Monday marked the kick-off to Small Business Week in the Bay of Quinte.
Representatives from the chambers of commerce in Belleville, Quinte West, and Prince Edward County kicked off the week at an event in the Small Business Centre at Loyalist College.
In attendance were members of the business community as well as members of local government.
“This week is about celebrating entrepreneurship and the small- and medium-sized businesses throughout the Quinte region, and we want to make sure that we’ve got events that appeal to those businesses and let them know that we really appreciate what they’re doing in our community,” CEO of the Quinte West Chamber of Commerce, Suzanne Andrews, tells Quinte News.
CEO of the Prince Edward County Chamber of Commerce, Duarte Da Silva, says members of each chamber attended the Canadian Chamber of Commerce AGM & Convention in Halifax with the theme of that event being networking.
He says that theme can be seen throughout the events being put together for Small Business Week.
“I think you’re really seeing that in Small Business Week as well, the chambers working together, our supportive sponsors and partnership, but also the small businesses in the Bay of Quinte,” Da Silva tells Quinte News.
“We heard from small businesses from coast to coast to coast this past week. We know the challenges, but we also recognize the opportunity and the hard work that entrepreneurs put into starting a small business.”
There will be a number of events throughout the week that help support local business with returning events like the Chamber Breakfast as well as other networking events.
New events will also be taking place that address some of the biggest needs facing businesses.
“In particular, right now, HR issues continue to be top of mind for so many businesses so that’s why we picked to do a workshop on HR,” Andrews says.
“Some of the other sessions that we are dealing with, we talk about taxes, we talk about estate planning and succession planning. These are all topics that are important to businesses.”
The week wraps up with the Quinte Business Achievement Awards at the National Air Force Museum of Canada in Quinte West on Friday.
“That’s where we’re celebrating 136 nominations and looking to see where they fit into categories of success with 17 different awards being given,” CEO of the Belleville Chamber of Commerce, Jill Raycroft, tells Quinte News.
“In fact, there are two for new businesses, because we have so many entries this year, in addition to our Trailblazer and our Sustainability Award and, of course, our Business Person of the Year.”
A full list of events for Small Business Week can be found at this link.
(L-R) Belleville Chamber of Commerce CEO, Jill Raycroft, Prince Edward County Chamber of Commerce CEO, Duarte Da Silva, and Quinte West Chamber of Commerce CEO, Suzanne Andrews. October 21, 2024. (Photo: Zach McGibbon/Quinte News)
