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This year, the eight area councils of the Osceola Chamber are inviting the public into their board meetings at least once a year to bring you informative content from great speakers that can be found among the membership in our Chamber.

The first of these was hosted by the Small Business Council on April 27. The SBC board identified a need among small business owners who are often tasked with fulfilling their business’ marketing needs themselves. This can be daunting when it is not your area of expertise. At the SBC’s open meeting, two very diverse Chamber members with marketing experience unleashed tips that they have gained from their experience in very different areas of marketing a business.

First Kevin Crain, President of Osceola Press – Printing & Signs, shared the benefits that continue to come from the use of Direct Mail Marketing. For one, everyone looks at their stack of mail as they sort it, providing your postcard or mailer with a guaranteed moment of visibility. Here are some highlights of Kevin’s presentation:

• The direct mail response rate is 4.4% compared to mass email’s response rate of .12%
• 53% of Americans read their mail, and another 21% at least scan it
• Direct mail creates a sense of trust with some consumers – particularly seniors – who might be less comfortable with technology.
• Direct mail his highly trackable
• Offer incentives in your direct mail to entice recipients to take action

Next, the program took a complete 180 and Bianca Belabre, founder and owner of A Creative Station, shared a series of social media marketing hacks that every business owner can tap into to strengthen their social media presence. Here are a few points of note from Bianca’s presentation:

• Always create a social media strategy
• Monitor analytics
• Feel free to repeat content that is popular
• Provide value or solve a problem with your content
• Entertain your audience
• Create batch content quarterly that you can use for a while
• Use hashtags, carrousel posts, stories, and templates for your reels on Instagram

Attendees also enjoyed lunch catered by Susana’s Cafe and time to learn about each other’s businesses. Small Business Council Chair Marcy Theobald with Iron Valley Real Estate raffled off a Dunkin’ Donuts gift card to one lucky attendee, and Bianca also offered a raffle for a free consultation with her.

Our next council open board meeting will be hosted by the Hospitality & Tourism Council. We will once again meet here at the Chamber on May 16. Lunch will be served and attendees will learn about the County’s budget and budgeting process from Osceola County OMB Director Matthew Fuhrer. You can register to attend that luncheon HERE.

On Tuesday, April 25, the Chamber hosted the first event in our Front Porch Series. This new event series will offer regular networking, education or business training opportunities, and other exciting offerings to help you as an active employee, business owner, business operator, or entrepreneur. The first in this series included a half hour New Member Orientation, a presentation on attracting, retaining, and engaging employees from JKL Associates, and plenty of time to network and enjoy tasty food from Florida Technical College.

New Member Orientation

The Chamber hosts New Member Orientations at least quarterly. New Member Orientations cover all things Chamber and are a great Chamber refresher for longtime members as well as new members. Established members are also welcome to send new employees that would like to get involved or learn more about us. Join us for a New Member Orientation at a future Front Porch event, or drop by the Chamber any time and pick up a Member Quick Guide.

Your Employees A.R.E. Your Best Asset (Attracting, Retaining, Engaging) by JKL Associates

The Front Porch Series will regularly offer educational content to help you navigate running a business. Larry Klimek, a Promise Guide with JKL Associates, helped us send out a survey to our members to find out what is keeping YOU up at night. We learned that attracting and retaining employees was the number one issue. Some points of interest from Larry’s presentation include:

• As leaders, we must adapt to changes in culture and the individual needs of talent in order to retain them.
• Leaders must deal with the “beta fish” in their sea of employees in order to avoid being left with the the “beta fish” alone.
• Organizations must live their “vision statements” and behaviorally demonstrate them in all transactions with employees, customers, vendors, colleagues, etc.
• Employers must identify their workplace culture, define roles within their organization, build relationships within and around their organization, have engaging communication with their teams where they are truly heard, and invest time and money to save future headaches.

Networking

Despite a slight bit of wind and rain, we had a great time networking with our attendees both under the front porte cochere and inside the Chamber lobby.  Florida Technical College’s culinary program supplied us with garlic chicken, rice, and beef to enjoy alongside wine and beer.

Watch the Chamber website events page for the next Front Porch event.  Future offerings will include free headshots, additional business training, and more.

Cowboy Chicken, known for its wood-fired rotisserie chicken and side dishes, is now open for hungry diners in the heart of the Kissimmee tourism district. The new location, the first of four planned for the greater Orlando area, is located at 3290 Margaritaville Blvd. at Promenade at Sunset Walk with indoor and covered patio seating.

Cowboy Chicken’s menu features bold, simple food including all-natural chicken cooked over an open flame and a variety of homestyle sides. Since 1981, Cowboy Chicken has excelled in serving fresh ingredients while treating guests like family and employees like partners. The welcoming, authentic experience, with food as honest as a handshake, keeps guests coming back for more.

Cowboy Chicken fire roasts all their rotisserie chicken over locally sourced wood. Unlike restaurants that fire their rotisserie with gas, Cowboy Chicken believes that no other cooking method compares to real wood, patience, and a passion for time-tested recipes.

“The only thing you will find here is all-natural chicken that is fresh, never frozen, and slow-roasted over real wood. Every Cowboy Chicken is covered in our secret dry rub before it is fire roasted. Our dry rub gives our chicken that familiar flavor you enjoy and helps form that dark golden crispy skin you crave,” noted Operating Partner Phil Yohannes.

Menu Highlights

• Cowboy Plates – half chicken, three-piece, and chicken and brisket options
• Salads and Bowls – including the Monterey salad and Keto green bowl
• Sandwiches – Buffalo, BBQ, Laredo, and pulled brisket options, plus one side
• Chicken Tenders – crispy tenders for adults and kids
• Wild West Sides – Twice baked potaters, ranchero beans, fried okra, and more
• Desserts – including Jeanette’s homemade peach cobbler, banana puddin’, and more

Daily Lunch Special (11 a.m. to 4 p.m.)
Quarter dark or white chicken with one side and a fountain drink for $9.50

Cowboy Chicken is open Sunday through Thursday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Catering and delivery services are available.  For email perks including coupons, discounts, grand opening news, and much more, join the Campfire Club, and for more information, visit www.cowboychicken.com.

More About Cowboy Chicken

Founded in Dallas in 1981, Cowboy Chicken is a fast casual restaurant chain specializing in real wood-fired rotisserie chicken. The brand has been included in Fast Casual’s Top 100 Movers & Shakers list every year since 2011 and in 2017 won the Emerging Chain of the Year award from Restaurant Business and was named one of the Top 25 Most Loved Brands by Foodable. Forbes magazine also chose Cowboy Chicken as one “Hot Restaurant Chain to Buy into Now,” and in 2020, QSR ranked Cowboy Chicken #14 in its 40 Under 40 list of the 40 most exciting fast casual concepts with fewer than 40 units. Cowboy Chicken is currently seeking qualified franchisees to help build the brand in select markets across the U.S.

The franchise partner and operator, Florida Fine Foods, is owned by restaurant industry veterans and Central Florida residents Jenny and Paul Bellanca. The duo enjoyed the flavorful rotisserie chicken so much when they dined at Cowboy Chicken in McDonough, Ga., they knew they needed to bring the brand to their home state.

Gallery of Menu Items