for a consulting firm for retail stores involving location and research in Birmingham.
Roughly seven years later, Gifford left the firm and started his own business called Retail Marketing Services, Inc. in 1978. He successfully ran RMS with a staff of eight employees until 1998 when the company lost its two largest clients in a matter of two weeks.
‘It was a huge catastrophe, we couldn’t keep our employees on payroll and had to phase people out’We had some specialists and I had to learn people’s jobs overnight just to finish the projects we had,? said Gifford.
When not busy working, Gifford said he enjoys time with his family the most.
Gifford and his wife, Karen, have been married for 38 years and have two children; Jeffrey and Jenelyn. Jeffrey and his wife Tamara have four kids, Ethan, 8; Caden, 3; Hallie, 6; and Parker, 2. Jenelyn and her husband Rob Flanagan have a daughter, Trinity, 22 months.