LIMA — Lima entrepreneurs came together on Friday to reflect on how business has changed, and where it could be headed in the near future.
Sharing plans for the upcoming calendar year, Lima/Allen County Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Jed Metzger said, “We have established some different groups like the Allen County Small Business owners group, which is really making a difference for small businesses and home business. We always try to listen and work to get better and we provide a return on investment. I think our members really appreciate that. In 2023 we have a lot of great plans. We want to be more engaging with entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs is our fastest growing membership and trying to figure out how we connect with the non-brick and mortar businesses because many people are working from home today.”
The Lima/Allen County Chamber of Commerce Breakfast provided an opportunity for networking and discussing business-related topics. At the breakfast in the Veteran’s Memorial Civic and Convention Center, the chamber was able to share the accomplishments of 2022 and look forward to 2023, a keynote speaker was also able to share some thoughts on employee retention, and the chamber “Ambassador of the Year” was announced.
The keynote speaker was Valarie Nash, Deputy Executive Director, Human Resources and Support Services, Summit County Children Services. Nash emphasized that the times are changing.
“We have to really kind of change our businesses to meet the number of persons who are out there and able to do the work you need them to do, Nash said. “Employers have to start with building a strategy about what their businesses should look like and need to look like. Then build the employees around that focus. Because if we’re all just trying to fill gaps of what we did five, 10, 15, even 20 years ago, there will never be enough employees. So we got to think smarter, let our staff know that we value them. Make sure that they understand that when they come to work, they’re contributing to something and we value them and then those same employees who have all that industry knowledge are gonna stay with us. If we want to employ a younger workforce, we have to make sure we’re flexible.”
Katy Page, Director of Sales, Wingate by Wyndham in downtown Lima was named the “Chamber Ambassador of the Year”. Page explained her involvement with the chamber. “It gets me involved in the community but it also helps me do something that I can go out and make a warm call and influence others.”
