Page 6 - INSIGHT MAGAZINE_Oct2025

CE0'S MESSAGE

Small Business

is Big Business

"The Chamber will create
the necessary momentum
to nurture and champion
Can you imagine being a large When every small business started, its
multinational organization that owners and had no idea where their next success by bringing together
supplies a particular product to customer would come from and never the elements – on all sides
multiple customers, some located expected that a supplier would leave of an issue – to successfully
here and or south of the border and town or close-up shop. But most small cultivate all that is good,
businesses quickly learn to adapt not
then suddenly, with one swift swipe because it was easy, but because it was and can be good, in our
of a pen, U.S. President Donald necessary.
Trump changes the course of your community."
business, possibly forever. Small businesses are nimble and can
skirt past economic transitions because To all those determined and focused
The process to turn an oil supertanker changes can be made on the fly. Going entrepreneurs out there, the Chamber not
in the ocean is painstakingly slow and back to our supertanker analogy, it only celebrates your accomplishments
takes several hours to change directions doesn’t take several hours to turn a this month, but we want to help by
due to its size. The same can be said for a ‘corner’ because changes can be made connecting you with other sources and
large multinational organization, making immediately since the decisionmaker is businesses. Just recently I connected
it almost impossible for them to find new YOU! some local CEOs who didn’t know one
markets. another and I thought they should meet
While we officially celebrate small
But for small businesses this often can businesses this month, please remember (they were neighbours), and now they
happen multiple times during a year. to celebrate them every month. Every are doing business together. That wasn’t
Suppliers change, customers change, single business started out as a small the intent, but it became the result.
products change; those sudden changes business, nothing more than an idea or We can connect you locally or
are just part of the game. dream that found its way to becoming internationally as well and are hoping to
Most of the small business owners I know a reality. Approximately 98% of all provide you an opportunity to join trade
became comfortable doing what they do businesses registered in Canada are missions to other countries that are
with their U.S. consumer or supplier, but considered small, defined as having looking to partner with Canadian small
we all know times have changed, and we under 100 employees. However, what is businesses. When we help you grow, you
need to begin immediately mitigating even more amazing is that 70% of these make room for more businesses. We are
damages to our businesses. have 10 or fewer employees. We at the here always and can help you lead your
Cambridge Chamber of Commerce like to company to success.
We need to be looking elsewhere for
suppliers, customers, and partnerships, say, ‘Small Business is Too Big to Ignore’. Cheers to all our small businesses and
and for diversification of our product Why? Because in every community small thanks for your incredible contribution
offerings. We must go back to the basics business is big business. to our economic future.
of what got us here in the first place when Only entrepreneurs understand how
we were ‘inventing our business’. difficult it is to start a business and keep Greg Durocher
it going. In fact, sometimes it takes more President & CEO
than one, or even two, kicks at the can to Cambridge Chamber of Commerce
make it happen.

6 Fall 2025 www.cambridgechamber.com