Dear business owners, friends, and everyone,
The Delaware Small Business Chamber, more than anyone, wants to see our small business community back to normal and open. These are very unprecedented times that we hope only occur once. We know how difficult this has been for many of you and we are in the middle of this with you, so we too want an end to this.
But, we all need to be smart about it. Our business owners are suffering. Our customers are scared. Our lives have changed. Even when we do emerge from this terrible time, things will be different.
Many states and other countries have been under martial law or very strict Stay-At-Home policy. We have been fortunate, a little, that we can still do some things. Many choose not to yet, and we support them too.
We have heard from many of you that are struggling. We want to start reopening as much as you do. Many of you know that I am also involved in an industry (travel) that has been crippled. With my fellow friends and members in the same industry we know how hard and how bad things are and we need to come out of this soon too but again, we need to be smart about it. What we don’t want, is to come out and start this all over again and do more damage to our businesses down the road.
The Delaware Small Business Chamber is a business just like yours. We NEED businesses and we need them open and doing well. Even when we do reopen, we have to hope that our customers will come back out and support all of us. The more we do this right, the more that will happen. As much as we may not like them, we have to follow the law.
We have heard so many promises from local and federal authorities and they have not been delivered. We have been teased with hope that just caused more despair. We can’t depend on them. We can only depend on ourselves and together we will come out of this together and better than before. I have that hope.
As a country and as individuals we have overcome other devastating situations in the past. We will do that again. We will do it right. We will do it legally. We will do it with determination. We will do it together.
The Delaware Small Business Chamber is trying to help you still do the most you can through our many virtual programs. We will continue to do those programs when we emerge from this as part of our regular events and benefits. DSBC members, take advantage of our Members Only FB page and post what you are still offering and also post that in our public FB page and on your back-office interface in your members’ area. Also take advantage of creating real Hot Deals and Member-To-Member deals that we are going to start promoting weekly in our newsletter. These are still free benefits for you to promote your businesses.
One step at a time, holding each other up, we will move forward.
Thank you all. We are proud to be serving this business community.
Bob Older
President/Founder
Delaware Small Business Chamber
