Postponement of the Tamworth Regional Business Summit

In the interest of public safety and in accordance with smart traveller advice to reconsider all non-essential travel, Tamworth Business Chamber has made the decision to postpone the Tamworth Regional Business Summit (March 17-19) until October 2020.

This decision has been made with the understanding that whilst our region is currently considered a low-risk area for Covid-19, the health and wellbeing of our community must come first. We also recognise that a number of our speakers are justifiably, reluctant to travel.

The Tamworth Regional Business Summit will now be held in October which is also Small Business Month. Final dates will be announced once we have reconfirmed speaker availability and of course, once there is certainty that this crisis has passed.

Ticketholders are advised that all bookings have been transferred to the coming event, and tickets can be used by whomever your business chooses to send as its representative(s) at the time of the event.

Tamworth Business Chamber would like to thank and acknowledge the cooperation of all Summit sponsors, including Joblink Plus, in our decision to postpone the Summit.

In supporting the local business community through this challenging time, Tamworth Business Chamber would like to offer the following advice on how to prepare and remain informed about Covid-19.

We support a sensible approach by business to plan ahead before a serious outbreak occurs in our region, and to avoid creating unnecessary panic.

We know from recent Roy Morgan Research that around 1 in 6 Aussie businesses have already been impacted by the Coronavirus. The industries that have been hit hardest to date include manufacturing, education and training, tourism and wholesale.

Business owners and operators are encouraged to:

• Understand your supply chains
• Explore alternative supply chains
• Have a contingency plan - eg: can you diversify your customer base?
• Keep your financials up-to-date so that you monitor profitability, stock levels, and debtors and creditors balances on a timely basis.
• Review cash flow budgets.
• In case of prolonged staff absences, cross-train your key staff so that your business can continue to function at all times.

If in doubt, seek professional advice and Chamber can put you in touch with a number of local professional services to help shape your responsiveness.

NSW Health have a selection of posters you can download and print to encourage good hygiene in the workplace. They are also updating their website with ongoing updates including advice on when home isolation is necessary and heat map of confirmed cases in NSW to help shape travel decisions. Visit www.health.nsw.gov.au/infectious/diseases for more information.

Thank you for your understanding regarding the Summit and please do not hesitate to call us if you have any queries.

The following areas are common to small and large enterprises and are the easiest places to start making water and cost savings.

Make your staff water wise

• Talk to staff about your water savings initiatives. Include water savings policies and procedures in staff inductions
• Encourage staff to contribute to water saving ideas.
• Look to appoint a water conservation champion in your business to help deliver change.
• Discuss water efficiency at team meetings and provide regular reports on water use figures.
• Establish a baseline for water use and set achievable targets for saving water.

Taps

• Install water-efficient taps with an aerator or flow restrictor to use less water.
• Install lever or mixer taps, these save water by quickly reaching a desired temperature.
• Fix leaking taps and replace washers - even a slowly dripping tap can waste 10,000 litres of water over a year.
• Avoid washing up under running taps.

Dishwashers

• Install water-efficient dishwashers to use 50% less water than average models.
• Wait until you have a full load before washing.
• Scrape, rather than rinse, dishes prior to washing.

Toilets

• Replace single-flush toilets with dual-flush toilets.
• Regularly check for leaks and fix immediately.
• Install water-efficient urinals with smart controls to reduce unnecessary flushing.

Showers

• Encourage staff and customers to limit showers to 4 minutes or less.
• Install water-efficient shower heads, which can use up to 40% less water.
• Fix leaking showers.

Air conditioning

• If you use evaporative air conditioners, set your thermostat to 24°C.
• Where possible, use fans and natural ventilation.
• Switch off heating and cooling after hours.

Gardens

• Install rainwater tanks.
• Use drought-tolerant plants.
• Use mulch to keep moisture in the soil.

Water-efficient products

You can cut water consumption by using white goods with a high water-efficiency rating. For more information, visit the Australian Government's Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards (WELS) scheme and Smart Approved Watermark.

Download a copy of these tips HERE

MEDIA RELEASE

Thursday 8 September 2019

Time to pay it forward

Make the choice to shop locally and you could drive home this Christmas in a brand-new Honda Jazz.

That’s the challenge Tamworth Business Chamber is putting to shoppers in the three months leading up to Christmas with the launch of this year’s Shop Local Support Local campaign.

Now in its second year, Shop Local Support Local delivers significant dollars back into the Region’s economy, giving business a much-needed boost as drought and growing interest in online shopping, erodes local market share.

“Whenever you shop you have a choice – you can either spend it with a locally owned business, or you can jump online, or even head to the city and spend outside of our region” explains Tamworth Business Chamber President, Jye Segboer.

“If you choose the latter, your money leaves Tamworth and it’s gone, forever.

“When you support local business, you are not only supporting the local economy and the employment of local people, you are also indirectly supporting your wider local community.

“Local businesses sponsor local community groups, sports teams and valued community services. They live in our region and contribute to our reputation as a great place to live, work and visit” continued Mr Segboer.

In return, shoppers will be rewarded for their loyalty – with a chance to win a brand-new Honda Jazz, thanks to Woodleys Motors.

From today, anyone who spends $30 or more at participating retailers will be in the running to win. Shoppers can enter by placing their receipt and completed entry form into one of three competition barrels - located at Centrepoint Tamworth, Woodley’s Mazda and the Chamber Office in Fitzroy Street.

Shoppers must then tune into 88.9FM every Wednesday at 12.20pm to see if they’re one of 12 weekly key winners. One name will be drawn from the barrels every week and read live on air. The winner must call the station within 2 hours to claim their key.

The 12 lucky winners will then be invited to the lighting of the community Christmas Tree in Fitzroy Plaza on December 5, where the lucky winner’s key will unlock the car.

Local business can still register for the campaign, which is free for Chamber members or comes at a nominal fee for non-members.

“Last year, Shop Local Support Local generated in excess of $1M for the 103 participating businesses, and we will be collecting data again this year to share with those who sign-up.

“For little to no investment, you’re guaranteed great exposure and we are happy to accept new business sign-up at any point in the promotion” said Mr Segboer.

Visit tamworth.org.au for details and terms and conditions.