Paving the Way to Success

Hudson, NY - The upcoming road reconstruction project along Main Street in Chatham village understandably has local business owners biting their nails and holding their collective breath, wondering how the tearing apart of streets and further limiting of already scarce parking may affect their bottom lines.

As the leading voice of business in Columbia County, the Chamber of Commerce has joined forces with the Chatham Business Alliance and Chatham village Board of Trustees to help business owners allay those fears by educating themselves.

A series of three seminars collectively known as “Paving the Way to Success” will be held in Chatham, and business owners are encouraged to attend. Guest speakers will provide firsthand knowledge of how others have coped, what can be expected during the project, and different ways of marketing your business during the construction.

The first forum held on June 28 at Lippera's at the Chatham House restaurant, on Route 66/Hudson Avenue, located right in the heart of the area slated for construction by the state Department of Transportation (DOT). Guest speakers Todd Shimkus, president and CEO of the Adirondack Chamber of Commerce, and John Maiuri, President of Dunn Builders Supply, talked about how their respective communities coped with similar projects.

Shimkus said the extensive renovation project in Glens Falls has taken two and one-half years and won't be finished until November. The most significant portion of the project involved closing the town's five-way intersection for six weeks, undeniably affecting Glens Falls' several hundred businesses.

“Impact has varied based on the time of year and precisely when certain roads were shut down,” Shimkus said. “Safe to say every business has been impacted negatively one way or another.”

The Glens Falls Business Improvement District, which had formed right before the project started, took the lead in preparing businesses. Having one body act as the disseminator of information helped immensely, Shimkus said.

But still, “For all the good things we did, we still have some real failures to talk about too,” Shimkus said. He told the Chatham gathering what worked and didn't, and good ideas his town didn't get to implement. “Planning ahead is one of the key things, as is figuring out who is going to take the lead to make sure those things happen. You can have all the good ideas in the world...but if you don't have a point person to see that those ideas are implemented, you're doomed to failure.”

The Chatham Business Alliance is composed of almost 60 businesses and organizations that will be directly impacted by the village DOT project. CBA President Kathy Stumph and CBA Secretary Steve Campbell encourage all business owners to attend the forums. Customers are welcome as well.

“We are appreciative of loyal customers and we know they'll stay loyal; we'll try to make this as easy as possible,” Stumph said.

Stumph said the CBA is pleased to be able to work with David Colby, President of the Columbia County Chamber of Commerce, and the Chatham village Trustees to address the upcoming reconstruction “in a united and comprehensive manner.”

“As a first step we were delighted to offer this discussion with both the president of Dunn Builders Supply and the president of the Adirondack Chamber of Commerce,” she said. “What an opportunity we have to learn from the experiences of our surrounding towns and villages.”

“I would encourage everybody to go who has a business here in the village,” said Campbell . “Any information you get will be helpful in the end.”

John Maiuri, Chairman of the Columbia County Chamber and President of Dunn Builders Supply, has gone through the Catskill reconstruction and now must prepare his Chatham location for the same thing. He said it's important for business owners to keep their eyes on the prize.

“(The project) has a good chance of negatively impacting your business, however on the bright side, when the project is finished it enhances the appeal of your business,” he said. “I think that's what people have to keep in perspective. Our hope is we can at least provide a medium for information so people will understand what they can expect, offer some ideas…if we can weather the project, we have a lot to look forward to.”

Upcoming Forums:

The Columbia County Chamber of Commerce, Chatham Business Alliance, and Chatham village Board of Trustees are sponsoring a three-part forum “Paving the Way to Success” to help Chatham business owners cope with the upcoming Main Street road construction project. Forums are free for all local businesses.

Part I – Learn from the Past: - Held June 28

Part II – Work with the Truth: July 26, 5:30-7 p.m. Steve Freemann, DOT engineer in charge of the project, will explain the who, what, where and when of Chatham 's project.

Part III – Using the Internet for Success: Aug. 23, 5:30-7 p.m. Chatham graphic design and marketing firm owner Suzanne Trevellyan will do an interactive presentation on using the Internet to sell your product.

For more information or reservations call Kathy Stumph at 392-5848 or email kstumph@taconic.net.