Report back
We had lots of people attend our sole operators meeting last meeting. It was an opportunity for Chamber members and non-members to express their views about how a sole operators’ group could support their businesses. If you came along – thanks it was a lively discussion.  If you didn’t make it along, you might be interested in what was said and we’d love to see you at future events.
 

What people want
The consensus was that people wanted a mix of informality and structure at the meetings with good facilitation. They also wanted the group to be called Flying Solo which reflects the growth and development of their sole businesses.
For the structured part of the meeting, people would like a theme or topic for the day, ideally to know what this would be beforehand.  If you have a topic or theme you’d like discussed, please email us at max@poriruachamber.co.nz by Friday 6 April so we can put all the ideas into the mix.
For the informal part of the meeting people want time to raise issues or challenges they are facing with the opportunity to brainstorm solutions.
Networking was also seen as an important aspect of the group so we’re looking at providing extra time after the meeting and the possibility of setting up a closed Facebook Group.

Next meeting
Our next meeting will be Friday 27April 2018, 10am, Supply Room Mana.
We’ll try out the format below and see how it goes – if it proves popular we’ll keep it, if not, we’ll tweak it:
Flying Solo
•    Introductions (10 minutes).
•    Theme of the day (20-minute discussion with expert within the group to help lead). Please forward topic ideas to us by Friday 6 April.
•    Trouble shooting – issues of the day (20-minute discussion).
•    Updates from the Chamber (10 minutes).
•    11am: End of formal meeting – additional networking opportunity (30 minutes).
This is a Porirua Chamber of Commerce event and is free for members.  Non-members are welcome to attend for $25 per session.
New members are welcome.  Flying Solo is just one benefit of your Chamber membership. Membership cost $179 + GST.  Click here for more information.