We are in the process of updating the Chamber's Membership Directory. Please view your listing on our website for accuracy and notify us of any address changes or if any other information needs to be updated.

Email Lisa with the changes that need to be made. Also, please let us know if the main contact has changed.

Sponsor a Chamber Chat in February for only $50! These virtual networking events are a great way to meet other members in a fun and informal setting with trivia and prizes! We will work with your schedule to find a day and time that works for you. More dates available for 2022. Email Lisa for more info.

The end of the year is a time to look back and assess. And that is why we make resolutions for the new year. But this year, if you’re going to take on a resolution, we have some tips for you. The goal is to make resolutions more intuitive and doable. Here are a couple of ways to do that.

CDC has updated isolation and quarantine recommendations for the public. These recommendations do not apply to healthcare personnel and do not supersede state, local, tribal, of territorial laws, rules, and regulations.

People with COVID-19 should isolate for 5 days and if they are asymptomatic or their symptoms are resolving (without fever for 24 hours), follow that by 5 days of wearing a mask when around others.

Recommendations for people who are exposed to COVID-19 are also updated. If you are unvaccinated or more than 6 months out from your second mRNA dose (or more than 2 months after the J&J vaccine) and you are not yet boosted, CDC recommends a quarantine for 5 days followed by strict mask use for an additional 5 days. If a 5-day quarantine is not feasible, it is imperative that an exposed person wear a well-fitting mask at all times when around others for 10 days after exposure.

People who have received their booster shot do not need to quarantine following an exposure but should wear a mask for 10 days after the exposure. For all those exposed, best practice would also include a test for COVID-19 at day 5 after exposure. If symptoms occur, individuals should immediately quarantine until a negative test confirms symptoms are not attributable to COVID-19. Learn more.

The Baker-Polito Administration recently announced the opening of the FY23 Round of the Community One Stop for Growth with the launch of the Expression of Interest period. The Expression of Interest is an optional, but highly recommended, form that allows applicants to seek guidance from EOHED and partner agencies prior to completing a Full Application(s). The Expression of Interest period will be open from December 15, 2021 through March 18, 2022. Each organization may submit one (1) Expression of Interest form for the FY23 Round. The EOI form will allow prospective applicants to seek feedback on up to two project ideas (or up to 5 project ideas, if submitted by February 4, 2022). For more information on the Expression of Interest and the FY23 Round of the One Stop, please visit www.mass.gov/onestop.

Join us for the next session of our Chamber Chat virtual networking series! Meet other members in this fun and informal setting with trivia and prizes! This session is Tuesday, January 11th at noon and is sponsored by one our new members KS Dance Studio. Register below.

You could sponsor a future session for just $50! Email kris@tauntonareachamber.org for sponsorship details.

Register below.

Join Bryan Caplan, Speaker for Grow with Google, as he walks you through how to sell your products online.

He will walk through listing your products for free with Google My Business and Merchant Center and will show you one way to sell on your website, using an E-Commerce store built with Shopify. Plus, learn about more helpful tools to stand out online, such as Local Opportunity Finder and Grow My Store.

In this workshop, he will:

• Discuss the Products tab in Google My Business

• Introduce Google Merchant Center and the basics of creating a free account and a product feed

• Show you set up an E-Commerce website using Shopify

Register below.

All are invited to join the Old Colony History Museum (OCHM) for family-friendly events, both in person and virtually this month. Read more here.

Bluestone Bank is excited to welcome David Simmons as Vice President, Commercial Loan Officer. Simmons joins the Bank with over 25 years of experience in commercial and industrial lending. Read the press release.  

Town Administrator Michael Mullen would like to share updated information regarding Bristol-Plymouth Regional Technical School’s proposed $305 million school building project, which residents will vote to consider in a Special Election that has been rescheduled to be held between the hours of 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Saturday, March 5, 2022. Read the press release.

Because you or your employees may work from home at any point in time, the mindset might sometimes be, “I can just jump on and use my home computer.” This is a dangerous mistake. Home computers and personal mobile devices could be littered with tons of downloaded music, videos, images, and more. Because they’re more exposed, they can be an open invitation for malware sitting and waiting for a chance to sneak into your business network. Only devices that are under vigilant patching, updating, and monitoring should be used by your employees to work remotely. Provide a company-approved and secured computer/laptop for employees to use at home and enable two-factor authentication. Creating an Acceptable Use Policy for your team will help everyone understand what is expected and appropriate.

If you have immediate IT needs, contact Braver Technology Solutions at (508) 824-2260.

Let SCORE business advisors help you navigate the SBA Debt Relief Programs or the start-up and growth of your small business. All services are FREE and CONFIDENTIAL. If you are an existing SCORE client, please send an email to your SCORE counselor to schedule a phone call or Zoom conference. If you are new to SCORE, please complete the Request a Mentor form and someone from SCORE will contact you via email to schedule an appointment with an advisor. Sign up for SCORE webinars here. View upcoming webinars here.

Join veteran digital marketer Dale Shadbegian in this two-part series on tips to getting found in Google Search and analyzing your website traffic. We will focus on Google Keyword Planner, Google Analytics, and the Google Search Console. These free tools help website owners understand how their website is being found, and what visitors are doing once they have landed.

Part 2 will take place Thursday, January 6th from 10:00 - 11:30 a.m. and will focus on more on the Analytics tools used to determine effectiveness of the website.

Key concepts discussed:

- How does organic google search and google maps work?

- What are strategies to find what people are searching for and how to get found?

- How can we track progress?

- Identify and analyze some basic KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) of how your website is delivering results for your organization.

Some of the KPIs that will be measured are:

-Total page visits

-Most popular pages

-Amount of time spent on individual pages

-Demographics such as location, gender, age and affinity

-What keywords you are being found for, determine if people are clicking to your site, or clicking to a competitor's site instead

Register here.

They told you to post on Facebook, but not much happened. Now you are hearing you need to spend money! Join SCORE as they bust this myth!

Join veteran digital marketer Dale Shadbegian on how to maximize your Facebook efforts to raise brand awareness, create new contacts and maybe even sell something!

In this 40-minute presentation, followed by Q&A time, we will cover:

• “The best” content to post on Facebook

• Times of day to post

• Going live

• How to use video

• Community building

• Reviewing basic analytics.

Register here .

This year, during an unprecedented national health crisis, small businesses needed help more than ever before. In order to support these business owners when they needed it most, the SCORE Foundation provided funding for SCORE’s Small Business Resilience program. This platform allowed SCORE to pivot their mentoring and educational services onto virtual platforms, where clients could easily access the pandemic-related information, guidance and resources they needed to survive and thrive. Learn more here.

Veterans make up an important part of the small business community. They make up 8% of the population, but own 9.2% of all American businesses. Check out these resources specifically for veteran entrepreneurs. SCORE is here to help!

Are you looking for ways to help your small business community? Would you like to grow your network or develop professionally? As a SCORE volunteer, you get it all!

Join the SCORE network of 10,000 volunteers. SCORE relies on volunteers to help small business around the country thrive.

Interested? Visit the volunteer web page to find about the many benefits of volunteering and the right opportunity for you!

·    Blogging Tips

·    New Rules of Marketing in 2020

·    Digital Marketing Rules

·    Cash Management

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