What a great way to end the year - by welcoming our newest TACC member, Society Coffee Bar! ☕️

They have been featured in the Taunton Gazette so be sure to read about owners Debra and Keith Viveiros, their expanding real estate business, and the inspiration for opening a modern craft coffee shop here in Taunton.

The Society Coffee Bar is opening soon, stay tuned for details!

Welcome, Society Coffee Bar, we're so excited to have you in our TACC family!! ✨

If you’d like to host in 2022, or want more information, email Lisa.

Thank you everyone that donated to the Holiday Cheer Campaign! Again this year, all donations were matched by our campaign sponsor Morton Hospital. Proceeds will support Cooperative Production, Inc. (CO-OP), New Hope, Inc. and Girls Incorporated of Taunton.

Thank you to these generous donors:

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.

For help with EIDL, call 833-853-5638 (855-440-4960 for the deaf and hard-of-hearing) or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov. For help with Targeted EIDL Advance, email TargetedAdvance@sba.gov. The COVID-19 EIDL Customer Service Center is open 8:00 am to 8:00 p.m., seven days a week. Learn more at sba.gov/eidl.

Apply today.

Massachusetts employers with 100 or more employees will once again have to comply with President Biden’s OSHA mandate by January 10, 2022. The 6th Circuit Federal Appeals Court on Saturday, December 18th ended a previous injunction that had paused the national regulations. Learn more here.

The Governor recently signed a $4B COVID-19 spending plan to support continued recovery across key priority areas, making substantial investments in housing and homeownership, healthcare, workforce development, premium pay for essential workers and infrastructure. The funding, first proposed by the Baker-Polito Administration in June of 2021, will put to work a portion of the Commonwealth’s direct federal aid from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). Read more about the bill – including its support for housing, small business, and the Unemployment Compensation Trust Fund – in the press release.

Last week, Mayor O’Connell announced the City of Taunton will be distributing free COVID-19 test kits to high-need Taunton residents. Last week, the Baker-Polito Administration announced plans to partner with local cities and towns to increase at-home access to COVID-19 test kits for Massachusetts residents. Read the press release.

The Baker-Polito Administration is pleased to announce 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.

Use the HarborOne Bank online business plan tool to create a quick start lean business plan in 20-30 minutes. You’ll be guided through a number of sections to add in your own custom content. Learn more here.

In partnership with the City of Taunton and Mayor Shaunna O’Connell, Bristol County Savings Bank (BCSB) recently awarded four $10,000 grants to local non-profits Cory’s Cause, Taunton Emergency Task Force, Taunton Family Resource Center and Triumph, Inc. Read the press release.

Town Administrator Michael Mullen would like to provide an update on the process of individual case investigation and contact tracing for COVID-19 cases. The Town of Dighton continues to place a priority on contact tracing for residents in the community. The Board of Selectmen recently approved the use of $5,000 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to help fund contact tracing efforts and the Town is in the process of hiring a Contact Tracer. Read the press release.

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 1 will be take place on Tuesday, January 4th from 10:00 - 11:30 a.m. and will focus mostly on Getting found in search results.

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 for Part 1. Register here for Part 2.

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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