{"id":34764,"date":"2020-04-09T15:39:25","date_gmt":"2020-04-09T19:39:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/?p=34764"},"modified":"2020-04-09T21:06:09","modified_gmt":"2020-04-10T01:06:09","slug":"task-force-created-to-help-local-business-stay-afloat-cope-with-covid-19-issues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2020\/04\/task-force-created-to-help-local-business-stay-afloat-cope-with-covid-19-issues\/","title":{"rendered":"Task Force Created To Help Local Business Stay Afloat, Cope With COVID-19 Issues"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Normally teeming with people, Broadway in Saratoga Springs in this recent photo is quiet with most establishments closed. A task force has formed to provide services to help businesses cope.
\u00a92020 Saratoga Photographer.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By Andrea Harwood Palmer<\/p>\n

In response to the mandated shutting down of all non-essential businesses, six Saratoga organizations have collaborated to form a task force.<\/span><\/p>\n

The group is comprised of the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce, the Saratoga Economic Development Corp. (SEDC), the Saratoga County Prosperity Partnership, Discover Saratoga, Saratoga Springs City Center and the Saratoga Springs Downtown Business Association.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe first thing we did on March 13, as it was becoming crystal clear that the world was about to change, was start a collaborative conversation. All of us have formed a partnership to get Saratoga County through this,\u201d said Todd Shimkus, Chamber president.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe agreed on a division of labor and a variety of programs we would each undertake. The underlying message we wanted to get out was that if you called any one of the six organizations, we were all coming to help,\u201d said Shimkus.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the first few weeks of working together, the task force did a survey of businesses for the purpose of having an economic impact assessment. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt gave us a snapshot of the immediate impact of the shutdown of all non-essential businesses,\u201d said Shimkus.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe second thing we did was partner with Star Radio. We did a three-hour community broadcast with local educators, healthcare folks, local officials and all of our organizations, to answer people\u2019s questions and let them know what we could do to help,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

The chamber started sending daily update emails to every business and nonprofit within their database, regardless of membership. Over 10,000 recipients are on the list. They are sent information on the latest developments and recommendations for\u00a0 <\/span>additional resources, loans, unemployment information, HR and legal issues.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAll of our groups agreed that we didn\u2019t care if you were a member or not, an investor or not. If your business or nonprofit was in Saratoga County, we were going to help. A piece of that was communicating with everybody,\u201d said Shimkus.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe also created a Saratoga County take-out program, to promote the 130 or so businesses and restaurants that are doing take-out across Saratoga County. Our website page for takeout alone had 31,000 unique views in the first two weeks. Our social media pages have had tens of thousands of unique views for that promotion,\u201d said Shimkus.<\/span><\/p>\n

In late March, the chamber created a Saratoga County online gift card platform at www.saratoga.org. Nearly 100 businesses are linked on the page, offering gift cards online. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve offered to host Zoom meet-ups for different groups. We did a meet-up with Elise Stefanik a week ago. We did one for businesses in Ballston Spa, Schuylerville, Malta, Burnt Hills and Ballston Lake. One for our Veterans Council. A bunch more,\u201d said Shimkus.<\/span><\/p>\n

Collectively, the task force has identified companies that are hiring. Over two dozen companies are hiring in Saratoga County. The chamber has been promoting those job opportunities with instructions on how to apply, since people are unable to drop in in-person.<\/span><\/p>\n

Additionally, the Chamber reached out to nonprofits in the community, and created a page to list what those organizations needed. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve worked with Saratoga County and Saratoga Hospital to encourage our members to make donations of gloves, masks, robes, and if they can, to transition their manufacturing into producing those items as well as hand sanitizer. We\u2019ve had quite a bit of luck to get local companies to make those transformations to serve our local community,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe understand that firms that are most at-risk for not being able to reopen, or succeed in the long term, are the small, locally owned businesses. We\u2019re in the process of identifying every potential resource we can to help them and their employees get back up and running as soon as they\u2019re allowed to reopen,\u201d said Shimkus.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Chamber serves as Saratoga County\u2019s tourism promotion agency. Our job is to promote Saratoga County as a great place to visit,\u201d he said. \u201cDiscover Saratoga promotes Saratoga County as a great place for meetings, weddings, conferences and other groups. Our teams are now re-imagining our entire marketing approach now. It will focus not only on how much fun it is to come to Saratoga, but how it\u2019s fun and safe and healthy to do so.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s one of those times when we need to rethink how we promote ourselves. If we can get the hotels back open and attract people to stay here, they\u2019re also going to dine here and shop here. That will help everyone.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Allyssa Wanser, SEDC investment development director, has been working with people one-on-one.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAt the SEDC, we are contacting our members and investors individually. Everyone has a different situation,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019re connecting them with other members and investors who can help them with a free service or consultation\u2014whatever we have to do help people get in the right mindset, to keep them from panicking. We want to help them make good decisions in the moment.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

She said a lot of businesses are benefiting from putting together a 13-week cash flow statement, \u201cto help them take a realistic look at what the next few months look like for them, and what the best decisions are for them to make. We have businesses helping them do that, as a free service,\u201d said Wanser.<\/span><\/p>\n

Shelby Schneider, president of the Saratoga County Prosperity Partnership, said, \u201cWe are here to ensure that people who are making public policy decisions know what is going on on Main Street USA. Our businesses need to understand what tools and resources are out there, how they work, and how long it will take for support to come home to those who need it most.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

She said the agency partnership \u201censures we are speaking with one voice, in collaboration, to ensure our business community has the most current, accurate information and resources to navigate through this uncertain and difficult time. Society may be on pause but we are planning for economic recovery now and we are all in this together.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe number-one message is that you can call any one of us, if you have any need or any idea. We all collectively have the capacity to get things done,\u201d said Shimkus. \u201cI can\u2019t wait for us to move into a recovery plan with all six of us working together.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Andrea Harwood Palmer In response to the mandated shutting down of all non-essential businesses, six Saratoga organizations have collaborated to form a task force. The group is comprised of the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce, the Saratoga Economic Development Corp. (SEDC), the Saratoga County Prosperity Partnership, Discover Saratoga, Saratoga Springs City Center and the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":196,"featured_media":34765,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34764","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-news"],"yoast_head":"\r\nTask Force Created To Help Local Business Stay Afloat, Cope With COVID-19 Issues - Saratoga Business Journal<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2020\/04\/task-force-created-to-help-local-business-stay-afloat-cope-with-covid-19-issues\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Task Force Created To Help Local Business Stay Afloat, Cope With COVID-19 Issues - Saratoga Business Journal\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Andrea Harwood Palmer In response to the mandated shutting down of all non-essential businesses, six Saratoga organizations have collaborated to form a task force. 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