Encouraging business in Melksham and its neighbourhood - keep business local??
Archive - Originally posted on "The Horse's Mouth" - 2012-04-27 07:10:58 - Graham Ellis
I want to encourage people to do business in Melksham. Not only for the money spent directly in the local economy, but also because of the proportion of thay money that's respent in the local economy and recirculates here. It's data from the USA, but The local multiplier suggests that 45% is reinvested locally from your spend with a local business. And that 15% is re-invested locally is your spend with the local branch of a chain. That last figure may sound low, but it's much better than nothing being respent in the Melksham area if you go shopping in Bath or Swindon. And it's much kinder to the environment, and saves you travel time too.
But I don't just want to encourage local people to do local business. I want to encourage people who don't live in our community to do business there. Where does that 85% of money that people spend in a chain in another town go? It goes elsewhere, out of that town. And Melksham thrives on that 85%. In the past 10 days we've had guests at Well House from Geneva, Nottingham, Swindon, Cambridge, France, and Huddersfield. Speaking with the Chamber of Commerce's members on Tuesday evening, one was telling me of how well his branch in Cirencester is doing - bringing his HQ business into Melksham, and another was telking of how his company is providing major midlife refits to the breaking systems of the express trains that run from London to Liverpool, Manchester and Glasgow - and that's skilled work being done here in Bowerhill with staff who live in Melksham or quite near for the most part.
The Chamber of Commerce is at something of a junction - starting to embrace a new technology, new ideas, for an efficient and effective move forward from the excellent foundations of the last 20 years. Much is changing. But much is cherished and left in place too. I was handed an old copy of the constitution from some 20 years ago; there have been minor changes since such as the month of the AGM, how membership fees are set, quora, and in the position of secretary which was honorary in those days.
But the most vital of the text - about what the Chamber id for - remain as relevant today as they did 20 years ago. There are other objectives too - fair business, seeding of projects, commercial and technical education, and so forth which are equally still valid. Take a look page 1 and page 2 of the old constitution. And you'll see just how relevant The Chamber is today as it was in 1992.
In my role with the Chamber (I was nominated for another year as President on Tuesday, and unopposed in selection), I'm looking to help us move forward for Melksham and its area, cherishing the past and growing for the future, We remain a philantropic organisation, looking to assist businesses while being a not for profit operation ourselves, relying very much on the generosity of our members in their contributions in kind, financial and time. Much of this is middle to longer term work (as it was in 1992 - "schemes" and "planning", as per the constitution. And that will make for a far more vibrant, health Melksham in 2022 even than we are in 2012. Let's face it - we may grumble at times today but we ain't in bad shape at all, and that's largely thanks to those who have come before us and who have had vision.
But the most vital of the text - about what the Chamber id for - remain as relevant today as they did 20 years ago. There are other objectives too - fair business, seeding of projects, commercial and technical education, and so forth which are equally still valid. Take a look page 1 and page 2 of the old constitution. And you'll see just how relevant The Chamber is today as it was in 1992.
