During this week of Giving Tuesday, it's the perfect time to announce our new Business for Business program! Any TACC member can sponsor the annual membership dues for a local non-member business or nonprofit organization and help a small business to benefit from our partnership! To become a Business for Business sponsor or for more information, please email TACC President Kris Silva or call 508-824-4068.

Special thanks to Commonwealth Alternative Care - our first Business for Business sponsor - providing membership for Taunton Animal Shelter and Just Caribbean restaurant!

Last week, Mayor Shaunna O’Connell issued a Proclamation to acknowledge November 27 & 28 as Small Business Weekend. Maria Gonzalez, TACC Board Member, received the Proclamation on behalf of the Chamber at the City Council meeting on November 23rd. Also recognized were Jorge Vernal, owner of Fratelli’s Bakery, and Colleen Simmons, Director of the Downtown Taunton Foundation. 

"The Taunton Area Chamber of Commerce is proud to support and represent our small businesses during the holiday season and throughout the year. Supporting local shops provides for a stronger community for everyone – a successful business is likely to hire more employees, sponsor a local sports team, or donate to a charity… to reinvest in our community. In the Chamber community, we partner with our members to provide resources, education, and support. As business owners, we each have our own skills and experiences – but collectively we have a vast array of knowledge to share with each other. The Chamber is working hard to build and strengthen this collaboration among our members so that we may all be successful and help our community thrive," stated Maria Gonzalez.

Bandstand Live, Inc.

Ryan Family Amusements

Space Building Corp.

Are you running a special holiday promotion that you want to advertise? Do you have items for sale this month? Holiday shopping has begun. Let us help drive customers to your business! Send us the details of the holiday offer, discount, sale, or a flyer, and we will promote it here, as well as on social media!

Get in the holiday spirit by donating to the Holiday Cheer Campaign! Again this year, all donations will be matched by our campaign sponsor Morton Hospital. Proceeds will support Cooperative Production, Inc. (CO-OP), New Hope, Inc. and Girls Incorporated of Taunton. Last year, thanks to the generosity of our TACC members and the Morton Hospital match, we were able to present three local organization with $1,000 each. Let’s make it happen again for these deserving organizations!

Click on the button below to donate.

Thank you to these generous donors:

Join us for the TACC Holiday Cocktail Party on Wednesday, December 15^th from 4:30-7:30 p.m. at Home Plate Bay Street Grill! Learn more here!

Did you miss yesterday's Quarterly Q&A with State Representative Carol Doherty? Watch the replay below.

Join SBA for a webinar all about workers protections updates on Thursday, December 9 at 12:00 noon. Proper training and effective worker safety and health procedures can save lives, improve performance and competitiveness. Understanding trends in the labor market and common preventable violations can save money on your small business’ bottom line.

Take action first by participating in this informative webinar and improving your awareness of workers’ rights and safety protocol trends. Representatives from OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) and Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division will provide an update on the latest worker protections to help your business achieve compliance. Register here.

The Raynham Board of Selectmen will hold a Public Hearing on Tuesday, December 7 at 7:00 p.m. at Raynham Town Hall, 558 S. Main. St. to discuss classification of Real and Personal Properties for the Town, the Raynham Center Water District and the North Raynham Water District.

All interested persons will be heard at this time.

The City of Taunton is requesting sample quotes and supporting documents from qualified website designers who will be contracted directly by the City to provide new or redesigned websites for recipient businesses of the Sales Technology and Efficiency Professional Upgrade Program (STEP UP). Learn more here.

2021 has not gone as planned. Many businesses anticipated that by now, they would be back to operating under “normal” circumstances. Due to hybrid working environments and evolving operational changes however, fraud also remains a prominent threat to businesses.

Join Rockland Trust and co-host, Netwide Technical Solutions, Inc., for a webinar on Wednesday, December 8 at 10:30 a.m. to learn more about:

• The Goals of Online Fraudsters

• Common Fraud Tactics

• Payments Fraud Strategies

• Protection of Your Information and Financial Assets

Register here.

1. Measures Allowing for Remote Proceedings of Public Corporations and Charitable and Non-Profit Corporations (where not prohibited by internal bylaws). This provision allows Annual and Special Shareholder Meetings to be conducted entirely by means of remote communication. For Charitable and Non-Profit Corporations it relaxes requirements for notice and procedures for appointment of directors and conduct of meetings of boards of directors. In particular, it allows for conducting meetings by remote means and permitting remote participation and voting by board members.

2. Virtual Notarization. Allows notarization to be conducted by means of remote communication.

MassDevelopment is pleased to submit the FY2021 annual report detailing the fifth round of the Collaborative Workspace Program, a vehicle for the Commonwealth to accelerate business formation, job creation, and entrepreneurial activity in communities by supporting infrastructure that fuels locally based innovation. Read the annual report. To learn more about MassDevelopment, call us at 617-330-2000 or visit www.massdevelopment.com.

Throughout the pandemic, the American entrepreneurial spirit has helped propel our nation forward. America’s small businesses are helping build back the U.S. economy and SBA would like to honor these individuals for their resiliency and achievements during SBA’s 2022 National Small Business Week.

If you or someone you know has an inspiring small business success story to tell, submit a nomination for the SBA’s National Small Business Week Awards. All nominations must be submitted electronically no later than 3:00 p.m. on January 11, 2022. Winners will be announced during National Small Business Week in May 2022. Click here for more information.

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 Thursday, December 9th at noon and is sponsored by one our new members KS Dance Studio. Register below for this event.

You could sponsor a future session for just $50! Email Lisa for sponsorship details.

Tis the season! Join us for the TACC Holiday Cocktail Party on Wednesday, December 15^th from 4:30-7:30 p.m. at Home Plate Bay Street Grill! Tickets are $20 for TACC members, $25 for non-members. Please bring an item to donate to the Taunton Animal Shelter and you’ll be entered into a raffle. View the Wish List.

Sponsor the Holiday Cocktail Party for $500! Contact Lisa for more information.

Space is limited so get your tickets today! We can’t wait to see you! REGISTER BELOW.

Get in the holiday spirit by donating to the Holiday Cheer Campaign! Learn more here!

All are invited to join the Old Colony History Museum (OCHM) for family-friendly events, both in person and virtually this month. Enjoy some local history this holiday season! They have lots of events coming up and hope you can join them for one or all of them! Click here for more information.

Mayor Shaunna O’Connell recently shared information regarding upcoming Christmas events in Taunton, including the annual Lights on Festival and Christmas Parade. Learn more here.

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.

Do you have a good overall business model and manage it well, but cringe when it comes to financial reporting? Then this webinar is for you!

Unravel the mystery of financial reporting:

• What financial reports are most important

• What financial reports reveal about your business

• How you can utilize financial reports to help you better manage your business.

Speaker: Nicole Hruban

Register here.

Social Media can be a powerful tool for winning new customers and clients, as well as continuing a relationship with existing ones, but it can also become very time consuming and expensive. We will help keep you focused and get you moving forward.

This webinar addresses the key questions every small business owner has to answer when they embark on an online marketing effort to support their business:

• What do I need to start?

• What Social Media should I use?

• How does it work?

• What does it cost?

Presented by Frank Camacho, SCORE mentor.

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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