The Chamber has Moved! Holiday Message, Member Spotlight, Business News, Member Happenings & MORE! |
|
Holiday Message from Pam Staneski, Executive Director and Paige Miglio, Board of Directors Chair |
|
During this holiday season we send our very best wishes to you and your families. You are not alone if you are ready to wish this year good riddance with the hope that next year will offer us all a new beginning. One day we will share stories of these historic days with our grandchildren and marvel that through it all we stayed resilient in making our community one of the best to live and to work. The spirit of hospitality is part of your fabric. We watched as you expressed compassion through the many unselfish acts you took—pivoting to make PPE’s for fellow business members, offering expert information via web platforms to help others navigate loan/grant paperwork, adopting safe practices to deliver services in a manner that satisfied safety concerns, delivering comfort food to first responders with much appreciation. Your commitment and dedication to community remains unstoppable.
This will certainly not be a traditional holiday—fewer of us will travel to see our family, our holiday party invitation list will be a much shorter (if held at all). Perhaps, with a little less commotion, our time will be focused on our blessings and those we love and serve. We are optimistic that the new year will bring a new season of healing along with the hope of a safe, effective vaccine. Until then, your Chamber will be here to support you. We thank you again for the part you play in making our community the best place to live and to work.
Happiest of Holiday Season to You and Yours!
Pam & Paige
|
|
Member Spotlight: Gunna Voigt, Coldwell Banker Frascatore Realty
|
|
Meet Gunna Voigt!
Most members of the Chamber know Gunna Voigt as a Realtor who works for Coldwell Banker Frascatore Realty in Shelton, CT. They know her as a member of the National Association of Realtors, the Bridgeport Board of Realtors, the Greater New Haven Association of Realtors, as well as the Statewide Connecticut Multiple Listing Service.
Everyone knows Gunna means business
If you've stumbled across Gunna's LinkedIn page, you know she means business. Her reviews speak volumes about her professional career as a realtor. If you haven't had the pleasure of venturing onto her page, we suggest you do so!
"I was brand new to Real Estate when I began working with Gunna. She was an incredible source of knowledge and very supportive of me in a new industry. Gunna is blessed with qualities that are critical in a Real Estate Professional, she has integrity and will always do what is best for her client. If you are seeking someone to represent you in a sale or purchase, she is a great choice."
And it gets even better...
As stellar as her career is, there's a lot about Gunna that our members (yes, that means you, Karen) may not know.
Enjoy these 7 facts we bet you didn’t know about Gunna:
- Gunna was educated in Europe, Africa, and the United States
- Gunna was a rally driver for Frankfurt Police Motor Sport Division where she drove an Audi
- Gunna ‘almost’ made the 1952 Olympics held in Helsinki, Finland—her sport—shot put!
- Gunna is fluent in 4 languages—German, English, French, and Spanish
- Gunna is an accomplished ballroom dancer, winning several awards
- Gunna was a 9-year member of Craven Singers Chorus, CT Grand Opera
- Gunna came to the United States to work in international trade before becoming a realtor
Well, now you know. The secret is out!
Want to make Gunna's day? Next time you see her, ask her about any of the following facts - her face will light up as she begins her story!
|
|
Hip, Hip, Hooray!
The Milford Regional Chamber of Commerce is proud to announce that due to our remarkable growth in the Milford area, we have officially moved to a new location.
Goodbye to the historic Taylor Library located at 5 Broad Street where we have operated since the mid-1970s and hello to the new offices at The Connecticut Post Mall where we will continue to offer the same great service you all know and love, but with MORE space.
Stay tuned for photos as we continue to get acquainted with our new offices! Or better yet, if you're in the neighborhood, come visit us at our new location and we'd be happy to give you a socially distanced tour!
Please note: Email addresses, website address, and social media accounts have remained the same.
Sincerely,
Pam Staneski,
Executive Director
Milford Regional Chamber of Commerce
(203)530-9838, cell
Paige Miglio, Chair Board of Directors
Milford Regional Chamber of Commerce
203.878.6647
|
|
How Will My Business Survive Another Lockdown? |
|
Another lockdown?
The next couple of months will be telling ones. While we’re not saying a lockdown is inevitable, the reality is a lot of communities have spent the past week or so escalating their precautionary levels.
Ditch Your Space
We’re not making any friends with landlords here but there are some businesses that just don’t require storefronts anymore. One way to survive is to eliminate your biggest expenses, and for most, rent (or mortgage on a building) ranks right up there at the top of the list.
Is your business the type that can function without a physical space? What are you giving up? A survey by website provider BlueHost in August 2020 found that 48% of business owners surveyed said they saw no reason for a physical space in the future.
Even if you have slightly less business from lack of foot traffic, consider what it’s costing you to run the physical space. You can even consult with a tax adviser to see if there are tax benefits or deductions you can be taking if you move your business to a spot in your home.
Boost Social and Online
Whether you’re giving up your physical space or not, you have to hit social media hard right now if you want to stay in business. Keep in mind that while some people want to buy local this holiday, sometimes going down and strolling Main Street isn’t possible with schedules (or at all if businesses are shut down). Those people may look for local shops online and may be surprised how few offer online purchase options.
One business announced the temporary physical closing of their storefront and suggested web visitors make an appointment to come to the store. What is the likelihood for someone who’s online to decide to make an appointment to come to a physical location? They are online with credit card in hand. They are in the mood to buy, not make appointments. You’re losing business if you’re asking people to make appointments with you.
At the very minimum, you need:
-
Online purchasing options. You can do this through outside sites (more about that in the next section) or your own online store. Even if you sell services and not products, you should be looking for ways to sell online. That’s where people are spending their time these days.
-
Images of what you sell. The business that wanted potential customers to make an appointment sold handmade jewelry and yet there wasn’t a single picture of their products on their site. Missed opportunity. If you sell services, videos and images of your work should be on your website.
-
A presence on social media. Build those follower numbers by sharing amazing content. Facebook is cracking down on what they show people in their streams. Check out your stream. How many posts are sponsored posts? Every fourth post of mine is sponsored. You either need money to reach your audience or you need them interacting with you.
Get Out There
A lot of businesses don’t want to take on the hassle of an online store but there are easier ways than a WordPress Plug-in (although those are really easy and not as intimidating as you might think) or online commerce software (again, the technology is getting a lot easier to set up than it once was). If you don’t want to run your own and sell from your website, you can sell on:
- eBay
- Amazon
- Etsy
- Walmart
- Facebook Marketplace
- A Facebook page
- Facebook groups in your area and elsewhere (check the terms of the group first)
- Alibaba
- Google Express
There are also commerce places for specific types of businesses like Uber Eats, GrubHub, DoorDash, and Slice (pizza) for restaurants, Best Buy and Newegg for tech, and Bonanza and Hollar for fashion. Don’t think that online sites are just for physical goods. There are many booking sites for people who offer specific services too from fishing charters to wedding officiants. Listing your services on these sites can help you reach new customers for a small price.
This is a disconcerting time for small business owners, but flexibility is key to staying in business. Cut costs and stay top of mind with customers. You can easily do this online with the many options out there.
|
|
HR Hotline: Can We Require That Employees Get a COVID-19 Vaccine? |
|
The quick answer is probably not. A more nuanced response? It’s complicated.
"As good as the vaccine news may be, do not, become complacent about the disciplined safe workplace practices we have been following."
For more information regarding the COVID-19 vaccine, priority groups, protocols, and accommodations check out this article.
|
|
|
CDC Revises COVID-19 Quarantine Guidelines |
|
Did you know the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released revisions to its coronavirus quarantine guidelines on Tuesday, December 1st?
Here's what you need to know:
While the agency still recommends a 14-day quarantine “as the best way to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19,” it now provides alternatives for those exposed to someone with the virus based on new research and modeling data.
The CDC now says potential exposure warrants a quarantine of 10 or seven days, depending on one's test results and symptoms.
If individuals do not develop symptoms, they need only quarantine for 10 days. If they test negative, that period can be reduced to just one week.
"Reducing the length of quarantine may make it easier for people to take this critical public health action by reducing the economic hardship associated with a longer period, especially if they cannot work during that time," -Dr. Henry Walke, the CDC’s COVID-19 Incident Manager
|
|
3 Small Business Lessons to Learn During COVID |
|
This has certainly been a weird year. As we begin to adjust to our new reality, there are some things you could be doing in your business that may help you out in the post-COVID time. We can’t say it will ever be a return to normal. We’ve lost our innocence in some ways. Preparing for the worst in the past would never have (completely) readied us for this. But hopefully we’ve learned a thing or two to help us with future business. |
|
1. You’ve Learned What Your Time Is Worth
In every business, there are things that are worth your time and things that aren’t. If you busy yourself with the things that aren’t, you will always feel underpaid and overworked. Instead, make a list of the things that you should be farming out to others.
It may seem counterintuitive to pay others to do things you could be doing but everything has a cost. For instance, if you are the primary person bringing in sales for your company but you’re also handling the landscaping and cleaning up the office, you’re losing money. The time you’re spending landscaping and cleaning is time not spent bringing in sales.
If you know that for every 5 people you try to sell to, one will buy from you and you know your average sale is $400, and you can reach 5 people in an hour, then you can expect—on average—a sale an hour. So, every hour you’re spending doing something else is costing you a sale.
It’s a lot less expensive to hire someone to do the landscaping and cleaning so you can concentrate on bringing in sales than it is for you to do those tasks yourself.
|
|
2. You’ve Picked Up a New Skill
From webinars to online classes, there’s an educational pursuit for every interest and budget. Consider your interests but also think about what will improve your “employability” or your business. Think about complementary services you might offer if you improved your knowledge in a particular area. For instance, if you offer marketing content for businesses, learning more about SEO may help you command a higher hourly or project fee.
Now is an excellent time to look at educational options. There have never been so many affordable options.
|
|
3. You’ve Learned When You Work Best
With working from home situations, some businesspeople have had to get creative with their work hours. If you’ve done this, hopefully you’ve learned what your most productive hours are.
If you have, don’t waste them returning emails. Whatever is your “freshest” part of the day, you should use that to tackle new projects, bring on new accounts, brainstorm ways to grow your business, and other things.
Leave administrative tasks, like email, for later parts of the day. It will make you more productive.
COVID has forced us to reexamine where we work and how we do it. If you haven’t already, think about ways you might invest in making your business stronger post-COVID than it was before.
|
|
Member Happenings & Events
|
|
JANUARY 2021—Annual Meeting and Recognition of Community Heroes and Leaders
|
We look forward to virtually seeing you at the 2021 Annual Meeting and Awards Celebration, where we will announce the 2021 Chamber Board of Directors and officers and celebrate the resiliency of our community and the compassion of our members. Check back soon for more details to follow!
|
|
Economic Summit + Outlook 2021 |
Join us on Friday, January 22 from 8:15 AM - 11:45 AM, for an important discussion about Connecticut’s economy.
You will hear from a panel of those driving innovation in Connecticut, including:
- StamfordNext Executive Director, Wes Bemus,
- District New Haven Chief Operating Officer JoHannah Hamilton
- Upward Hartford Founder and CEO Shana Schlossberg
Accompanying them will be state representatives, senators and members of a bipartisan group of state lawmakers who signed and support CBIA's Rebuilding Connecticut Policy Pledge.
|
If you're a local small business you DON'T want to miss this!
To learn more about this 11-point policy designed to help employers - particularly struggling small businesses - and sign up for this event, click here.
|
|
Business Referral Group Hybrid Meetings Are Back!
*drumroll please*
While we are still beautifying the new office to be able to better serve both you and our staff with even more space, we are excited to welcome back our Business Referral Group Hybrid Meetings.
Please join us for a socially distanced cup of coffee and to tour our new office hosted by Executive Director, Pam Staneski, and Chair Board of Directors, Paige Miglio, on Tuesday, December 15th from 8:30 AM to 11:00 AM. We can't wait to see you there!
|
|
|
Milford Chamber Shopping With Santa
|
|
Ho, Ho, Ho!
Santa was in Downtown Milford this month looking at all of Milford's hidden treasures. Check out the videos below to see what he thought about his trip.
Lucky for you, these hidden treasures (some of Milford's finest local small businesses) are offering all sorts of deals you don't want to miss this year!
Over the next few weeks, tune into our Facebook channel for important small business highlights only available in Milford. Support small businesses! They need you more than ever.
|
|
Panel on Chronic Pain
Please join us for this virtual panel discussion on chronic pain management on Wednesday, December 9th at 12 PM. We’ll be introducing you to how chronic pain can manifest, as well as various treatment options available here in our local community that are more conservative than medication.
Moderated by Shirley Chock, of Aiping Tai Chi, the panel will feature the following presenters:
- Krista Hewlett Keegan, Wave Integrative Medical Center. Topic: Personalized Functional Medicine approach to Chronic Pain
- Dr. Mandy Lock, Active Health. Topic: Understanding Chronic Pain
- Sheila Tarantino, Genuine Living & Wellness. Topic: Using essential oils for pain reduction
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
