By MARC ABSHIRE
For the North Kitsap Herald

The analogy I like to use when I talk about what’s in store for us next year is the cycle of seasons.

If the key economic indicators prove to be correct, 2015 will be like spring, following the economic winter of the past few years.

These economic seasons usually last longer than the annual weather cycle of seasons, which is good news for those of us who have been feeling the sting of this brutal economic winter. But many who suffered more than just “a sting” were part of a kind of natural pruning, culled out by the winter and forced to either make changes, improvements, and compromises, or completely fold.

The winter has made us stronger, if it hasn’t ruined us, and we are now poised for the coming spring and the budding emergence of opportunities and growth. Businesses and individuals who are positioned well, and who have anticipated the brighter days ahead, will be better able to take advantage of the economic growth.

This next year, we should see fewer foreclosures on home mortgages, lower unemployment rates, more travel and tourism, better retail sales, and rising property values.

Improvements, renovations, and additions to businesses and homes, stalled by years of winter, will be started once again. Vacations will be planned and expanded. Orders for goods and services will go up, as will pay and salaries. And more of us will be on the move — in bicycles, boats, and moving vans.

There will be visibly more activity, but don’t expect a frenzy. Winter also taught us lessons about fiscal conservatism and the wisdom of “slow and steady.” We learned how important our friends are to us, and the value of networking. In places like North Kitsap, community and connectedness are precious. Here, it’s more about what we can do for one another, than who you know.

Organizations like the Greater Poulsbo Chamber of Commerce, Soroptimist International of Greater North Kitsap, Rotary Club of Poulsbo, Poulsbo Lions Club, Kiwanis of Greater Poulsbo, North Kitsap Fishline, YWCA, and many others make and define us. As an example, the number of businesses that are joining the Greater Poulsbo Chamber of Commerce and are renewing their memberships has been rising, and that will continue in 2015 — which is one of the key indicators of an improving economy. So is hotel tax revenue, which is also on the rise, along with sales tax revenue in the City of Poulsbo, which saw double-digit increases this year.

With the perspective that “a rising tide raises all boats,” the Greater Poulsbo Chamber of Commerce will be focused over the next year on finding ways to help our members capitalize on the growth, as well as sustain it. And for the first time in recent memory, we will develop a long range strategic plan over this next year in order to help our organization and our members be better prepared for “the cycle of seasons” through at least 2025.

Winter will certainly come again someday, after a summer and an autumn. But for now, and for all of 2015, we’ll be in spring. And that means it’s finally time for action.

— Marc Abshire is director of operations for the Greater Poulsbo Chamber of Commerce. Contact him at director@poulsbochamber.com