The Ladysmith Chamber of Commerce is launching a full day business seminar known as Biz Buzz later this month that it hopes will help form part of a trade show for the mid-Island in the future.
“This is kind of a stepping stone to a larger event that we’re trying to develop down the road,” said the Chamber’s executive director Mark Drysdale.
“The business development portion of it is what we decided to focus on this year.”
Hosted by the Chamber and Ladysmith & District Credit Union, Biz Buzz is being held on Oct. 19 at Eagles Hall.
The morning session features Nikki MacCallum of NikkiDesigns, Sandy Herle of Close to You Fashions and Catrina Elliot of Elite Image discussing the keys to what made them successful in business.
Other keynote speakers include Cowichan’s Economic Development manager Amy Melmock, and Great Performances Group’s Clemens Rettich, who deliver a presentation over lunch titled ‘88 Questions - Discover What Matters.
“We did a series of workshops with him in conjunction with the Ladysmith Downtown Business Association in the spring and they were really well received by everyone who attended,” Drysdale said. “He’s a sound business coach that can really give you some new ideas about taking your business to the next level.”
Melmock’s discussion will be “broad reaching” and focus on EDC’s work in the local economy.
“That’s broad reaching to know what’s going on in the region from an economic development perspective and to be able to capitalize and tag onto those initiatives. That will be powerful to anyone in business in the area,” Drysdale added.
Chamber president Tammy Leslie, also of Palmer Leslie Chartered Professional Accountants, will also discuss her list of the top 10 tax tips for small businesses.
“Part of what we wanted to do was bring in more of an educational component,” said Drysdale.
Biz Buzz is being marketed to Small and Medium Size Enterprises, or SMEs.
“We’ve put the word out to the Chambers in Nanaimo and the Cowichan region and we believe this could be of interest to a broad range of folks throughout Ladysmith and the surrounding area,” Drysdale said.
The Chamber hopes Biz Buzz will form part of future strategy to celebrate business in the community.
“It will all be under one umbrella with different components, so Biz Buzz will hopefully be one piece of a celebration of business and volunteerism in the community.”
The cost for Chamber members is $50 and $60 for non-members. Call the office at 250-245-2112 for more details.