March 2020 Our Helm Group Welcome to the 39th Edition of YOUR Newsletter “Power of the Crowd”
General Intel
Ontario COVID-19 Update: March 31
Current Cases in Canada: 8,335
Number of Cases Recovered: 1,238
Number of People Tested: 241,138
Number of Negative Tests: 226, 818
There is good news coming out of all this and that is the number of negative tests versus the number of positive tests. In addition, there have been over 1,200 recoveries.
If we all do our part and stay home for a few weeks, we should be able to “flatten the curve.”
Essential workplace
Business owners should review the list of essential business which are authorized to stay open, determine whether they fit into any of the categories and, if they do, make a business decision as to whether to stay open and/or adapt their operations. Essential businesses and services during this time include:
supply chains, including businesses that supply other essential businesses and services with support, supplies, systems or services
If you operate a non-essential business, you can continue to operate if your staff can work remotely from home.
You must close your workplace location from March 25 to April 7, 2020. This may be extended if we need to continue to manage the effects of COVID-19.
Learn about the measures the federal government has put in place to support workers and businesses in Canada’s COVID-19 Economic Response Plan.
For employees
If you have to go out to get food or other critical supplies, care for a relative or friend, get necessary health care or go to an essential job, be sure to practice safe physical distancing.
If you think you have coronavirus (COVID-19) symptoms or have been in close contact with someone who has it, take a self-assessment to help determine how to seek further care.
If your workplace is closed and you are unable to work, you may be eligible for Employment Insurance (EI) from the federal government.
Our History ShopOrangeville.com started back in December of 2004 and in April of 2012 Brenda Murdoch took over the reigns. The Helm Group has had a strong business relationship with Shop Orangeville for the past several years.
Did you know that the Orangeville area is home to more than 1,200 businesses, most of which are locally-owned and operated 'independent' businesses? At the time, we guessed that there might be 400 businesses in the area. Wow, were we ever wrong.
Not only did we not know how many businesses there were, we had no idea just how many products and services were available locally that we had been driving to other communities to purchase.
It turned out that pretty much anything we needed could be found in our own backyard with some 'digging', but it required more effort than most people were willing to spend to find out what was available.
At the same time, big box stores and online mega stores with more marketing power were capturing customers' purchases and drawing them in and away from the downtown core and local independent businesses.
How It Works
To reverse this trend, we built a local online marketplace and directory that features local businesses and the products and services they offer. The site is accessible from both computers and smart phones via a mobile version.
ShopOrangeville.com's community marketplace enables consumers to buy online for in-store pick-up or delivery, read and write business reviews, purchase online gift certificates, view restaurant menus, find out when businesses are open and how the can be paid, as well as contact business owners via email.
As you can imagine, all of these features offer both businesses and consumers tons of value, but the real power of ShopOrangeville.com is the offline community marketing campaign that involves hundreds of businesses displaying signs and stickers that remind locals to shop locally at ShopOrangeville.com.
By coming together under a common message that also drives people to a web destination where they can take action, ShopOrangeville.com harnesses the collective power of the local business community to give independents a voice that's even louder than the big corporate brands that dot the landscape.
Because local independent businesses generally keep more of the money spent with them within the community than corporate chains (45% for independent vs. 15% for chains), shopping with local businesses leads to a stronger local economy.
This benefits everyone in the community as strong local economies provide greater access to opportunities and also more funding for local initiatives like parks and recreation, services and infrastructure, health and education.
By informing local shoppers about the choices available to them, as well as the hidden benefits of shopping locally, ShopOrangeville.com aims to influence residents to spend more of their money locally instead of sending their dollars outside of the community where it will benefit someone else's area instead of our own.
Due to the COVID-19 situation, all events have been either cancelled or postponed until at least April 5, 2020
As of now, the Networking 101 Seminar will proceed as planned, however, we are closely monitoring the COVID-19 situation in Ontario/Canada and we will be sure to notify you of any changes.
We hope you found this newsletter information and we thank you for taking the time to peruse its contents.
Please forward this on to your friends and family and please ask them to subscribe!
Together we have the “Power of the Crowd!”
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