Winters small businesses have relied heavily on their tight-knit community and tourism from around the region to be able to stay afloat throughout the hardships of recent years.

The downtown events, community expos and business resources the Winters Chamber of Commerce provides have been crucial in keeping the town’s small businesses on people’s minds and getting people in their doors.

Sue Moualim, president and CEO of the Winters Chamber of Commerce, noted that although things have gotten significantly better since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and since the region’s intense storms let up, businesses are still struggling with supply chain and inflation issues.

“Right now we’re still dealing with the price of goods,” she stressed. “We’re going through this inflationary period and, certainly, the cost of doing business and labor is higher.”

In this way, she argued that the town’s businesses are still feeling the effects left behind by the pandemic.

“There are still issues, believe it or not, with supply chains, which you would have thought would kind of be smoothing out by now,” she said. “Between that and the higher pricing of labor, they’re having to move that cost on to the customer at some point so that can be affecting business as well.”

One thing the chamber has done this past year to try to help is create the first edition of the Winters Business and Relocation Guide.

“It highlights a lot of the small businesses and also highlights the community as a whole,” she explained. “Not just for somebody who wants to relocate here but also for somebody who wants to visit.”

Guides will be available around town in the visitor center, real estate offices, hotels and any businesses that want to carry them, according to Moualim. It covers essential information for individuals, families and businesses exploring Winters as a place to relocate, according to its website.

“Chamber member businesses are highlighted throughout the guide,” the website explained. “There are also a host of business resources to assist you in growing your company or starting a new one. Our community is filled with great things to do, restaurants using the freshest ingredients, award-winning wines, brews and spirits, and wonderful shops filled with handmade and original items.”

If interested in reading a business guide, a digital one is available by visiting winterschamber.com/2023-winters-business-relocation-guide.

Additionally, Moualim noted that the chamber is currently planning another Community Expo.

“We don’t have a date for that yet… but it’ll be something that brings businesses together and the community, and there are a lot of resources there,” she emphasized.

She noted that the expo will also work with high school kids to incorporate an educational component to the event.

The chamber held its first expo in October 2021 prior to the pandemic. Its old website described the event as “a focus on workforce development and education.”

Moualim recommended checking the chamber’s website in the coming weeks or months for more updates on the event.

Lastly, she encouraged people to donate to the chamber for the Big Day of Giving on May 4, which is an annual “giving day” created to support Sacramento area nonprofits.

“Local organizations have shined over these past few years — from food banks to youth workshops to animal shelters, nonprofits have served our communities, created solutions, changed lives and nurtured hope,” the chamber’s website explained. “Now, let’s rally around them during Bid Day of Giving.”

The website noted that, since 2013, the event has raised $78 million for local nonprofits in Yolo, Sacramento, El Dorado and Placer Counties.

“The chamber this year is supporting all of the nonprofits here in Winters and Yolo Food Bank,” Moualim highlighted.

If interested in donating, she said the best way to do so is to visit the chambers donation website at winterschamber.com/2023/04/18/big-day-of-giving.

“It has all of the nonprofits that you can donate to and it has a button that goes directly to where you can actually donate for them.”