By Casey Neill
Two young mums are joining forces to go into bat for Greater Dandenong business.
New Greater Dandenong Chamber of Commerce executive officer Tiffany Murray will work with now-events and marketing officer Amanda Checken on building membership and helping businesses to succeed.
Ms Checken had been handling both roles but thought membership needed its own focus.
Having two people working two days also means there’s back-up and collaboration.
“I see it really as membership services,” Ms Murray said of her new role.
“It’s making sure the members that we have are looked after and getting the benefits of their membership, plus recruiting new members.”
She said membership was not as high as it should be given the number of businesses in the area.
So together they’re working on a strategic document to set out the chamber’s goals and plan of attack.
“We need to grow with the times and stay relevant,” Ms Murray said.
“Businesses evolve. We need to evolve as well.”
A member survey is in the works, but they’ve already received feedback on existing events and services.
Among their ideas is an associate membership to make joining the chamber more affordable for smaller businesses.
They both want to work more closely with fellow Greater Dandenong business groups South East Business Networks (SEBN) and South East Melbourne Manufacturers Alliance (SEMMA).
“It would make more sense for us to be more collaborative,” Ms Checken said.
Women’s events are also on the cards following requests, as are small seminars, and training courses for businesses too small to host their own.
“They’re just ideas that we’ve been mulling over,” Ms Murray said.
“We can put it out there and try.
“You don’t have to be a member to attend our events.
“You can try before you buy.”
Ms Checken said facilitating business networking was a big focus, and acknowledged participants’ aims could vary from furthering their client base to sharing ideas with like-minded businesses.
She said the chamber existed to help its members to strive for success.
“Everyone has different ideas of what success is,” she said.
“We’re here to facilitate the options for them to do that.
“At the end of the day it’s up to the businesses to come along and to talk.”
Ms Murray said there’d be a focus on finding informative speakers for events, so workers could take something back to the office and implement it post-breakfast.
The 11 nominees for the Greater Dandenong Chamber of Commerce Business Awards were announced at breakfasts throughout the year.
From these businesses, SEBN manager Sandra George will select winners for six awards, and the Chisholm Institute will present a Youth Enterprise Award to one of four nominees.
All will be revealed at a cocktail event at Greyhounds Entertainment in Springvale.
It will run from 6.30pm to 9.30pm on Wednesday 30 November, and has changed from a sit-down dinner to facilitate more networking.
