Chamber News

Welcome New Members

• Custom Patios LLC
• The Willows Golf Lounge
• Kelly Industrial Supply, Inc.
• The Willow Space for Trauma Treatment
• Bloom Sanctuary PLLC
• Towable Systems
• Compass Point Consulting
• Zukin Realty
• Moore for the Troops
• Veteran Forged Solutions, LLC
• The Camphill School

CCCBI's Advocacy, Connections & Community in Action

This year’s Annual Report truly reflects the strength of our community, all thanks to your engagement, support, and participation!

Thanks to members like you, 2025 was a year of collaboration, impact, and positive momentum for the Chester County Chamber of Business & Industry.  

We are proud to share our 2025 Annual Report, which captures all that we have accomplished together.

CCCBI invites you to browse this report to see our most significant achievements and milestones, including key advocacy wins, community-building efforts, and member impact.

Here are just a few of our most exciting highlights:

• 546 Member Businesses representing 30 industries across 135 zip codes.

• 170 new members welcomed into our business community.

• 84 events and meetings with 4,500+ attendees, all dedicated to education, advocacy, networking, and celebrations.

• 15 multi-chamber collaborations, expanding our reach and regional influence.

• 13 ribbon cuttings, celebrating business growth and milestones for our valued members. 

As we look ahead to 2026, we remain committed to advocacy with integrity, meaningful connections, and delivering value that supports your business and our region.

Your feedback, ideas, and involvement are critical to our shared success. If you have any questions or would like to review anything featured in our report, please don’t hesitate to reach out to any member of our team. 

Thank you for being an essential part of the CCCBI community. Here’s to continuing our progress in 2026 and beyond! 

Main Line Today's Best of the Main Line 2026 Nomination Ballot is Open

Main Line Today’s Best of the Main Line 2026 Nomination ballot is open!

Make your votes to nominate the best businesses in the region in 9 groups, ranging from Arts & Entertainment to Food & Drink to Weddings.

The nomination ballot is open through January 8, 2026, at 5 p.m. The final ballot is open from February 2, 2026, at 9 a.m. through February 27, 2026, at 5 p.m.

Results will be published in the July 2026 issue of Main Line Today magazine. Winners will be celebrated at the Best of Party on Thursday, July 30, 2026!

Nominate a Rising Leader in Chester County!

Legislative Update

What to Expect from the Economy in 2026

By Curtis Dubay, Chief Economist, U.S. Chamber of Commerce

A strong economy means more opportunities for growth in communities across the country. It means higher paychecks and more chances for Americans to reach their American dream.  

The U.S. Chamber has a bold plan for achieving a sustained level of at least 3% real economic growth to help our nation and American families prosper.  

Key Points: 

• Looking backward: At the end of 2025, the U.S. economy will have grown around 2% over the last 12 months, which is remarkable given turbulence throughout the year. 
• Looking forward: In 2026, the U.S. Chamber predicts the economy will grow at least 2% -- which is the average of Blue Chip forecasters. 
• The catch: If we establish the right set of policies, the economy could grow at 3% or above. 
• Bottom line: That higher level of growth is attainable, but policymakers need to act to achieve it. 

Why 3% Growth Matters 

To improve the lives of all Americans, the U.S. must focus on growing the economy. In 2024, the Chamber launched the Growth and Opportunity Imperative, calling on elected officials to support policies that would achieve at least 3% annual real economic growth over the next decade. 

When the economy is growing at 3%, someone who is born today will see America’s economy double in size by the time they are in their early 20s. At 2% growth, it will take until they are in their mid-30s for the economy to double. Plainly put, growing the economy grows everyone’s slice of the pie and creates more prosperity across the board. 

Unfortunately, several tailwinds and headwinds impact our ability to reach that target. 

Why the Economy Will Grow 2% in 2026 

The economy is sustaining 2% growth and will continue to do so into 2026 for a few key reasons: 

1. Consumers keep spending, and 

2. Businesses are investing. 

Consumers are spending because the job market remains strong, even if it has weakened some in recent months. People can still get jobs, and wage growth remains above inflation. Even if necessities are chewing up more of budgets as inflation remains stubbornly high, consumers are at least keeping pace. The latest data we have from early fall shows this remains the case.  

A steadily rising stock market and tax reform putting more money into families’ pockets are also contributing to strong spending numbers.  

Businesses are investing in AI in a big way. That is keeping investment numbers up and keeping lots of people more than fully employed. Tax reform promises to boost investment in other areas as it lowers the cost of all types of investment. 

If outside influences do not change, these two factors alone will keep the economy growing at 2%, at a minimum, in 2026. 

• How tariffs play a role: Trade flows are pushing the growth numbers up and down depending on the quarter and what businesses are doing with imports in response to tariffs. While we may see one quarter depressed by a surge of imports and another surge because of a drop in imports, these swings will level off eventually. Ultimately, tariffs are a drag on growth because they raise prices, causing consumers and businesses to buy less.  

How We Could Reach 3% Growth in 2026 

The U.S. is by no means hemmed into 2% growth. The dynamism of the U.S. economy means there is always capacity for the economy to grow above its potential. In 2026, we could see 3% growth, or higher, if a few key things happen: 

1. AI continues booming, and most importantly, it starts seriously boosting worker productivity; 

2. The positive economic benefits from the One Big Beautiful Bill take off in 2026, such as improved incentives for businesses to invest, leading to an even bigger investment boom that encompasses more than AI investment. Large refunds and reduced withholding could add extra juice to the economy in 2026 as well;  

3. Permitting reform makes it easier and faster to build; 

4. Continued deregulatory activities and greater policy certainty make it easier for businesses to plan and invest; 

5. Legal immigration reforms make it easier to get the workers we need to grow faster;  

6. We enact legal reforms that discourage frivolous litigation help reduce the cost pressure on everything from insurance to consumer goods; and 

7. Tariffs come down. Lesser tariffs and more free trade would supercharge growth. 

This mix of policies that emphasize the supply side of the economy is imperative to generating improved growth because where inflation is now, anything that spurs demand — like more government stimulus like we saw under the Biden administration — risks greater inflation. 

What Could Slow Growth in 2026   

While the right set of policies could drive the economy to 3% growth, the wrong set could slow it below the 2% path we are on now. Those policies would be those that: 

• Slow AI investment: A wave of different regulatory policies from the federal government and the states would slow business investment in data centers and other factors needed to bring AI to consumers. This would cause a pullback in financial markets and cause a slowdown in on-the-ground activity. It could lead to a consolidation of businesses engaged in bringing AI to market and a reduction in asset prices tied to the ongoing investment boom; 
• Raise tariffs: New, higher, or expanded tariffs would cause consumers and businesses to pull back and will slow growth; and 
• Decrease consumer confidence: Consumers have been spending strongly for years now, in part because their wages have grown above inflation and their belief the economy will be better in the future. If continued policy uncertainty undermines their confidence, they could pull back on spending, which would certainly slow growth. 

Other Factors to Consider in 2026 

Recession 

We won’t have a recession this year unless a large shock occurs, like a pandemic or global financial crisis. While there is always the chance something big like that happens, such events are hard to predict. It is important to remember that slower growth is not the same thing as a recession.  

We could have slower growth in 2025 and 2026 than we had in 2023 (2.9%) and 2024 (2.8%), but a recession is when the size of the economic contracts for six straight months. Slower growth is not good, and it can make the country feel the economy is bad. But a recession brings with it more serious economic pain through high unemployment and falling incomes. Both are unlikely to occur outside of a recession.  

Workforce 

The U.S. labor market has fundamentally changed in recent months. Because of declining population growth from a lower birth rate and a slowdown in immigration and increase in deportations, we only need to add 30,000 to 50,000 jobs a month to keep the unemployment rate steady. Not too long ago, we needed to create at least 125,000 jobs a month to keep the unemployment rate the same.  

That means if we do get the conditions needed to push growth to 3%, it will be harder to hit that mark than in the past because there won’t be enough workers available for businesses to tap to meet growing demand.  

The Fed 

The Federal Reserve is another factor to consider in 2026. While some anticipate further rate reductions to spur faster growth, there is also ample reason to believe that rates will remain more steady. 

The Fed’s dual mandate requires them to work towards stable prices and maximum employment. Inflation remains stubbornly high and tariffs continue to work their way through to consumers exerting upward pressure on the price level. At the same time, while job growth may have slowed, the unprecedented slowdown in the growth of the labor force may mean that there is little room to create more jobs. Given these pressures, it is not surprising that the Fed signaled in its most recent forward guidance that it is likely to hold rates steady for several months while until we have a better understanding of where inflation and labor force are headed.  

The Bottom Line 

The economy is stronger than many surveys would indicate, and the economy will continue to grow in 2026. With the right mix of policies, the economy can grow even faster. Businesses will want to prepare for a better economy because they will need to be ready to hire and expand to take advantage of that faster growth should it materialize. 

Member Spotlight

West Chester Views

My business West Chester Views and The Main Line Views helps local companies grow by creating short-form videos and social media content that reach large, highly targeted local audiences on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok.

There are 150,000+ local people following the pages and one video post on the pages reaches on average 50,000 people. Imagine having your business actually seen by 50,000+ LOCAL people that could walk in your door or pick up the phone and call you. 

The results from a recent feature video for Aneu Kitchens in Paoli show what this approach can do. One video generated over 56,000 views, more than 1,700 interactions, 1,000 likes, 540 shares, and 147 saves. That is 56,000 local people that now know more about Aneu Kitchens. 

This level of exposure gives local businesses a powerful advantage. A video feature on my pages introduces the brand to thousands of potential customers, builds trust through storytelling, and keeps the business top-of-mind long after the post is published. Many viewers save the video to revisit later or share it with friends, extending the reach even further.

My platforms reach over 150,000+ local followers across Chester County, West Chester and the Main Line, allowing businesses to market directly to people who live nearby and are likely to become customers. Each video is designed to highlight what makes a business unique while fitting naturally into social media feeds which is where everyone’s attention actually is these days.

In a world where attention is everything, my work turns local businesses into visible, recognizable brands—helping them grow through content that delivers real results.

If you have a business and would like more local people to know about you, reach out to me and let’s chat.

Upcoming Events

Member Events

 We’d love to hear from and highlight your business! We are seeking member spotlight stories to include in our weekly newsletter!

Email your news to abby@chescochamber.org