Hyannis Small Businesses Get Local COVID Recovery Boost

HYANNIS – Small businesses in downtown Hyannis will benefit from a new COVID relief and economic support program designed to provide one-on-one technical assistance.

The Local Business Boost Program is the result of collaboration between several local entities, including small business advocacy group Love Live Local, the Hyannis Main Street Business Improvement District (BID), the Town of Barnstable, Amplify POC Cape Cod and MassDevelopment’s Transformative Development Initiative (TDI) Program. 

The Business Boost Program will provide $1,000 to $5,000 grants to recipients for improvements such as e-commerce development, social media marketing and physical improvements to brick-and-mortar locations.

The program also aims to help business owners implement the growth strategies, including providing technical expertise.

“We have been hearing from local businesses that although some were able to access government funds this past year, for many it did not address all of their needs, especially when it came to enhancing their online presence or upgrading their physical space, which has become so much more important because of cultural shifts made due to COVID-19,” said Hyannis Main Street BID Executive Director Elizabeth Wurfbain in a statement.

“They have also expressed that most of the technical assistance they receive are instructional where they are left to figure out how to implement recommendations, but for many of our businesses, they do not have the time, staff or financial resources they need to execute at all.”

Love Live Local will be running the operations of the program, including matching specialists with small businesses to provide the services identified by the program’s intake process, according to CEO Amanda Converse.

She said that the program’s approach in providing tangible assistance will go a long way to help out those who were unable to leverage other state or federal relief.

“Workshops, webinars and seminars are great for some people and it meets a lot of people’s needs, but there’s a lot of business owners who just don’t have the time to attend those workshops,” said Converse.

She hopes the program helps create a list of local services that businesses can turn to whenever they need upgrades or updates to their infrastructure, even outside the program.

Eligible businesses and service providers can apply online here.

The deadline to apply for the business grant is November 30, though service providers are welcome to apply throughout the entire duration of the program. 

About Grady Culhane

Grady Culhane is a Cape Cod native from Eastham. He studied media communications at Cape Cod Community College and joined the CapeCod.com News Center in 2019.



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