Patrons share experiences and advice

Shropshire Chamber of Commerce’s patrons got together in the virtual world to share their experiences, stories and top tips.

More than a dozen organisations were represented at the latest patron executive forum, which included a presentation from 7 Video – hot on the heels of their success at the Chamber’s 2020 business awards.

The forums, currently being held on Zoom, are an opportunity for patron members to update each other – and the Chamber – on good news stories, and share thoughts and ideas.

Chamber chief executive Richard Sheehan kicked off proceedings with an update on activities over the past few weeks, including an overview of how he sees the economy shaping up at the start of next year.

Each patron then had an opportunity to talk about their own trading experiences over the past few months, as well as outlining any opportunities for collaboration.

Neal Hooper, managing director of Aico in Oswestry which has just been crowned Shropshire’s Company of the Year, spoke about the ‘fantastic evening’ at the Chamber’s virtual business awards. He also revealed how his company was looking to take on another apprentice, and further expanding its marketing team.

Each forum gives one patron a chance to deliver a more in-depth presentation about their business, and it was the turn of Pete Sims, director of 7 Video. He explained how his business had been delivering everything from 10-second animations to full-blown feature films for customers looking to diversify and adapt to the increasingly digital world during Covid-19.

“Everything that people had planned has been rapidly sped-up by Covid,” he said. “People that do not like change are not going to thrive in this current environment. It’s all about trying to utilise the mediums which are still available to them to get their message across.”

He said 7 Video was looking to expand further in 2021, and was currently advertising two creative vacancies.

The next Shropshire Chamber patron executive forum is due to be held on January 27. For more details about the patrons, and the patron programme, see shropshire-chamber.co.uk/about-us/patrons/

Pictured: The patron executive forum was held on Zoom