Sara’s Blog: Happy New Year

It’s my pleasure to wish you all a Happy New Year and I hope you had the opportunity to recharge and get in shape for the challenges we all face together in 2023.

Businesses have faced seemingly insurmountable challenges in the past few years, but I am proud of how we in Staffordshire have stuck together, adapted and innovated, finding new ways to deal with changing social, financial and geo-political landscapes.

On the subject of innovation, hopefully you will by now have seen the new way we are communicating with members and all Staffordshire businesses via our brand-new daily news service, Daily Focus.

This joint venture between the Chambers and Stoke-based creative agency i-creation is now being delivered each weekday at 8.30am to thousands of inboxes.

We’ve built the biggest daily B2B audience in Staffordshire, which makes Daily Focus the only vehicle to reach businesses, every day, with news of the local and national economy, products, services, events and advice.

The local media landscape has changed so much and continues to change. That’s why we asked local businesses how they wanted to receive local business news. We also asked what was missing.

The message we got back many times over was a regular, focused, authoritative business news service was important to their business and to our county.

We used December as a ‘soft’ launch period, testing the water to gauge opinion and we were delighted with the response. Feedback has been excellent and in just a month our reader numbers are better than those of campaigns which have run for years. 

For Daily Focus to fully succeed we need your input. Email your news stories and/or tips to [email protected] . Tell us what issues affect you, what help are you looking for or what has been working well for your business.

Daily Focus is your news platform, and we look forward to your input in 2023.

I was humbled and, at the same time, enormously proud to receive this honour of an OBE in the King’s New Year Honours list last week.

I have been involved with the Chamber movement for almost 25 years – with the past 11 years spent at Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce.

I must admit I didn’t know a great deal about the area other than being a world centre for ceramic excellence, however I was made to feel welcome from day one. The time has flown by, and I have enjoyed every minute, learning so much about Staffordshire, making many friends and working with such amazing people who run and work in incredible businesses.

It is a source of constant joy and privilege to be able to support businesses and communities in Staffordshire and I want to thank my incredible team who help and inspire me every day.

We have such a close-knit community who genuinely support and look after each other and I thank you all for your support and being a part of something very special – the Staffordshire business family.

If you want to talk to us about any business issues, including funding, you can call the Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce switchboard on 01782 202222 or call the Stoke and Staffs Growth Hub Helpline on 0300 111 8002 or email: [email protected]