Statewide Training & Event Calendar
All training events are held in Massachusetts unless otherwise noted. Preregistration is required for all events. Each registration link is program-specific. If no link is listed, online registration is not available or registration has closed.
Training registrations are booked on a first-come, first-served basis. To reserve your space for fee-based events, mail your payment to the appropriate office with a copy of the completed registration form. We accept credit cards only for the Massachusetts Export Center's events. Your spot is reserved once payment is received by the appropriate office. Training programs may be added or cancelled; the training schedule is subject to change.
Please note: Training confirmations are sent from centeric@clients.msbdc.org. If you can't log into your account to register for training, a verification code will be sent from this email address. We use this email frequently, so please add it to your approved sender list.
Please review our
cancellation and refund
policies.
 
The Massachusetts Export Center organizes seminars, webinars and events throughout the year under Partners for Trade—the official export training initiative of the Commonwealth. The Export Center also offers an opportunity to view archived webinars. For further information, visit www.mass.gov/export. Click on image to right to download the Export Center's Early 2020 Partners for Trade export training brochure. |
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 The
Massachusetts Export Center created the
Massachusetts Export Resource Center, a comprehensive, one-stop resource for
accessing a wide range of instructional and practical information on
exporting to help your business grow and take advantage of international
opportunities. Registration is free! |
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 Did you know that the U.S. Small Business Administration offers free online training through its Learning Center? Click on the SBA logo to view topics.
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|  SCORE
conducts a variety of free and low-cost, educational workshops that provide
valuable information necessary for establishing and managing a successful
business.Greater Boston | Western MA | Central MA | Southeast MA | Cape Cod & the Islands | Northeast MA
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Program Descriptions
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How to Become a GSA Federal Supply Schedule Holder and Government Contracting 101
This free one-day workshop is typically held monthly in Boston. This workshop, designed to encourage and support small businesses interested in obtaining a GSA Federal Supply Schedule contract; learn more about contracting opportunities, the procurement process and resources available. Not sure which solicitation applies to your product or service? Refer to GSA's Schedules e-Library website in order to view or download solicitations. You can also view and download solicitations by visiting the Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps) website. Before attending the workshop, please review the GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) Program and the GSA Vendor Tool Box. Please direct any questions regarding the GSA MAS Program to the GSA MAS Helpdesk (National Customer Service Center) by phone at 800-488-3111 or by email at mashelpdesk@gsa.gov. To register, click on a specific date below and you will be transferred to the registration form. Space is limited to the first 25 participants, so register early! Date:
TBA |
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Introduction to Government Contracting
To register for an event, click on a specific date below and you will be transferred to the registration form. Space is limited, so register early! Dates: TBA |
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General information will be provided on the following programs and services:
These free two-hour programs are offered frequently at various locations. Click on button below to visit SBA's website for dates, locations and registration information.
Cosponsored by the U.S. Small Business Administration and area chambers of commerce |
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Legal Clinics (offered monthly in Southeast Massachusetts)
We are pleased to announce that Christopher Cassara, Esq., partner at Partridge Snow & Hahn LLP (PSH), is continuing to hold free Legal Clinics in our office and at our outreach locations. Entrepreneurs and small business owners are eligible to meet one-time, one-on-one for 30 minutes, to discuss general legal questions such as corporate structure, leases, contracts, insurance, employment, franchising, and various other business related issues.
These free and confidential 30-minute sessions are offered once a month at various locations. Space is limited and registration is required. Registration opens online two weeks prior to each legal clinic's date. If you have questions, please call the MSBDC office at 508-673-9783.
As a courtesy to Attorney Cassara, who is volunteering
his time for the clinics, please call our office at at least 24 hours in
advance if you cannot attend your appointment. Dates: Monthly on Fridays
- see dates below Register online by clicking on the desired date below:
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Basics of Starting Your Business (Springfield)
Topics will include: introduction and need for planning; basic business plan format; choosing your legal form of organization; marketing, market planning and research; cash flow projections; financial statements; and financing. In addition, there will be an overview of the U.S. Small Business Administration's programs and services. The presentation will help you gain a better understanding of the various SBA programs and services available to prospective or current entrepreneurs who need assistance in starting or expanding their businesses, and will include capital, counseling and contracting information. Oreste Varela, branch manager of the U.S. Small Business Administration in Springfield, will be a speaker. In addition, Allen Kronick, a senior business advisor with the Massachusetts Small Business Development Center Network's Western Regional Office, will speak. There is no charge for these workshops, but pre-registration is required. To register, click on the appropriate date below. If you have questions or problems registering online, please contact Lynn Shedd at lshedd@msbdc.umass.edu or 413-577-1768. Register online by clicking on the desired date below:
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Basics of Starting Your Business (Greenfield) Learn the whole nine yards of starting a business! This free workshop will help entrepreneurs write a business plan and provide structure to starting/managing their venture. It will also focus on business fundamentals; from startup considerations to business plan development and funding sources. Both those who want to start a business and existing business owners looking for guidance on creating a business plan and securing financing to grow their business will find this session helpful. Topics will include: introduction and need for planning; Basic business plan format; choosing your legal form of organization; marketing, market planning and research; cash flow projections; financial statements; and financing. In addition, there will be an overview of the U.S. Small Business Administration's programs and services. The presentation will help you gain a better understanding of the various SBA programs and services available to prospective or current entrepreneurs who need assistance in starting or expanding their businesses, and will include capital, counseling and contracting information. Bonus: If your business is food-related, you are invited to attend a guided tour of the Franklin County Community Development Corporation commercial kitchen following the workshop. Please follow these guidelines when visiting the commercial kitchen: no open-toed shoes, tank tops, or strong perfumes/colognes and limited jewelry. Anyone under the age of 18 is not permitted in the commercial kitchen area. Oreste Varela, branch manager of the U.S. Small Business Administration in Springfield, will be a speaker. In addition, Anita Eliason, a senior business advisor with the Massachusetts Small Business Development Center Network's Western Regional Office, will speak. There is no charge for these workshops, but pre-registration is required.
To register, click on the appropriate date below. If you have
questions or problems registering online,
please contact the MSBDC Western Regional Office at
lshedd@msbdc.umass.edu
or 413-577-1768.
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This presentation will help you gain a better understanding of the core legal concepts impacting your business.
The speaker will be Sarah Willey, counsel with Bulkley, Richardson and Gelinas, LLP's Business and Finance Department. Sarah is also a member of the firm’s Intellectual Property Practice Group and Employment Law Practice Group. She has experience advising clients in the areas of business formation, mergers and acquisitions, business succession planning, and corporate structuring of businesses in regulated industries. Sarah counsels clients in protecting and maximizing their intellectual property via trademarks, copyrights, and licensing agreements. She also assists businesses with designing, implementing and auditing corporate compliance programs under International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), Export Administration Regulations (EAR) and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). Date: Monday, June 1, 2020
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The Massachusetts Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) presents a workshop on the following topics:
The speaker will be Michelle Simoes, procurement specialist with the Massachusetts PTAC. Date: Wednesday, June 3, 2020
Cosponsored by the Massachusetts PTAC |
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Adapting Your Business to Thrive: Exploring Ideas and Solutions for Your Business
If you would like to submit questions ahead of time, please send them to Lisa@NEVCC.org Presenters:
Date: Thursday, June 4, 2020
Cosponsord by the New England Veterans Chamber of Commerce and the WesternMass Business Technical Assistance Collaboration: Center for Women and Enterprise, Common Capital, Franklin County CDC, Massachusetts Small Business Development Center, SCORE of Western Mass, and Valley CDC. |
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Trade Compliance "Off-the-Record" Discussion Group
Join us to connect with fellow trade compliance practitioners for an off-the-record, informal discussion to compare notes and discuss compliance challenges across any number of areas: screening and compliance with ever-growing list-based sanctions; jurisdiction and licensing issues; tariffs and customs compliance issues; recent regulatory developments, including possible changes to de minimus allowances and the foreign direct product rule, new controls on emerging and foundational technologies, the information technology supply chain executive order, and much more. Bring your questions and concerns to share with the group. The discussion will be led by experienced trade compliance practitioners. Date: Friday, June 5, 2020
Cosponsored by Teradyne, Inc. |
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This presentation will help entrepreneurs start a business plan and provide structure to starting and managing their venture. Topics will include:
The presenter will be Samalid Hogan, regional director of the Massachusetts Small Business Development Center, Western Regional Office. Registration is required. The link to the Zoom webinar will be emailed to you after you register online. Date: Friday, June 5, 2020
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How to Become Women-Owned Certified This webinar will discuss how to certify your business as a women-owned business. Join speaker Michelle Miller of the Center for Women & Enterprise as she discusses the benefits and process of becoming women-owned certified. Date: Tuesday, June 9, 2020
Cosponsored by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) |
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This workshop will discuss the benefits of using LinkedIn to market your business. The speaker will be Cara Chatellier. Date: Wednesday, June 10, 2020
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Developing a Dynamic Capability Statement Attend a free webinar to learn tips for developing a robust capability statement to assist you in marketing your products & services to large business prime contractors and federal agencies. A capability statement (CS) is a unique marketing tool used primarily in the federal procurement marketplace. A CS can be a very effective, and inexpensive, marketing piece used to quickly highlight your strengths and capabilities at small business matchmakers and other outreach events. Link will be sent out to all attendees the day before the webinar launches. Date: Thursday, June 11, 2020
Cosponsored by the Center for Women’s Enterprise (CWE-Central MA), Small Business Administration (SBA), Massachusetts Small Business Development Center (MSBDC) Network - Government Sales/Central MA PTAC Region |
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USMCA Is Coming: What You Need to Know to Prepare The new U.S. Canada Mexico Agreement (USMCA) will go into effect on July 1, 2020, with no transition period from NAFTA. This means that companies currently taking advantage of NAFTA should be preparing now to meet the new requirements under the USMCA so that they can continue to benefit from preferential duty treatment between the U.S., Canada and Mexico under the new agreement. Under the new agreement, companies will see changes to the Rules of Origin, meaning that some products may no longer be eligible for preferential duty treatment. Additionally, certifying origin will no longer require a specific form, though certain data elements must be included in the declaration. Other changes include increased De Minimis levels, IP protection measures, and the inclusion of provisions for e-commerce and digital trade. Join us to hear from experts discussing these and other differences between NAFTA and USMCA, and learn what exporters and importers need to do now to prepare for the imminent changes. Our speaker will be Paula Connelly, principal with Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A. Date: Friday, June 12, 2020
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Primeros Pasos Para Emprender Un Negocio Este taller te dará información essential para orientarte en como emprender un negocio propio. Los temas incluirán:
La presentadora será Samalid Hogan, directora regional del Centro de Desarrollo de Pequeñas Empresas de Massachusetts, Oficina Regional del Oeste. Se requiere registración. El Link al seminario de Zoom se enviara por email despues que se haya registrado. Fecha: Friday, June 12, 2020
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How to Become Women-Owned Certified with SBA This webinar will discuss how to certify your business as a women-owned business. Speakers will be
Date: Tuesday, June 16, 2020
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Legal Requirements for Small Business A small business owner needs to know their federal, state and local legal obligations. This course will give you an overview of the legal requirements that every small business owner should know. The speaker will be Gina Flynn, vice president and branch manager at Eastern Bank. Date: Wednesday, June 17, 2020
Cosponsored by Eastern Bank |
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Expansion of Export Controls on China, Russia and Venezuela In the last few months, the United States has announced new rules that will significantly expand export restrictions on China, Russia and Venezuela. On April 28, the U.S. Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published a highly-anticipated final rule that further tightens controls on exports, reexports and in-country transfers to military end users and end uses in China, Russia and Venezuela. It also issued a final rule withdrawing License Exception CIV for these countries. These final rules go into effect on June 29, 2020. On May 15, BIS issued an interim final rule, effective immediately, that significantly expands the foreign direct product rule to cover additional foreign-produced items destined to Huawei. And while these rules tighten restrictions on exports, reexports and in country transfers of certain controlled items and technology, there are also significant implications for companies that export EAR99 items and technology. Join us for this webinar to hear specifics on the new requirements under the rules and how they will impact your company. We will also discuss ways to mitigate compliance risk through licensing, export reporting, screening and KYC due diligence. Our speaker will be Ajay Kuntamukkala, partner with Hogan Lovells. Date: Thursday, June 18, 2020
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In our digital age, the Internet has given consumers unprecedented control of the purchasing process. 95% of the world’s markets lie outside the United States, but in order to seize that opportunity, your website must become your best sales rep! Your prospects, customers, and competitors are all online, but are your website and online presence the best they can be to showcase your brand and your business to the global marketplace? During this program, we will discuss best practices in website localization, online marketing, and e-commerce strategy that will help exporters build their brands and grow their businesses by creating the best user experience for their international customers. Join us to learn about the key success factors for an intelligent global digital marketing strategy that will help companies to get found, be understood, and improve customer experience. The speaker will be Jeff Ardis, Business Development Director at IBT Online. Date: Thursday, July 16, 2020
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China Global Trade Compliance and Security Update The U.S. government has been expanding national security-based restrictions in connection with technical, business and academic activities involving China, which is having far-reaching implications for a wide range of industry sectors as well as academia, startups and investors. There has been a proliferation of Chinese parties subject to list-based sanctions, perhaps best exemplified by the addition of Huawei and others to the U.S. Entity List. Proposed regulations to implement the May 2019 executive order on telecommunications supply chain security would establish a new regulatory process in which certain transactions would be subject to review, mitigation, and even the prohibition or unwinding of completed transactions, and would provide for significant penalties for failure to meet regulatory obligations. Rollbacks to allowances under the De Minimis and Foreign Direct Product Rules are expected to restrict claims that items and technology are not subject to U.S. export controls to largely target U.S. exports to China. There will soon be new restrictions on "emerging and foundational" technologies, which will be controlled for export to China as mandated under the Export Control Reform Act. The recently-implemented final rule on transactions subject to mandatory review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS) will provide for heightened scrutiny of Chinese investment in U.S. businesses involved in critical technology, critical infrastructure and sensitive personal data. Join us to learn about these developments and more, and how to best manage the increasing compliance risks associated with doing business in or with China. The speaker will be Brian Curran, partner with Hogan Lovells US LLP. Date: Friday, July 24, 2020
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All
services are provided by PSH which is not acting as an agent and/or
representative of the Massachusetts Small Business Development
Center Network. By meeting with PSH you agree to indemnify and hold
harmless the MSBDC from any and all claims and liability arising
from your session with PSH. Participants will receive a general
waiver statement prior to their meeting. 
Learn the whole nine yards of starting a business! This free
workshop will focus on business fundamentals, from start-up
considerations to business plan development and funding sources. It will help entrepreneurs write a business plan and
provide structure to starting/managing their venture. This workshop
is appropriate for anyone who wants to start a business and existing
business owners looking for guidance on creating a business plan and
securing financing to grow their business.
Hear
from three nationally recognized (Veterans and Family members)
Business Owners and strategists, share ideas and solutions on how
businesses in a variety of industries are adapting to COVID-19. All
business owners are welcome to attend this free webinar. 
The
current global trade compliance environment is the most challenging
and complex in recent memory.