Concierge program will help Newmarket businesses get back on their feet

The Town of Newmarket and chamber of commerce are launching a 'virtual business support and resiliency centre' that will help small and medium-sized businesses during and post COVID-19

Newmarkettoday.ca
April 22, 2020

Today, the Town of Newmarket and the Newmarket Chamber of Commerce will launch the Newmarket Business Assistance Concierge (BAC) program, a virtual business support and resiliency centre that will help small and medium-sized businesses in Newmarket on their journey ‘back to business’ during and post COVID-19.

The BAC is part of the town’s overall Economic Resiliency Action Plan to provide immediate and long-term support for the local business community and the economy.

“Newmarket has always been known for our strong sense of community and commitment to collaboration. These values are helping to drive the Business Assistance Concierge program as we come together with the Chamber of Commerce to continue to support our business community,” says Newmarket Mayor John Taylor.

“I strongly encourage our entire community to come together like we always do by shopping local, purchasing gift cards to use at a later date, ordering take out or delivery wherever possible and showing our collective support in creative ways. We want our friends in our local business community to know that we are all in this together.”

“From the outset, the Chamber’s focus has been on ensuring Newmarket’s businesses have access to the resources they need to maintain continuity. The BAC builds on that momentum by ensuring there are no gaps to our outreach efforts" says Tracy Walter, President & CEO of the Newmarket Chamber of Commerce. “This is a positive step in ensuring that our business community will have the support they need to see it through to the end of this difficult period.”

The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on business operations continue to be a moving target with many local businesses having to close temporarily or significantly alter how they do business. Based on significant feedback from the local business community, the BAC program is a unique and creative approach to help small and medium-sized local businesses.

Each business that participates will be assigned a personal concierge that will help them to understand what resources are available at the local, regional, provincial and federal levels and help them to navigate and adapt to the consistently changing landscape created by COVID-19.

The concierge team is a combination of Town of Newmarket and Chamber of Commerce staff who have been redeployed from their regular positions, and trained on Municipal, Regional Provincial and Federal business support programs.

Led by the town’s economic development department, the team will use its collective knowledge to support local businesses and share their stories with Newmarket Council and the Chamber of Commerce to continue to shape the Economic Resiliency Action Plan. Businesses who participate in the program will continue to be actively supported even after physical distancing measures are loosened.

Beginning Wednesday, April 21, all local businesses can access the BAC by visiting newmarket.ca/BAC and filling out a quick form. Members of the BAC team will also be reaching out to businesses to check-in, offer support and seek out opportunities to help. The BAC aligns with Newmarket’s #StandApartTogether campaign that is aimed at connecting the community and providing support to each other and local businesses.

“Since the emergence of COVID-19, our economic development team has been working closely with the Newmarket Chamber of Commerce, the business community and other key partners to develop a meaningful action plan to help our community get back to business, both now and in the future” says Newmarket Chief Administrative Officer Jag Sharma. “As we move forward, we are putting all the tools in place to support our business community as much as possible as we all come together to conquer COVID-19.”

Some of the other key pieces of the Newmarket Economic Resiliency Action Plan include: 

• Shop Local gift card program -- The Town of Newmarket and the Chamber of Commerce have partnered on the Shop Local Newmarket initiative. Community members who are looking to support their favourite local businesses can purchase gift cards at Newmarketchamber.ca/gc to either use now or to support a business that will be re-opening after physical distancing measures are lifted. Businesses that are interesting in participating, can contact the Town of Newmarket at 905-895-5193 or email shoplocal@newmarket.ca. 
• Collaborating with our neighbours -- The town is working closely with York Region and its neighbours in northern York Region on recovery plans and strategies to support all local businesses across each community and ensure access to appropriate resources at all levels of government. 
• Webinars and virtual meetings-- The Town of Newmarket has worked with Rhapsody Strategies, an award-winning firm that specializes in coaching, training and consulting to host two webinars, one for the local Business Improvement Area (BIA) and one for the entire business community. The town will continue to host webinars and virtual meetings that bring the business community together to offer advice and provide opportunities to share best practices for managing businesses through COVID-19.
• Weekly COVID-19 business newsletter - Local businesses can sign up to receive weekly updates from the Town at Newmarket.ca/covid19business.
• Tax relief program - Newmarket Council has waived all penalties and interest related to late payment of property taxes for the March and April instalments, for all businesses and residents. A more detailed tax relief program is currently being finalized.

For more information on how the Town of Newmarket is supporting local businesses through COVID-19, please visit Newmarket.ca/covid19business.