The Liverpool Chamber of Commerce is celebrating its 160th anniversary this year. It was officially formed in 1850, however, as a result of some recent research it has been discovered that it was actually started in 1774, which at 216 years old makes it the 2nd oldest chamber in the country. The funny thing is, the primary reason for its formation is not only still relevant today, but it seems more relevant than ever, networking. Initially the chamber members were primarily merchants, in fact one of the founding members was Josiah Wedgwood, (of the pottery manufacturing fame), who used the port of Liverpool to ship his Wedgwood pottery around the world.
Actually there are many parallels with problems that the original groups of members faced that are strangely similar to today. Much of the networking was coffee house networking and the merchants appeared to be having real problems with debts from the states. It was perhaps for this reason that the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce also branched out a little and took on the role as a lobbying group. The Liverpool Chamber has seen this city go through so many changes in its history. Through huge stages of prosperity and also huge decline. There are so many stories that the chamber could tell about the history of this city that they are actually producing a book, which will be available towards the end of the year.
So what is the Chamber of Commerce now? What is there role, who owns it, is it government run? There does seem to be quite a bit of confusion around the answers to these questions, so allow me to attempt to shed a little light. The Liverpool Chamber of Commerce is a private not for profit company. It is run just like any other business and whilst it has links with local and national government, these are simply for representation purposes, so they are able to lobby on behalf of the local business community. Its primary function is exactly the same as it was in 1774, as a networking organisation. In fact this year they are organising a monumental 150 events. That's an average of 3 every week. And did you know that even as a non member of the chamber, you can usually go along to these events too.
The Liverpool Chamber of Commerce currently has around 1800 members, although they actually speak to around 6000 businesses every week. As part of their membership in the National Chamber, they are required to carry out a quarterly economic survey, (QES), which more than 20% of the membership take part in. This gives great local information and when collated with all of the other chambers around the country, an invaluable national picture about the state of the business community. In fact the Governor of The Bank of England reads the report every quarter and has actually changed interest rates based on the information it gave him. Another role that the chamber now fills is that of funding provider. They work with various funding bodies and allocate some of that funding out to businesses that apply. They have a 5 star accreditation for international trade, working with companies like UKTI, who again can provide funding to encourage trade around the world. They are also a training provider for things like apprenticeships and various up skilling programmes. They are also running the Future Jobs programme, were people who have been long term unemployed and are between the ages of 18 and 25 can be employed by a business and their salary is paid by the fund for 6 months.
So what does the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce have in store for the future? Well you can be sure there are lots more networking and some innovative ideas too. Things like Area 0151. This is a networking event inspired by Area 51 in the desert around Las Vegas. The idea is that they will arrange networking events in places you would traditionally not be allowed to go. For example a networking event actually held on the stage at the Echo Arena and another one in HM Prison, Altcourse, a kind of locked in for networking. Another great idea which they are starting on 17th March is Netwalking. This will be a lunchtime guided tour of some of the historic buildings in the centre. The first walk will be around Castle Street which will include light refreshments in the Town Hall. They are also doing some industry specific networking events, but these are not about other people attending and selling in to that industry, it is about people from the same industry networking and seeing how they can work together.
So there you have it. If you're not already a member of the chamber, you really should be. There is no downside. We have only been able to skim over the main services they provide.
Visit the Liverpool Chamber's site here www.liverpoolchamber.org.uk
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