When the pandemic hit and business shut down in March earlier this year, many businesses had to pivot their thinking and decision-making in order to survive with the economy.

Making Opportunity Count Inc. (MOC) continues to thrive and grow, regardless of COVID-19.

“Like many businesses we have allowed a portion of our workforce to function remotely,” said Kevin Reed, Executive Director at MOC. “However, we have leveraged technology and extreme safety measures to provide high quality in person services during this time when allowable by regulations.”

MOC’s mission is to empower families to achieve economic security by eliminating barriers and creating opportunities. Their non-profit services include a focus on family and children, teen and youth, emergency services, health and wellness, healthy homes, economic stability, and elder services.

“We are in the business of keeping North Central moving forward,” said Reed. “Our job is to provide those facing economic hardship, injustice, or personal struggles with the supports & tools to achieve economic security and a better life.”

Since 2018, MOC has helped over 1,000 individuals receive case management, information, and referrals through the Fitchburg Family Resource Center, over 6,077 women, infants, and children improve their health and nutrition through the North Central WIC program, and over 1,900 elders increase access to nutritious food through Elder Nutrition Services, and more. Their full annual report is available through their website at www.mocinc.org.

“Making Opportunity Count has grown over the past several years by releasing the innovation within the organization. The organization has worked to open the door for its employees to share, develop, finance, and implement ideas and visions that otherwise would have never come to fruition,” Reed said. “It is through this practice that the organization has grown to almost 300 employees, added over $6M in new revenue, and ventured into new service areas.”

Making Opportunity Count will be launching a full-service mental health clinic this year in Fitchburg and Gardner, improving access in the North Central Massachusetts area to mental health supports while testing new and innovative methods to improve the mental health of the friends and families in the local community.

“We will [also] be opening a new 18,000 square foot early education center in the City of Fitchburg and launching a Youth Innovation Center for youth to gather in a safe place to access the latest in technology to explore their business interests and put talents to great use,” stated Reed. “We are not going to stop growing.”

“We want the community to tell us what they need and what we can do. After the new Early Education Center is up and running and the Mental Health Clinic doors open, we are ready for the next project and we will be asking our friends and family in the community to help us understand what we must do next.”

Making Opportunity Count is located at 601 River St in Fitchburg, MA and is a proud member of the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce. For more information about MOC, visit their website at www.mocinc.org.

 

Like many of us around the globe, you’re probably used to working from home, including using Zoom, an engaging, user-friendly meeting application. However, an unexpected outage from Zoom caused thousands of workers immense frustration, as they were unable to access Zoom webinars and attended Zoom meetings.

It’s always smart to have a back-up solution, and we’ve collected four popular alternatives just in case Zoom goes down again. We looked at different tools, and evaluated the reliability, features and ease of use, the value and affordability (especially important for small businesses), and the security of each, helping reduce chances of sensitive company data being leaked.

Ring Central Video

Ring Central works well with video and phone support and has a high level of security. It’s included with RingCentral Office®, a comprehensive program that integrates cloud phone service with business numbers in over 100 countries, unlimited audio conferencing, video meetings, team messaging, and business SMS. For specialized industries, such as healthcare and insurance, or others that still rely on faxing documents, there’s also a secure, unlimited online fax feature.

With seven layers of security, it’s also excellent at protecting company files. The program integrates with dozens of apps and works seamlessly with both Microsoft and Google software, which makes it easy for users to send and receive documents in different formats.

Also included with the cost for Ring Office is employee training and 24-hour customer support – essential for employees that may be working at odd hours or who have a flexible schedule.

Microsoft Office 365 E3

This is hands-down the best tool for internal collaboration. It’s an excellent alternative to Skype for Business. This program is part of Office 365 (the premium version) and includes Microsoft Teams, which allows employees to chat online, meet via video, share files, and track the progression and timelines of certain projects. Outlook and cloud storage are also included.

However, other features like phone and audio conferencing outside of the Teams application are extra, and this software doesn’t offer business SMS or online fax capabilities, so it may not be useful for some industries. Other drawbacks include a lack of cloud service for customer engagement, although it works quite well for internal teams.

Group FaceTime

FaceTime is an easy-to-use application that many of your employees are probably already familiar with. It’s perfect if your team all use Apple products, and as far as video quality and communication it can’t be beat. It’s clean, crisp, and has excellent end-to-end encryption.

However, as a business application, it lacks the integration of other applications, such as Ring Central and Microfot Office/ Teams. Group FaceTime also lacks an office suite that make sharing files and projects easier.

Google Meet

Google Meet is ideal for file storage and sharing, and in a pinch, coupling this with Group FaceTime (even though they run on two different operating systems) can help you through times when Zoom goes down.

Google Meet integrates any number of Google-based apps, including the popular Hangouts, which works like a chat meeting in real-time. However, this program also lacks audio conferencing, business SMS, or secure online fax options. But, at just $10 per month and with the capability to support user-designed apps, Google Meet does have a lot of other advantages.

Bottom Line

Having Zoom go down can be frustrating and may even cost your business. Before (if) it happens again, it’s important to have a back-up in place, and to train your team on how to use your back-up remote office suite. This ensures that you’re prepared for the challenges that remote working can throw at you.

And that’s the download!

Join us online on October 21, 2020 at 11:00 a.m. for a presentation and conversation to help strengthen your business’s financial foundation. Topics will include budget creation and review; how to monitor and forecast cashflow; and the internal and external financial review process. 

Bryan Acuto, Senior Manager at Cunningham & Associates will be the presenter. Bryan earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management from Elmira College. He completed his Master’s Degree in Finance from Harvard University earning the Dean’s List for Academic Achievement award. Bryan’s career includes several years of general management, extensive business and financial analysis and founding a real estate investment company. Bryan’s strengths are focusing on continuous process improvement, identifying key results needed for success, and concentrating on what matters most to an organization.

The cost is just $10 for members. Pre-registration is required. For more information or to register, please visit www.NorthCentralMass.com. 

Recognizing that COVID-19 remains a disruptive force in the daily lives of many business owners and their employees, the Chamber’s staff has continuously worked with public officials at the local, state, and federal levels in an effort to identify and implement solutions. 

As of this printing, Congressional Leaders on Capitol Hill remain deadlocked regarding another stimulus package to address the impacts of the pandemic. Though the Chamber continues to monitor this issue – which impacts not only businesses but state and local government as well – action appears unlikely until after the November election. In an effort to keep members informed and engage the region’s federal delegation, the Chamber will host a live, digital Congressional Update on Thursday, October 8, at 12:00. Congressman McGovern and Congresswoman Trahan will join us live to provide an update on developments in Washington, DC, before taking questions from the audience. If interested in participating, please visit the Chamber’s events page to register.

As with many organizations, COVID-19 has had a signification impact on the State House’s daily operation. Facing a legislative backlog due to the pandemic and unable to complete their work before the traditional July 31deadline, state lawmakers voted to extend the session through to the end of the calendar year. This has prolonged negotiations on several important items which the Chamber continues to monitor.  

Principal among these proposals is the state’s annual budget. Congress’s inability to find agreement on a new recovery package, coupled with delayed tax collections, created uncertainty regarding revenues as legislators worked to draft a final balanced budget for the fiscal year which began on July 1.  To address this, Beacon Hill passed a three-month, level funded budget, with plans to reconsider the matter once tax collections and federal aid figures come into greater focus. 

A number of major bills have also cleared the House and Senate, with compromise language under negotiation before submission to the Governor for final passage. Among these is an economic development bill that would fund a range of projects across the Commonwealth. The Chamber has advocated in favor of a raft of priorities within this bill that would expand support for small businesses and aide recovery. These include funding for new loans and grants to support small businesses and support for the Regional Tourism Councils. Other bills being considered by the legislature would enable bonding for transportation and infrastructure projects, expand access to telehealth services, reform police departments and map a course to statewide net-neutral carbon emissions by 2050. 

In response to an effort to place a three-year moratorium on the MCAS testing system, the Chamber recently submitted testimony opposing it and reiterating the Chamber’s conviction that every student be provided access to a high-quality education.  While sensitive to the challenges and uncertainties which educators and students face in the year ahead, the Chamber believes that a three-year halt to these evaluations represents a drastic and unnecessary step. 

Finally, the Board of Directors approved the Chamber’s FY21 Public Policy Agenda at their September meeting. This year’s agenda includes new priorities that focus on supporting businesses as they navigate the impact of COVID-19 and reopening. The Chamber advocates for an approach that balances public safety with the needs of small businesses and their employees across the region. The agenda will guide the Chamber’s advocacy efforts through the next year as we work to ensure a smooth economic recovery for North Central Massachusetts.