The past seven months have been an interesting time for us all. As a Chamber we have had to curtail our interactive activities with our members and community. We know personally we have seen a drastic reduction in business and anticipate a lengthy recovery. There appears to be distinct segments of business trends from busy, growing numbers year over year to survival on a month to month basis and those that are up and down. As a Chamber we are working through this time also and have taken the approach on membership renewals with the same approach as the trends just mentioned.
Since March we have sent out renewal invoices advising we understand the difficulties some businesses are experiencing with cash flow. We have requested if you are in a position to pay your renewal, great, but alternatively if your situation is such that it is a hardship at this time we do not want to lose you as a member. We ask you to advise that you want to remain a member and the financial part can be addressed when we are all back on a more stable footing.
Over these past seven months we have had information overload updating on a myriad of what to do, how to do it, when to do it and what help is available. The Chamber has been approached by the Durham Region’s Economic Development & Tourism Division to make our members aware of a FREE program that is available, the Digital Services program. We are aware of a number of business that have greatly benefitted from this program, we have received positive feedback.
