Normally in December your Ladysmith Chamber of Commerce is busy sending out invoices for the subsequent year’s membership fees. With 2020 being such a ridiculously difficult year for most of us we just don’t have the heart to send these invoices out at this time of year. So we’re going to hold off sending these out until the New Year and we’re going to include some options for you that might take some of the sting out of payment if 2020 was a particularly hard hit for you.

These options include:

1.     Choose a new Anniversary Renewal Date – Until now all memberships required renewal on January 1^st whether that was a good time for your business or not. Starting in 2021 you can select a new anniversary date (that makes sense for your businesses cash flow on an ongoing basis). We will invoice you for the interim period from January 1 to your new anniversary date on a prorated basis. Then invoice you annually on your anniversary date from then on.

2.     Installment Payments – You will be able to opt for quarterly installment payments to reduce the stress on your cash flow.

3.     Additional Flexibility – If neither of the options above help we will work with you one-on-one to find a solution that will work. Now more than ever we need to work together and for one another and the Ladysmith Chamber pledges to do all we can to make your membership work for you moving forward.

You’ll hear more about these options and how you can take advantage of them in the New Year. For now all we want is for you to enjoy your Holiday Season. Be healthy, happy and safe. And let’s look forward to making 2021 a year of recovery and prosperity.

Take a look at the application guide here. It outlines employer criteria, provides details on the subsidy ranges, FAQ and application tips.

An excellent feature designed to streamline the process is the ability to apply online, using a candidate you've selected or requesting us to recommend someone for the position. See the application page here.

SPECIAL OFFER | Manage wait-lists, line-ups & contact tracing with WAIT. Chamber Members, find out how you can get this web-based tool FOR FREE, thanks to a partnership with Community Futures Cowichan & Kuusoft Software Corp.

The Building Resilience to Thrive program will feature weekly seminars delivered by award-winning professors Dr. Mark Colgate and Prof. Brian Leacock offered on the following dates: 

PS. Read about how our program is helping businesses reinvigorate workplace culture and boost their productivity in the Pique.

The applications for the Survive & Recover, in partnership with Community Futures, Coastal Community Credit Union and Oceanside Initiatives are now open.

Have you applied for the BC Small and Medium-Sized Business Recovery Grant program?

How the program works: The Small and Medium-Sized Business Recovery Grant program will invest up to $300 million in targeted financial support for some of the hardest hit businesses in B.C. that employ between two and 149 B.C. residents and have experienced declines in revenue since March 10, 2020.

We sincerely hope that you, your families, your employees, coworkers and all around you are safe and healthy in these extraordinary times. The Ladysmith Chamber has worked hard to monitor the many announcements related to federal, provincial and local responses to the Covid-19 pandemic and make information pertinent to business readily available to you on our website, newsletters and Facebook posts. We have also tried our best to monitor how your businesses have adjusted to the current crisis to make this information available to the public through our Facebook page. (If you have not already Liked and Followed our Page, you may need to do so in order to tag us.)