EVERETT — Investment, for the Greater Everett Chamber of Commerce CEO, Wendy Poischbeg, isn’t strictly about money. For her, investment is equally about people.
“The amount of investment we’re seeing in Everett,” Poischbeg asserts, pointing to the monetary side of the equation, “I haven’t seen in years. We want to talk about the positive reasons why people are in business, staying in business, expanding in business.”
That influx for Everett, Poischbeg says, is because of what Everett boasts that Seattle can’t. “I think that folks have finally identified that Everett has a huge amount of innovative assets. Companies that hadn’t considered Everett, are now giving us a second look. I think with some of the challenges in Seattle and the growth and the cost of doing business in Seattle has been prohibitive to many, and so they’ve had to look at different markets, and they gave Everett a second glance that they may not have given a few years ago.”
Everett’s edge has “given people opportunities to see us in a new light and go, ‘Oh, I had no idea.’,” Poischbeg says, pointing to Everett’s numerous business advantages. “Think about the waterfront and what they’ve done down there.”
Drivers and commuters, she says, “sometimes just pass us (Everett) by on a freeway and don’t even realize that we have a bustling waterfront. And an ecosystem around manufacturing and clean tech engineering that is stellar”, referencing Boeing, aerospace, Fluke, and cutting-edge energy companies like Helion and TerraPower.
“And so that could look like startup community, that could look like legacy businesses and that we’re really shaping the storytelling around entrepreneurs, startups, or folks that are in business,” she expands, “or have created a business and why they choose Everett.”
That choice strengthens the local economy and the mission of The Greater Everett Chamber.
Currently, “We have about 330 members,” Poischbeg reports. In the last 18 months, The Greater Everett Chamber held 55 events for members. “And those,” Poischbeg says, “are intended to really help our members connect with each other. Learn new and innovative ways to do business and be able to access the tools and resources they need to help their businesses grow.”
With so much capital and creativity bolstering the city, Poischbeg is, “Hyper focused on Everett’s success.”
One of those areas, she describes, is how, “We curated programs and curated experiences that were really intended to help businesses grow. And designed an experience in a platform with that wholly in mind.”
That growth is expected to flourish with the Chamber 2026 Membership Drive starting now, which Poischbeg says gives people a chance to get in on the ground floor of something unique for Everett. “We are a baby gazelle,” the CEO says regarding the Chamber’s agility and enthusiasm. “We are just a scrappy startup. Like, so many of the members that we represent and so it is nice to be a part of something with the membership that we’ve already cultivated.”
Continuing on the human investment theme, Poischbeg explains, “Our programs are based on our members telling us what they need. They need marketing assistance, or they need a resource for grants or funding. We look for workshops and opportunities based on what our members are telling us they need. We just had a workshop on the latest trends in AI.”
In concert with those curated events, Poischbeg says The Greater Everett Chamber mission is advocacy. “We want to be able to represent our business community (and) our members in Olympia, in state and local politics, that when somebody is creating a policy with the best of intentions, that might not be the most business friendly or might have unintended consequences and that way as a Chamber,” Poischbeg explains, “we can be that voice of our member community. “
“Membership,” Poischbeg says, “is affordable. We have three different tiers. We have a partner level that is great for a small company. And then we have other tiers for folks that really want to double their investment with other opportunities to be at policy roundtables or sponsorship or other things like that.” All in an effort to grow your business and amplify your impact in Greater Everett.
To register as a member with The Greater Everett Chamber of Commerce, click here.
More Chamber members build the investment not just in Everett, Poischbeg underscores, but in the community. “When you get an opportunity to meet somebody, look them in the eye, find out about their business,” she shares, “you want to do business with those you know, like, and trust. And so those are keys to expanding your business in a positive way.”