Business Assistance
The Pioneer Valley is rich in resources to help you plan, develop, and market your business locally and globally. The Mayor's Office of Economic Development can help you target the resources most appropriate to your business.
Western Massachusetts Small Business Development Center
The Western Massachusetts Regional SBDC, a counseling center of the Massachusetts Small Business Development Center Network, provides free and confidential one-to-one counseling to prospective and existing small businesses in Western Massachusetts. Areas of assistance include business plan development, preventure feasibility, conventional and non-conventional financing, cash flow analysis, organizational and personnel issues and marketing. The SBDC also offers low-cost seminars, workshops, courses and conferences addressing a wide range of concerns for both start-up and existing businesses.
Scibelli Enterprise Center
One Federal Street, Building 101R
Springfield, MA 01105-1160
(413) 737-6712
Fax (413) 737-2312
www.msbdc.org/wmass/
The SBDC has an outreach site at the Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce at 99 Pleasant Street in Northampton. Appointments in the Chamber offices are available on Wednesdays each week. Call the Chamber to make an appointment 413-584-1900.
To learn more about the Massachusetts Small Business Development Center statewide contact: www.msbdc.org/
Valley Community Development Corporation
The City of Northampton contracts with the Valley CDC Small Business Development Program to provide small business counseling to low and moderate income individuals including business plan development, cash flow analysis, and marketing as well as access to community loan funds.
Valley Community Development Corporation
30 Market Street
Northampton, MA 01060
413-586-5855 X14
Gene Talsky, Director
Small Business Development
Family Business Center
The UMass Family Business Center assists family-owned companies to recognize common problems and find solutions to their unique challenges. Services include: Dinner speaker forums, roundtable discussion groups, business networking, educational newsletter.
UMass Family Business Center
Division of Continuing Education
358 North Pleasant Street
Amherst, MA 01003-1650
413-545-1537
413-545-3351 (fax)
Non-Profit Finance Fund
The New England Office of NFF provides advisory and financial services to nonprofits of all types in Massachusetts. Services include: nonprofit business analysis, planning for managing assets, workshops and planning guides on facility and financial planning. NFF also offers facilities loans.
Nonprofit Finance Fund
89 South Street
Suite 101
Boston, MA 02111
617-204-9772
617-204-9773 (fax)
e-mail: NE@nffusa.org
Massachusetts Export Center
The Massachusetts Export Center offers a range of targeted, customized services to Massachusetts businesses at any stage in the export process. Services include: Export Counseling and Technical Assistance, International Market Research and Assessment, International Business Development Assistance, Export Training Programs, Export Publications. A new Export Growth Initiative, is a program designed for new and existing exporters seeking to expand their international market base. The Initiative focuses on four export-oriented industry clusters: Life Sciences, Software, Renewable Energy, and Specialty Foods and Seafood. The Export Growth Initiative is designed to help companies at any stage of the export process and is offered at NO CHARGE to qualifying participants.
Ann Pieroway, Western Massachusetts Program Director
Massachusetts Export Center
Donahue Building, Room 163
303 Homestead Avenue
Holyoke, MA 01040
413-552-2316
413-552-2479 (fax)
pieroway@som.umass.edu
New England Trade Adjustment Assistance Center
NETAAC provides grants (from the U.S. Department of Commerce) to companies experiencing import competition. NETAAC helps companies become certified as eligible (100% success rate). NETAAC prepares an in-depth diagnostic analysis and an adjustment plan. Approved companies are then eligible to receive a mini-grant ($30,000) or a full grant ($100,000) to hire private consultants to provide customized assistance with a wide range of business adjustment needs. Manufacturers (including software companies that create a product) are potentially eligible.
Service Corp of Retired Executives (SCORE)
The Western Mass chapter of this national organization offers free business counseling for businesses in Western Massachusetts from retired business executives and former business owners who volunteer their time to counsel prospective entrepreneurs and small businesses.
SCORE Western Mass
One Federal Square
Springfield, Ma 01103
(413) 785-0314
Springfield Area Council for Excellence (SPACE)
SPACE offers Pioneer Valley organizations a variety of continuous improvement learning events, workshops, and on-site training on actual business projects.
SPACE
1441 Main Street
Springfield, MA 01103
413-755-1300
Law & Business Center for Advancing Entrepreneurship
The Western New England College Law and Business Center offers business plan development, legal guidance and advice, and strategic marketing plan development.
Farm Viability Enhancement Program
The Farm Viability Enhancement Program is designed to assist farmers in improving the economic bottom line and environmental integrity of their operations through the development and implementation of business plans tailored to their situations.
The program has three phases: In Phase I, a farmer will work with a planning team to develop a plan to increase on- farm income and preserve the farm’s environmental resources. In Phase II, awards of $20,000 up to $60,000 may be available to a farmer to implement his or her plan in exchange for completing selected elements of the plan and agreeing to restrict the use of the farm to agricultural uses only by signing a five or ten year Agricultural Covenant. Phase III is a reporting phase after completion of the changes recommended in the plan.
Contact Information:
Craig Richov, Coordinator
Farm Viability Enhancement Program
Massachusetts Dept. of Agricultural Resources
251 Causeway Street, Suite 500
Boston, MA 02114
617-626-1725
Craig.Richov@state.ma.us
Center for Women & Enterprise
A nonprofit organization dedicated to helping women start and grow their own businesses with offices in Boston and Worcester, MA. Offers business development trainings, one-on-one consulting, and loan packaging.
Central Massachusetts
Center for Women & Enterprise
50 Elm Street, Second Floor
Worcester, MA 01609
508-363-2323
info@cweworcester.org
Cooperative Development Institute
The Cooperative Development Institute (CDI) is the Northeast’s nonprofit center for cooperative business education, training and technical assistance. CDI's mission is to increase economic opportunities and benefits for people in the Northeast by fostering the growth and success of all types of cooperative enterprises.
CDI is committed to building sustainable rural and urban communities where people work together to meet their needs, have access to quality jobs, affordable products and services, and share ownership of essential resources. The organization provides education, training and technical assistance to existing and start-up cooperatively-structured enterprises in all business sectors: food, housing, energy, agriculture, arts, health, forestry, fisheries, retail, service and more.
International Franchise Association
The International Franchise Association, founded in 1960, is a membership organization of franchisors, franchisees and suppliers. IFA is dedicated to providing a one-stop shopping experience for franchise information.
National Collegiate Inventors & Innovators Allicance
The National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA) fosters invention, innovation, and entrepreneurship in higher education as a way of creating innovative, commercially viable, and socially beneficial businesses and employment opportunities in the United States. The NCIIA works with colleges and collegiate innovators and entrepreneurs offering business planning, grants, and educational programming.
UMass Entrepreneurship Initiative
UMEI offers entrepreneurial training and assistance to under-graduate and graduate innovators and entrepreneurs including competitions and grants.