Devin Wall:

Welcome to another episode of Kitimat, What's the future? I'm Devin Wall.

Laurel D'Andrea:

And I'm Laurel D'andre.

Devin Wall:

On this episode, we're going to talk all about Chamber and the Business Walk that's going to be happening in Kitimat. Let's start with the Business Walk. Can you tell me a little bit more about that?

Laurel D'Andrea:

Sure. So Business Walk is an event that we do annually and we usually partner with the district of Kitimat. So this year we will be taking out hopefully some of the new counselors, so that'll be exciting to get them out there as well as we'll be taking out some of the directors from the Chamber of Commerce. And then we go around to the businesses and they don't have to be just Chamber members, it's all businesses. And we pose, I believe it's three to five questions and they're the same questions year after year because we just want to get a bit of a sense on how things are going. And it's hard to track measurables if you keep changing the goal line sort of thing. So that's why we keep asking the same questions. And it also gives us a bit of a chance to have a little bit of a face to face with the businesses and just get some more information from them on what they're feeling and what they're thinking and what they'd like to see in the future.

Devin Wall:

The Business Walk is a really good way for you guys to find out information that you guys otherwise wouldn't know. You know how people are, they don't like to pick up the phone and have that conversation so that face to face interaction... Because even if you send them a survey or something like that, like a Survey Monkey, nobody's going to do it because they perceive that they don't have the time. But if you nail them down, door to door, face to face, then they're probably a little bit more inclined to give you guys some valuable information about that. Now let's talk about Chamber. So what is a Chamber of Commerce?

Laurel D'Andrea:

Chamber of Commerce is a platform where businesses have an opportunity to get help when it comes to marketing strategies. We also have benefits. So you might be a teeny tiny little business and you can't necessarily afford dental medical for your staff, so we have a chamber benefit plan. So because they buy in such mass quantities, then they can offer competitive rates for businesses. And then the other thing that we do when it comes to chambers is advocacy. And I think that's probably one of the hidden gems that chambers don't necessarily talk about enough is when it comes to issues on a municipal level, provincially or federally, then we as chambers get together and we present policy at the BC chamber and the Canadian chamber level and then we get other chambers to either support or enhance the policy that we're trying to put forward. And then we take that to the local politicians year after year. And it's just a really good tool and resource for politicians to get some information on what's important to the business world in the communities.

Devin Wall:

And I don't think a lot of people realize that it is like voices in numbers, that it's not just the local chamber that's advocating. It's chambers all around there advocating for the same thing. There's the regional, there's the national levels as well. So it's a really good collective voice for business, small business, especially because sometimes those small business voices get a little bit lost in the mix.

Laurel D'Andrea:

When you look at some of the things that might be happening around here in Kitimat, and then when we go to a BC chamber conference, then we find out they're having the same problem in Sydney, British Columbia. And then when we go to Canadian conferences, then we notice that maybe there might be the same problem in Nova Scotia. So then we can pull resources, we can pull data, we can pull information, and then that just gives us a bigger impact when we're trying to fight for these causes.

Devin Wall:

And then also too, with some of the more local chambers, you guys partner together to do different programs that otherwise you wouldn't be able to do on your own.

Laurel D'Andrea:

And we're very lucky here in the northwest and the north overall. We have, I don't want to use the word coalition because it makes it sound so aggressive, but in the north we do have a group of the chambers that we get together on a monthly call and we just have conversation, and we just talk about the things that are happening in our region. So we know that up in the northeast they might be having a problem with something and they need our support down here in the northwest. So by having that dialogue and that conversation, then it's really good for all of us to benefit, especially when we're lobbying for things in the northwest and the northeast.

One of the things that top of mind is technology and bandwidth and internet. It's a big problem in remote areas. And so chambers get together, and we're constantly bugging the government to get the telcos to look at fixing the problems in these regions. Some businesses, one side of the street, they pay a certain amount for high speed and then you go across the street and it's 200% higher just because of the way things are set up.

Devin Wall:

Well I know, and definitely technology is so big right now, especially one thing that we learned with COVID is that connectivity is so important because can't be together physically, technology allows us to be together apart. With you having your finger on the pulse of the business community in the Northwest and especially in Kitimat what are some really good things going on right now for businesses?

Laurel D'Andrea:

Well, I think a lot of good things that are going on within Kitimat and within the region is a large industry and the ripple effect of having these projects in our community. It keeps our small to medium based businesses getting contracts and working because in some of the other areas they don't have that capability. So when I look at something like Pyramid Office Supplies, so Pyramid Office Supplies, mom and pop shops started so many years ago, having large industry in this community ups their sales because you know what, they need binders, they need pens, they need pencils, they need all the kind of stuff. They need stuff printed off and they need it kind of right now.

And it's those big industries that really help keep those small businesses afloat, which is really, really good. When I look at the relationships that are built between LNG and Rio Tinto and CGL and Pembina, they do their due diligence and they try to support small to medium based businesses. So that's a win-win. Because like I said, in some of the other regions, they don't necessarily have large industry that provides these opportunities to keep going.

Devin Wall:

And so with all those opportunities, there's some people out there who do want to start a business, but they're just a little bit afraid because they don't know what to do, how to get started and stuff like that. So the chamber isn't just for those established businesses, it's for those new businesses too that want to find out information on how to start a business. So you guys have the resources to help those people out.

Laurel D'Andrea:

If we have a small to medium based business, there's somebody who's an entrepreneur and new to the community, we're like a connector. We try to connect the dots and they'll come to us and they'll say, "You know what? We need to get a website. Who do we call?" So we tell them who's local in the community and who they could talk to. Maybe they need photography for their new website or their business cards or whatever. So then we can connect them to those individuals that are working locally in the community.

And then we try to give them sound advice when it comes to education, like our lunch and learn series and after hour events where we can pull people together and they can just have conversations and dialogue on what's affecting their business. People don't do that on their own per se. So by having a chamber, then we put these events on and then sometimes we surround ourself with experts. We might bring somebody in from Small Business BC, even if it is virtually, but they'll be able to talk about a specific topic that we don't necessarily have the capacity to do here. And again, it's just building the relationships and connecting the people to help them out when they're starting out.

Devin Wall:

So now if people want to learn more information about the Kitimat Chamber of Commerce, how can they do that?

Laurel D'Andrea:

Well, I am a little bit old school. We do have our website, so people can pull information from there. Our door is an open door policy, so if anybody wants to come into the office and talk to us, we'd love to have a chat with you. We could even come to your office and talk to people. And again, we want to make sure that our members are feeling that they're getting value. We have some members, they could care less about the education component. They want to be a member because they want to take advantage of the benefits program. We have some members who want to take advantage of the social aspect that we have with the events that we put on. Because we are a small community, we do the Christmas light up, we do the annual Christmas party, business excellence awards. We help with Winterfest, Rail Jam. So we try to make sure all our businesses get the information that they need.

One of the things that we're really bad at doing and my staff person has just done an amazing job, is we have an event calendar on our website and it was so underutilized, and that was our fault because we didn't take the time. And she just goes on every other calendar and she's been emailing people, calling people. And I challenge any one of you to go and look at the event calendar on the chamber website because there's a lot of really good information on there. It's free and if anybody wants to share information about events that they're doing, you don't have to be a chamber member to list on there. And then we have our job bank as well, so we're trying to get the information out there so people can look at it. Maybe it's late at night and they want to look at it. Maybe it's early in the day, but it's there and it's ready for them.

Devin Wall:

Excellent. And that website's kitimatchamber.ca and then you guys are located at the visitors center just off the highway coming into Kitimat from Terrace.

Laurel D'Andrea:

We're the first thing you see when you come into town and we're the last thing you see when you leave. It's a great location. We love where we are. And November 17th and 18th we're going to actually have a come shopping at the visitor's center because we do feature local artisans. And so we're going to have a little event from three to seven on both those days so people can come in and do some early Christmas shopping and support some of the local artisans.

Devin Wall:

And some people may not know this, but the Kitimat Chamber of Commerce and the Kitimat Visitor Center is 100% accessible now.

Laurel D'Andrea:

Yes it is. And we have this wonderful ramp and we have a wheelchair accessible washroom and we have our elevator now. And we have a boardroom that people can rent as well. I don't think a lot of people realize we have a really nice boardroom that is available for rental for businesses and not for profits.

Devin Wall:

What's coming up in the next little while?

Laurel D'Andrea:

Well, what's coming up in the next little while is we have our November 26th is our annual Christmas party for our membership, which is going to be at the Luso Hall. Again, we're supporting a local organization and we have First Transit free bus ride home. Tickets are available here at the chamber office and there's only 250 tickets available. So if you're thinking about it, better think quickly because we're probably over half sold out already.

And then December 4th is going to be our Light Up Kitimat. So we are partnering with the District of Kitimat, and we are doing it at the Upper City Mall this year. So inside the mall will be 12 to seven, outside the Upper City mall will be three to seven. And then we also are partnering with the school district and the school district, the kids are making some stained glass pictures for us. And so all the business facing outwards, we will have pictures done by the local schools just to animate the space, and hopefully we'll be lighting up a tree and we bought a new star and I think it's going to be a great event.

Devin Wall:

That sounds fantastic. Thank you very much for joining me again on this episode.

Laurel D'Andrea:

Thanks. Great. Thanks for having me.