Legal Clinic for Small 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.

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.
 

• TBA

Cosponsored by SCORE and SPARK

Business Legal Primer

This presentation will help you gain a better understanding of the core legal concepts impacting your business. Topics include:

• Choice of Entity: What does it mean to be a sole proprietor, partnership, limited liability company or corporation; which type is right for your business?
• Employee vs. Independent Contractor: Avoiding the steep risks of misclassification, the basics of determining whether you are hiring an employee or engaging an independent contractor. 
• Trademark, patent or copyright: What’s the difference, when and how you need to get one?

Presented by Sarah Willey, attorney with Bulkley, Richardson & Gelinas, LLP.

Date: Monday, September 24, 2018
Time: 9:00 - 11:00 a.m.
Location: Scibelli Enterprise Center, 1 Federal Street, Building 101, 3rd Floor, Springfield
Cost: No charge
Contact: Lynn Shedd at lshedd@msbdc.umass.edu or 413-577-1768

Brown Bag Lunch & Learn: Get Your Shop Retail-Ready for Holiday Sales

Are you ready to ramp up your sales for the holidays? Looking for some tried and true sales and merchandising tips to get customers in the door and maximize their purchases. Join MSBDC senior advisor Anita Eliason and Debra Sorcinelli, owner of Social Sorc for this brown bag lunch and learn meeting.

Debra Sorcinelli has been in business for more than 20 years. In 2001, she opened the first push-cart business in Western MA at Baystate West (now Tower Square). Deb grew her business into a small chain of jewelry kiosks. She continued to grow her jewelry business and two years ago also started a marketing/social media business to share her experience with other entrepreneurs.  

Anita Eliason is an entrepreneur who has partnered in a real estate rental business, owned a clothing boutique and directed a jacket-manufacturing label. She is a past Grinspoon Award recipient and currently serves as the co-chair of the Women Business Owners Alliance (WBOA) Education Committee. Anita was awarded the 2018 WBOA Woman of the Year Award.   

Date: Friday, October 5, 2018
Time: 11:45 - 1:15 p.m. 
Location: Scibelli Enterprise Center, 1 Federal Street, Building 101, 3rd Floor, Springfield
Cost: No charge
Contact: Lynn Shedd at lshedd@msbdc.umass.edu or 413-577-1768

QuickBooks Desktop: Introduction for Beginners

This is an introduction to the popular accounting program QuickBooks. This session will cover setting up a new company, invoicing and receiving payments, writing checks and paying bills. The session will end with a brief introduction to and overview of reports. 

This session 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 and have QuickBooks loaded, feel free to bring it 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-on-one consulting session.

Presented by Don Lesser, president of Pioneer Training, Inc. Don has been a consultant and business owner for over 30 years. He has been using QuickBooks since version 2.0 for MS-DOS. Don has taught QuickBooks for over 20 years, as well as consulted in its use for a wide range of clients. Don is not an accountant and does not provide accounting advice, but focuses on how to use QuickBooks to track your company’s income and expenses.

Date: Wednesday, October 10, 2018
Time: 8:45 a.m. - 12 noon
Location: Scibelli Enterprise Center, 1 Federal Street, Building 101, 3rd Floor, Springfield
Cost: $35
Contact: Lynn Shedd at lshedd@msbdc.umass.edu or 413-577-1768

10 Tried, True & Trending Tools to Supercharge Site Traffic

Silvana and Karen spend countless hours helping businesses figure out who their customers are and how to provoke them to action!  In this interactive workshop, they will show you their top 10 tried, true, and trending tools to drive traffic to your website and how to apply them to your business. Karen and Silvana will make sure you leave with useful resources and new ways of thinking to supercharge your online marketing!

Presented by Silvana Gravini, owner of Silvana.Net Internet Marketing Design and  Karen Utgoff, owner of Karen Lauter Utgoff Consulting. Silvana is a life-long marketing consultant with special expertise in website and print design, website coding, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), and Social Media Marketing. Karen is a market-oriented business strategist who works at the intersection of market, customer, and business development. In her consulting practice, Karen works with small businesses and startups to identify target markets and other fundamentals that drive business strategy as well as effective marketing and sales.

Date: Wednesday, October 17, 2018
Time: 5:30 - 8:30 p.m.
Location: Scibelli Enterprise Center, 1 Federal Street, Building 101, 3rd Floor, Springfield
Cost: $25
Contact: Lynn Shedd at lshedd@msbdc.umass.edu or 413-577-1768

Understanding Your Company's Cash Flow

Your business runs on cash—cash in and cash out—a very critical aspect to you and your business. Understanding Your Company's Cash Flow  will help you understand what cash flow is, why it's so important and how to monitor it. Whether you hire someone to handle your financials or do them yourself, you must understand these fundamentals.  This workshop will teach:

• the basics of cash flow
• the timing of cash inflows and outflows
• how cash flow is different from profit
• how to manage your cash flow projections
• how to improve your company’s cash flow

Presented by Robb Morton, managing partner with Boiselle, Morton & Associates, LLP CFM, CMA, CPA. Robb has more than 30 years experience in public and management accounting. As both a Certified Public Accountant and Certified Management Accountant, he offers an excellent source for not only technical accounting and tax issues but for management advisory support as well. With over seven years experience as a controller, Robb has a unique perspective when dealing with the challenges faced by his small business clients. He also has extensive experience working with family-owned businesses both as advisor and as a member of their management team. 

Date: Wednesday, November 7, 2018
Time: 8:45 - 11:00 a.m.
Location: TD Bank, 1441 Main Street, Springfield
Cost: $25
Contact: Lynn Shedd at lshedd@msbdc.umass.edu or 413-577-1768

Brown Bag Lunch & Learn: Taking Control of Debt & Common Money Mistakes

Join Josh, Robert and Terrell as they share their knowledge and expertise to help you plan and avoid costly mistakes. This workshop will focus on helping business owners manage their finances more efficiently by identifying common mistakes associated with working capital, debt management and operating cost.

Josh Sotolongo, a former mathematics and finance educator, focuses on ensuring that his clients understand the “why” regarding their personal financial strategy.

Robert Houle, brings many years of experience in the business market specializing in employee retention, business succession, qualified plan implementation and servicing. Terrell Joyner, a Connecticut native, and Western MA graduate puts his passion at the forefront of his practice. For more information about Unity Financial Group, visit www.uflife.com.

Date: Friday, November 9, 2018
Time: 11:45 a.m. - 1:15 p.m.
Location: Scibelli Enterprise Center, 1 Federal Street, Building 101, 3rd Floor, Springfield
Cost: No charge
Contact: Lynn Shedd at lshedd@msbdc.umass.edu or 413-577-1768

QuickBooks Desktop: Advanced - Getting More Out of QuickBooks

This workshop is designed for users who have been using QuickBooks in their business and who want to get more out of it. The session will cover reporting, advanced invoicing and billing, and the customization of QuickBooks for specific requirements. The session will provide a brief introduction to the payroll and inventory functions.

NOTE: Attendees will have the opportunity to ask specific questions, but the session is not intended to provide detailed troubleshooting. Those types of questions are better suited to a one-to-one consulting session.

Presented by Don Lesser, president of Pioneer Training, Inc. Don has been a consultant and business owner for over 30 years. He has been using QuickBooks since version 2.0 for MS-DOS. Don has taught QuickBooks for over 20 years, as well as consulted in its use for a wide range of clients. Don is not an accountant and does not provide accounting advice, but focuses on how to use QuickBooks to track your company’s income and expenses.

Date: Wednesday, November 14, 2018
Time: 8:45 a.m. - Noon
Location: Scibelli Enterprise Center, 1 Federal Street, Building 101, 3rd Floor, Springfield
Cost: $35
Contact: Lynn Shedd at lshedd@msbdc.umass.edu or 413-577-1768