Massachusetts SBDC Statewide Training & Event Calendar
Preregistration is required for all events. If no link is listed on the registration page, online registration is not available or registration is closed. Please read important registration information by clicking here.
 The Massachusetts Export Center organizes seminars, webinars and events throughout the year under Partners for Trade—the official export training initiative of the Commonwealth. On the calendar below, 
indicates an exporting training event. |
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~~~ 2025 Training Calendar |
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Unless otherwise
noted, training is offered online.
= export training |
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| APRIL | |
| 2 | Tech Talks with Rob: Marketing Smarter – How Small Businesses Can Use AI to Grow |
| 9 | E-Commerce Essentials: How to Start, Scale, and Succeed Online |
| 10 | Planning for the Future: Succession and Estate Planning for Small Businesses |
| 10 |
Compliance Clinic |
| 16 |
Upping Your Screening Due Diligence to
Match the Current Regulatory Environment |
| 16 | How to Use ChatGPT in Marketing Your Business |
| 23 | Google Analytics Made Simple: Unlock Key Insights for Your Business |
| 30 |
Breaking Through the Knowledge Silos at
Your Firm to Ensure Trade Compliance |
| MAY | |
| 2 |
Trump on Trade: The First 100 Days
and Beyond
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| 22 |
GPSR: What US Exporters Need to Know About the New EU
General Product Safety Regulation
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| JUNE | |
| 6 |
Triangulating the Trump Trade
Agenda: Tips and Tools for Addressing Policy Changes |
Program Descriptions
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Various topics that we will cover:
Whether you are tech-savvy or just getting started, "Tech Talks with Rob" will provide you with the knowledge and tools to leverage technology for your business’s success. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to learn, grow, and secure your business in the digital marketplace. During each session, Rob will present a brief 15–20-minute introduction to the topic at hand, followed by an interactive discussion and Q&A period. This series aims to create a welcoming environment where participants are encouraged to ask questions. Remember, there are no bad questions. Date: Held on the first Wednesday of the month
- click on date below to register
April 2 Topic: Marketing Smarter – How Small Businesses
Can Use AI to Grow You’ll learn how to:
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E-Commerce Essentials: How to Start, Scale, and Succeed Online Want to take your small business online but not sure where to start? Join us for an insightful session on e-commerce essentials, where you'll learn how to choose the right platform, attract customers, and boost online sales! What you will learn:
Whether you're just starting out or looking to grow your online store, this session will give you practical, actionable steps to succeed in the digital marketplace. The speaker will be Rosa DiVirgilio Taormina, Senior Business Advisor and Digital Marketing Professional with the Massachusetts SBDC - Northeast Region. Date: Wednesday, April 9, 2025
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Planning for the Future: Succession and Estate Planning for Small Businesses This event provides a brief introduction to the legal principles, strategies, and challenges involved in business succession planning for family-owned businesses. Key topics include estate planning for business owners, drafting succession agreements (such as buy-sell agreements), and some of the tax implications related to succession. The course covers the role of trusts, wills, and other legal instruments in transferring ownership of companies with an eye toward minimizing disputes. Special attention shall be given to legal considerations for small businesses and closely held entities. The speaker will be Attorney Matthew D. DesMeules of DesMeules Law Group, P.C. Date: Thursday, April 10, 2025
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Compliance Clinic (Compliance Alliance members only) Calling all Compliance Alliance members! Join us for a discussion between exporters that will allow participants to compare notes on export compliance practices that have been effective in addressing some of the challenges in today’s ever-changing regulatory environment. All topics are on the table. No agenda or PowerPoint slides – just a give-and-take discussion between trade compliance professionals. This will be conducted in a Zoom meeting format. So, bring your compliance questions and concerns and be prepared to participate in what we hope to be a lively discussion. Joining us will be fellow Compliance Alliance member, Alexandra López-Casero, partner with the law firm of Nixon Peabody, who will be on hand to provide context to regulatory concerns as needed. Date: Thursday, April 10, 2025
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Upping Your Screening Due Diligence to Match the Current Regulatory Environment Restricted and denied party screening is much more than just screening for names of individuals and companies that appear on restricted lists. Recent regulations have raised expectations of the screening practices and techniques that companies should use to prevent unauthorized shipment or diversion of their products. Address screening has become especially important since the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) introduced a significant update to the Entity List by including address-only entries. BIS recommends that exporters and re-exporters screen both the name and address of a party to an export transaction to comply with license requirements that may apply to certain addresses and to monitor certain “red flags” that require additional due diligence such as near-matches to addresses on the Entity List and co-location with a listed entity. BIS also expects enhanced due diligence from exporters dealing with Common High Priority List items, which Russia seeks to procure for its weapons programs. For transactions involving CHPL items, BIS recommends screening against the list provided by the Trade Integrity Project (TIP), a non-government U.K. entity that monitors military and dual-use trade with Russia and has identified parties in third countries with a recent history of exporting CHPL items to Russia. There are also screening risks that can’t be addressed by list-based screening such as screening for military end-users and end-uses, as well as for military intelligence end-use, when shipping certain products to some countries, including China, Venezuela, Burma, Cambodia and Belarus. As a result of increased screening expectations, exporters face higher risk of triggering violations due to the complexity of validating high-risk addresses, the increased screening burden, and the enhanced scrutiny and documentation necessary to remain compliant. This webinar will discuss how companies can up their game by enhancing their screening due diligence in response to the current regulatory requirements. Our speaker will be Tahlia Townsend, Partner, International Trade Compliance and Litigation with Wiggin and Dana LLP. Date: Wednesday, April 16, 2025
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How to Use ChatGPT in Marketing Your Business Join us for an immersive workshop where we delve into the transformative potential of leveraging ChatGPT in your marketing strategy. The capabilities of AI-driven tools like ChatGPT can help you engage with your audience, craft compressing content, and drive impactful campaigns. In this workshop we will discuss the following:
The speaker will be Isabel Tomasi, Digital Marketing Manager of Bubbly Creative. Date: Wednesday, April 16, 2025
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Google Analytics Made Simple: Unlock Key Insights for Your Business Struggling to make sense of Google Analytics 4 (GA4)? Join us for an engaging session designed specifically for small business owners! Learn how to track key metrics, interpret data, and use GA4 insights to grow your business. Whether you're new to GA4 or looking to optimize your setup, this presentation will give you practical, easy-to-implement strategies to help you make smarter, data-driven decisions. What You'll Learn:
This event is perfect for small business owners, marketers, and entrepreneurs looking to maximize their website and marketing performance. The speaker will be Rosa DiVirgilio Taormina, Senior Business Advisor and Digital Marketing Professional with the Massachusetts SBDC - Northeast Region. Date: Wednesday, April 23, 2025
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Breaking Through the Knowledge Silos at Your Firm to Ensure Trade Compliance Is your company entangled in knowledge silos? Often, silos are put in place to provide safety from the sensitive information they contain from being accessed, whether nefariously or by chance. However, when it comes to trade compliance practices, knowledge silos may be inadvertently created within departments due to lack of information sharing, legacy information systems, and clusters of procedures that are not broadly applied, all of which are detrimental to companies, putting them at risk for violations. Employees may go about doing their jobs and have access to a lot of information that may constitute "knowledge" whether they know it or not. Some of the information they are presented with may be meaningless within their daily responsibilities, however, certain details may point to potential export or sanctions risks. Knowledge—as defined by BIS—includes knowing that a violation may occur, or awareness of a high probability of violation may occur in the present or future. Many employees often do not recognize the importance of the evidence that they have been provided with, or that it creates knowledge. More importantly, because of this lack of awareness the information is not relayed to their designated compliance professional to conduct due diligence and assess any regulatory concerns. Breakthrough the knowledge silos! Join us as our speakers discuss best practices for creating awareness across all departments regarding the acquisition of knowledge important for trade compliance, and developing communication practices that will reduce the risk of violation. Our speakers include:
Date: Wednesday, April 30, 2025
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Trump on Trade: The First 100 Days and Beyond International trade has been at the forefront of the Trump Administration’s agenda, and yet the future of trade policy across a number of areas still remains somewhat unclear. President Trump released the America First Trade Policy Memorandum in January 2025 and, with a focus on enhancing our national edge on technology, called on his cabinet members to cooperatively review economic security, the U.S. relationship with China and unfair trade, and report back by April 1, 2025, in preparation for the 100 day mark of his second term. The Memorandum requested an assessment of fair trade practices and emergency economic issues, which we have seen playing out in daily news cycles with the implementation of tariffs on some of our key trading partners, as well as universal tariffs on steel and aluminum. Foreign investment policy was also flagged for review, which led to the release of the America First Investment Policy Memorandum in February. Additionally, the January Memorandum called for assessments of trade compliance and enforcement, specifically identifying and eliminating loopholes in existing export controls, analyzing enforcement policies and practices, and reassessing Free Trade Agreements for the purpose of renegotiation. Adapting to these new policy directives, whether having been announced or pending announcement, are expected to have significant impact on businesses now and in the future. Join us to hear practical guidance for how global businesses can address the changes affecting their trade operations now and prepare for what may come. This webinar will assess the shifts in trade and tariff policies, the future of export controls, China retaliatory controls, economic sanctions, regulatory enforcement and free trade policy. We will also touch on trade-tangential issues such as outbound and inbound investment reviews. Bring your questions! Our speakers will be:
Date: Friday, May 2, 2025
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GPSR: What US Exporters Need to Know About the New EU General Product Safety Regulation The EU's new General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR) was implemented in December 2024, introducing significant new compliance requirements for products supplied to EU consumers. The GPSR modernizes the EU's product safety framework and introduces new responsibilities for businesses throughout supply chains, both D2C and B2B, making it essential for US exporters to understand their obligations. The law has a wide scope, applying to products used by consumers even if not intended for them, and covering connected devices, software and AI as well as physical goods. The new obligations will change how you:
The GPSR also shifts the regulatory enforcement landscape in the EU, with potentially severe consequences for US businesses whose products are non-compliant. This webinar will provide an overview of the GPSR, the new obligations for US exporters, and the practical steps to meet the EU's requirements. Our speakers will be:
Date: Thursday, May 22, 2025
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Triangulating the Trump Trade Agenda: Tips and Tools for Addressing Policy Changes With a daily flurry of international trade-related executive orders, policy memoranda, and social media posts, businesses are struggling to make sense of U.S. international trade rules and policy priorities. This whirlwind of information has caused uncertainty for businesses attempting to understand how and when they will be affected by trade policy changes, making it difficult to identify priorities and prepare. Join us to gain practical advice on assessing and addressing future actions in real time. This program will review the latest trade-related actions from the Trump Administration, including executive orders, policy and off-the-cuff statements that trade compliance professionals should be aware of when working to address policy changes and maintain compliance. Our speaker will be Luciano Racco, Counsel and Co-Chair, International Trade & National Security Practice with Foley Hoag LLP. Date: Friday, June 6, 2025
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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. Credit cards are accepted 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. We use this email frequently, so please add it to your approved sender list. A verification code will be sent from this email address allowing your to register for training. If you have problems signing in, do not create a new account with a different email in order to register. For help registering, send an email to the contact in the seminar description. Please review our cancellation and refund policies. |
Join
us for "Tech Talks with Rob" an enlightening webinar series designed
specifically for small business owners looking to navigate the
complex world of technology. Each session, hosted by tech expert Rob
DelMastro, will delve into critical topics that are essential for
running a modern business in the digital age.