Page 16 - BusinessWest September 30, 2024

“The fact that
we could bring together dozens of partners at both the state and local levels, raising nearly $500,000 to bring this project to fruition, is a clear indication of the value WorkHub on Union will bring to our community and the local economy.”
“Building Networks for the Long Game” will be the focus of Bob Burch, owner of Bright Cloud Studio. He will explore how to understand and process what is changing with net- working and relationship building, how people can nurture customer relationships, and how to curate marketing to keep pace with it all to build lasting, trusted relationships resulting in repeat, long-term customers.
Blair Winans, president of Rhyme Digital, will end the cluster with a focus on the ever-changing social media algo- rithms. Social-media platforms utilize algorithms to keep users engaged and ensure users are seeing relevant content. Winans will talk about the various platforms and their algo- rithms and how businesses can adapt their social-media con- tent to maximize each algorithm to reach a wider audience, increase consumer engagement, and boost their brand.
The final cluster of the program will highlight change in the workplace. With a tight labor market, top talent is in high demand, and talent recruitment, assessment, and retention are critical success factors that can yield a competitive advan- tage. Allison Ebner, president of the Employers Assoc. of
the NorthEast, will discuss how businesses can adapt to the future of work, embrace generational diversity, better engage employees, and reskill and upskill to support retention.
Creating stability in the age of uncertainty and change will be the theme of Tricia Canavan, who will share insights gained as a former business owner, and now as CEO of Tech Foundry. She says technology has always been an industry in constant flux, but newer advances are creating a constantly changing work landscape and environment, causing employ- ers to continuously adapt and upskill, and employees must learn to self-educate to keep pace.
Shannon Mumblo of Shannon Mumblo Consulting will close the cluster focusing on cultivating robust agility around change. She will help participants discover how to stay con- fident and resilient in times of uncertainty by embracing discomfort and cultivating a supportive network, and how to expand potential beyond a job description by thinking cre-
atively and continuously adding new skills to one’s personal toolbox.
Registrations for ignite:SPEED cost $75 for chamber members ($110 for non-members) and include a casual dinner provided by Vegan Pizza Land. To register, visit east- hamptonchamber.chambermaster.com/eventregistration/ register/1690.
And That’s Not All
The ignite conference is just one development that has the Chamber of Greater Easthampton excited; another is last week’s ribbon cutting of the WorkHub on Union project, an ambitious co-workspace project providing resources for entrepreneurs and businesses in the Greater Easthampton region.
In addition to offering flexible workspaces, WorkHub on Union will provide access to mentorship programs, network- ing events, educational programming, and other support ser- vices from the chamber designed to accelerate the growth of startups and small business.
In 2020, the chamber partnered with the city of East- hampton to undertake an extensive analysis of the city’s eco- nomic climate relative to entrepreneurialism and innovation. This analysis revealed that businesses would choose to relo- cate or locate in Easthampton if a supportive entrepreneurial community could be better enhanced and marketed. The analysis also revealed there are more than 13,000 companies in the region that are less than one year old, many of which have no employees and operate from a kitchen table, and could benefit from a resource like WorkHub on Union.
“The fact that we could bring together dozens of partners at both the state and local levels, raising nearly $500,000 to bring this project to fruition, is a clear indication of the value WorkHub on Union will bring to our community and the local economy,” Belliveau said. BW
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