Training Seminars & Events
The Western Regional Office offers a full calendar of business training. Seminars are offered at no charge or for a nominal fee and held at locations throughout Western Massachusetts. This calendar is subject to change. Pre-registration is required for all events. If you do not register, we cannot notify you in the case of changes and/or cancellations. Please review our payment and cancellation policies.
For information on other MSBDC seminars offered throughout the state, visit the MSBDC's statewide training calendar at www.msbdc.org/training.
We would like to thank the following agencies for cosponsoring
our training events.
Premier Sponsors:
Sponsors:
Berkshire Bank |
Easthampton
Savings Bank |
Florence Savings Bank
|
Greenfield Cooperative Bank |
Greenfield Savings Bank
| Karoun Yoga
|
People's United
Bank
|
2018 Training Calendar |
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| MAY | |
| 1 | Legal Clinic for Small Business (Springfield) |
| 14 | Basics of Starting a Business (Springfield) |
| 16 | QuickBooks Desktop Version: Introduction for Beginners (Springfield) |
| 18 | Brown Bag Lunch & Learn — Small Business Commercial Insurance (Springfield) |
| 23 | Understanding Your Company's Financial Statements (Springfield) |
| JUNE | |
| 4 | Basics of Starting a Business (Springfield) |
| 7 | Basics of Starting a Business (Greenfield) |
Program Descriptions
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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 or Anita Eliason, senior business advisors 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.
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Legal Clinic for Small Business
Participants will receive a general waiver statement prior to the meeting and are eligible to attend a 30-minute legal clinic only once. If you have already taken advantage of this opportunity, please do not register again. Appointments are in 30-minute timeslots with the first appointment starting at 12:30 p.m. Appointments are required and subject to availability. As a courtesy to the attorneys, if you cannot attend your appointment, please contact our office at least 24 hours in advance. To register for a session, please click on a date below and
complete the registration form. If you have
questions or problems registering online, please contact Lynn Shedd at
lshedd@msbdc.umass.edu
or 413-577-1768.
Cosponsored by SCORE and SPARK |
|
QuickBooks Desktop Version: Introduction for Beginners
This program is suitable for those who have recently started using QuickBooks and those planning to use it. The basic principles of QuickBooks remain the same for the Windows, Macintosh, and online versions of the program, although specific details of how to accomplish a task may differ slightly. It is not required, but if you have a laptop or tablet with QuickBooks loaded, please feel free to bring and follow along. NOTE: This workshop is designed for training on the Basics of QuickBooks and is not intended to troubleshoot problems individuals may currently be experiencing. Those types of questions are better suited to a one-one consulting session. Date: Wednesday, May 16, 2018
Cosponsored by Pioneer Training, Inc. |
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Brown Bag Lunch & Learn — Small Business Commercial Insurance There is a lot to consider after you have decided that business ownership is for you! Business Insurance is one of the to-do-list items. While each business is quite different, there are many similarities in what coverage they should have. We will discuss what types of coverage you should consider and have the “what it is” and “why you need it” discussion. We will touch on property coverage, liability coverage, workers' compensation, commercial auto and depending on what type of businesses are present, cyber liability and professional insurance. The workshop facilitator will be Regina Jasak CIC, CISR, and president of Regina Jasak Insurance. The purpose of our monthly brown bag lunches (participants bring their own lunch) is to connect small business owners with their peers and to network with professionals and leaders in our community. We plan to offer a different topic/theme on one Friday each month. There is no fee for the Lunch & Learn Series... just register and bring your lunch! Date: Friday, May 18, 2018
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Understanding Your Company's Financial Statements If you are in business, financial statements are an essential tool. Knowing how to read your financial statements will help you to understand what happened last year in your business and what is likely to happen this year. This workshop will include: Balance Sheet, Income Statement & Profit/Loss. The speaker will be Robb Morton, managing partner of Boisselle, Morton & Wolkowicz, LLP. As both a Certified Public Accountant and Chartered Global Management Accountant, Robb offers an excellent source for not only technical accounting and tax issues, but for management advisory support as well. Robb has over 30 years of experience in public and management accounting. He offers an excellent source for not only technical accounting and tax issues, but for management advisory support as well. He has extensive experience working with family-owned businesses both as advisor and as a member of their management team. He works with many area banks and finance companies to assist his clients with their working capital and equipment financing needs. Robb also has extensive experience in business planning including projections and forecasts. Date: Wednesday, May 23, 2018
Cosponsored by Boiselle, Morton & Wolkowicz, LLP |
| Payment/Cancellation/Refunds/Materials Policy: The MSBDC reserves the right to cancel or reschedule a training session. Registration fees will be returned or credited towards future programs. Payment in the form of a personal or company check is due in full prior to the workshop and must accompany the registration form. We do not accept credit cards or purchase orders. We cannot guarantee your place in a workshop without full payment in advance. Cancellations received by noon the day prior to the workshop will be entitled to a refund. No refund will be given on notifications received after that time or in any no-show situation. Seminar materials are for attendees only. |
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.
The Massachusetts Small Business Development Center's Western
Regional Office is pleased to announce that we are once again
offering free legal clinics for small business owners. Entrepreneurs
and small business owners can meet one-on-one for 30 minutes with an
attorney to discuss general legal questions such as corporate
structure, leases, contracts, insurance, employment, franchising,
and various other business related issues. 
