The City of Monterey Park Economic Development Team is pleased to introduce the first issue of Business Connect, a monthly business e-newsletter designed to provide current and future Monterey Park businesses and entrepreneurs with timely and relevant business news, information, and resources.

What to Expect:

• Insightful Content: Business Connect delivers timely and relevant content tailored to the needs and interests of Monterey Park's diverse business community.

• Business Spotlights: Business Connect highlights the achievements and innovations of local businesses and provides a platform for businesses to share their stories, milestones, and lessons learned.

• Strategic Opportunities: Be the first to know about upcoming small business grants, business and workforce incentives, webinars and workshops, and other business resources.

• Policy Updates: Stay informed about local policies and economic development programs that could impact your business.

• Community Engagement: Engage with City Hall and your fellow entrepreneurs, share your insights, and be a part of the discussions shaping the economic landscape of our City. Together, let's build a thriving business community that reflects Monterey Park's spirit and potential.

Give your business amazing opportunities for free. Join the Verizon Small Business Digital Ready program to access free courses, events, and more. No Verizon commitment is required. Plus, right now any small business can apply for $10,000 grants. But hurry, grant applications close on December 20, 2023.

The City of Monterey Park will host a small business workshop to help small businesses economically impacted by the Monterey Park shooting take advantage of the SBA low-interest disaster loan (EIDL) before the application deadline on January 5, 2024. The workshop will be held from 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday, December 13, 2023, at the Monterey Park Hope Resiliency Center at 311 N. Rural Drive.

English, Chinese, and Spanish-speaking SBA customer service representatives will meet individually with small business owners to assist with the application process and address any questions related to the SBA’s disaster loan program. Additionally, the SBA will assist business owners who wish to resubmit their application for a disaster working capital loan.

The City of Monterey Park will terminate its shop local program app, Monterey Park Rewards, effective December 31, 2023. The last day to use the MPK Rewards app is on December 31, 2023. Any unused MPK Rewards points will expire after this date and will no longer be redeemable. Likewise, the City will no longer reimburse businesses for MPK Points redeemed after December 31, 2023.

State law now requires employers to offer a qualified private retirement program, such as a 401(k) or the auto-individual retirement account program available through CalSavers. Some businesses have not complied with the mandate and receive penalty collection notices from the California Franchise Tax Board.

Penalties for non-compliance can add up quickly. They start at $250 per employee and can rise to $750 for continued non-compliance. If local businesses receive penalty notifications from CalSavers or the Franchise Tax Board, they should immediately contact CalSavers before making any penalty payments.

Business owners who take quick action can potentially avoid heavy penalties. Doing so also helps their employees fund their retirement savings, strengthening our local community.

Starting January 1, 2024, the State of California requires businesses with a single-user toilet facility to identify such facility as all-gender toilet facilities per legislation AB 783.

AB 783 is related to AB 1732 from 2016, which enacted a restroom policy requiring all single-occupancy restrooms in businesses, government buildings, and places of public accommodation be available to everyone.

When you're running a business, every dollar counts. The Southern California Edison (SCE) knows that rate increases are tough on small businesses, and they want to help. Regardless of your business or industry, SCE can help you find and eliminate wasted energy and find places to save. SCE small business consultants can help you find energy-efficient solutions to meet your industry challenges and help reduce your energy use and costs. Your business may already qualify for incentives and low or no-interest financing that could help you install or upgrade these energy-saving improvements now.

Looking for ways to promote your business? Be featured in an upcoming edition of Business Connect for your opportunity to share more about your business story, achievements, and new products and services. To put the spotlight on your business, contact the Economic Development team at (626) 307-1385 or econdev@montereypark.ca.gov.

蒙特利公園市經濟發展團隊很高興推出第一期 Business Connect，這是一份每月一次的商業電子簡報，旨在為當前和未來的蒙特利公園企業和商家提供及時和相關的商業新聞、信息和資源。

報導期望:

·        富有洞察力的內容: Business Connect 提供及時且相關的內容，以滿足蒙特利公園多元化商業社區的需求和興趣。

·        商業聚焦: Business Connect 會推廣本地企業的成就和創新，並為企業提供一個分享他們的故事、里程碑和經驗的平台。

·        戰略機遇: 率先了解即將到來的小企業補助金、企業和勞動力激勵措施、網絡研討會、工作坊、以及其他商業資源。

·        政策更新: 隨時了解可能影響您業務的本地政策和經濟發展計劃。

·        社區參與: 與市政廳和您的商家同行互動，分享你們的見解，並參與塑造我們城市經濟格局的討論會，讓我們一起建立一個繁榮的商業社區，反映蒙特利公園市的精神和潛力。

免費為您的企業提供絕佳的機會。加入 Verizon Small Business Digital Ready 計劃，參與免費課程、活動等。無需與Verizon履行任何承諾。此外，現在任何小企業都可以申請 $10,000的贈款。但快點，撥款申請將於 2023 年 12 月 20 日結束。

蒙特利公園市將舉辦一個小企業工作坊，以幫助受蒙特利公園槍擊事件影響的小企業在 2024 年 1 月 5 日截止日期之前申請這低息災難貸款。工作坊將於 2023 年 12 月 13 日星期三下午3點至晚上8點在位於 311 N. Rural Drive 的蒙特利公園互助希望中心 (Hope Resiliency Center)舉行。

精通英語、中文和西班牙語的 SBA 客戶服務代表將與商家單獨會面，以協助解答關於經濟傷害災難貸款申請流程以及與該計劃相關的任何問題。此外,SBA 將協助希望重新提交災難營運資金貸款(disaster working capital loan)申請表的業主。

蒙特利公園市將於 2023 年 12 月 31 日終止其本地商店獎勵計劃應用程式 Monterey Park Rewards。使用 MPK Rewards 應用程式的最後一天是 2023 年 12 月 31 日。任何未使用的 MPK Rewards 積分將在此日期之後過期，並且不可再兌換。同樣，本市將不再向兌換企業發放 2023 年 12 月 31 日之後兌換的 MPK 積分。

加州法律現在要求僱主提供符合資格的私人退休計劃，例如 401（k)或通過 CalSavers提供的自動個人退休賬戶計劃。一些企業沒有遵守規定，並收到加州特許經營稅委員會(California Franchise Tax Board)的罰款徵收通知。

違規行為的處罰可以迅速增加。他們的罰款起價為每位員工$250，如果繼續不合規，可能會上升到$750。如果本地企業收到CalSavers或特許經營稅委員會的罰款通知，企業們應在支付任何罰款之前立即聯繫 CalSavers。

迅速採取行動的企業有可能避免重罰。這樣做還有助於他們的員工為他們的退休儲蓄提供資金，從而加強我們本地的社區。

從 2024 年 1 月 1 日起，加州要求擁有單人廁所設施的企業根據 AB 783 立法將此類設施確定為全性別(all-gender)廁所設施。

AB 783法案與2016年的AB 1732法案有關，後者頒布了一項洗手間政策，要求企業、政府大樓和公共住宿場所的所有單人洗手間都可供所有人使用。

當您經營一家企業時，每一元都很重要。南加州愛迪生公司 (SCE)知道加息對小企業來說很艱難，他們希望提供幫助。無論您的業務或行業如何,SCE都可以幫助您找到並消除能源浪費，並找到可以節省的地方。SCE小企業顧問可以幫助您找到節能解決方案，以應對您的行業挑戰，並幫助您減少能源使用和成本。您的企業可能已經有資格獲得激勵措施和低息或無息融資，這可以幫助您立即安裝或升級這些節能改進。

正在尋找推廣業務的方法? 在今後出版的Business Connect 中刊登專題文章，讓您有機會分享更多關於您的商業故事、成就以及新產品和服務的信息。要關注您的業務，請致電626-307-1385或電郵econdev@montereypark.ca.gov聯繫蒙特利公園市經濟發展團隊。