Zoom Around the Room – our first ever online Chamber networking event

Last week Business West launched its series of webinars and virtual networking events, with the aim of helping local businesses to get back on track following the outbreak of COVID-19.

For the very first time we took our Chamber networking breakfasts, which regularly attract 100 attendees, online. With many of us social distancing and working from home right now, we wanted to help enable the local business community to continue connect, collaborate and share business opportunities just like they did pre-COVID-19.

Taking place via Zoom, we structured the event to give businesses the greatest chance of effective networking: to “Zoom around the room” and meet like-minded businesspeople and through a series of hosted break-out sessions.

I’m delighted to report that over 25 users logged on for our maiden networking event in cyberspace, including a number of familiar faces who we haven’t seen for some time! What’s more feedback from the Chamber community has been extremely positive so far.

‘Many thanks for the event! Really enjoyable and well run’ said Ian Bird of The Bristol South Space Program.

‘Great to meet you all. Really enjoyed the event’ added Liam Cooper of CHB Global.

These are just 2 of dozens of positive comments we received about the session.

Off the back of such positive feedback from all those who joined us, we’ve decided to put on an extra two Zoom Around the Room Chamber networking events in the next couple of months on 18 June and 16 July. The agenda for which is as follows:

10.40 – You will be allocated to a breakout room for roundtable networking – promote your business for 1 minute each, followed by group discussion

11.00 - Re group

11.05 – You will be allocated to a different breakout room to meet more people - promote your business for 1 minute each, followed by group discussion

11.25 - Re group

11.30 – You will be allocated to a different breakout room to meet more people - promote your business for 1 minute each, followed by group discussion

11.50 – closing comments

12.00 - event close

Making introductions member to member, enabling businesses to support one another and connecting to find new opportunities is a function which is vital to the region’s economic recovery from the coronavirus. Here at Business West we will continue to do this in any which way we can - face to face or cyber space.

Book onto one of our upcoming events:

• Zoom around the Room - 18 June, 10.30-12.00
• Zoom around the Room - 16 July, 10.30-12.00