by Damon Scott

The start of a new year is often a time when many businesses have an opportunity to take stock and identify new opportunities for the year ahead.

After all our hard work last year the Chamber has certainly seen more new member enquiries come in as interest in the range of benefits offered by the Chamber increases.

There is particular interest in our networking and events as a way of businesses in Dunbartonshire increasing their profile, building relationships and generating new leads. This is fantastic, but it is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what the Chamber can do for local businesses.

The Chamber is striving to build a strong business community in Dunbartonshire. The term “business community” is often used simply to refer to those in business in the same area – but we think it can go way above and beyond this to bring together a group with shared interests, identity and pride to share, communicate, advise and support each other.

To this end we always build in a networking element to our wide range of events and have introduced a monthly Business Breakfast Club to facilitate informal networking without a fixed agenda.

We are also working hard to build this community online and are connecting businesses through our social media channels and recently set up a new Facebook group in addition to our existing Facebook page.

The world of business can be a lonely place at times and the Chamber offers one of the best (and one of the only) opportunities for businesspeople to connect regularly with their peers to build invaluable relationships (and friendships!).

Above and beyond this, the Chamber can help support the business community through our range of other benefits including:

  • Chamber HR, worth hundreds of pounds; up to £670,00 of legal expenses and a legal helpline;
  • promotion to thousands of business contacts via our monthly e-news, website and social media (more than 1,200 Twitter followers);
  • exclusive member-to-member offers and promotions;
  • lobbying on local and national levels; expert advice and support to access business mentoring, funding and specialist workshops.

All of this can help businesses in Dunbartonshire thrive.

If you would like to be part of our community and join one of the biggest business networks in the UK please get in touch. You can call 0141 280 0272, email admin@dunbartonshirechamber.co.uk, like the ‘Dunbartonshire Chamber of Commerce’ page on Facebook or contact us through www.dunbartonshirechamber.co.uk.