Small Business Development

Valley CDC’s small business program has traditionally provided a range of free services to meet the needs of low and moderate income individuals. These services, available to both start-up and existing businesses, include business plan development, cash flow analysis, and marketing, as well as access to community loan funds.

The Small Business Development program is steered by Valley CDC's volunteer Economic Development Committee and is driven by a very specific Vision.


Valley CDC is a certified NCRC/SBA Community Express service provider.

NEWS!

Easthampton Awards Valley CDC Microenterprise Technical Assistance Grant, 4/16/08

Valley Community Development Corporation (Valley CDC) today announced that it has been awarded a $140,000 grant from the City of Easthampton for the provision of comprehensive business development technical assistance (TA) to income qualified Easthampton residents and businesses.  Valley CDC is providing TA for a 15-month period which began April 1, 2008.  The TA services that Valley CDC will provide include 1) One-on-one counseling; 2) Business development, marketing and technical computer workshops and seminars; 3) Credit counseling; 4) Referral to financial institutions; 5) Assistance with applications for financing; 6) Referral to professional and other resources for support and services not provided by Valley CDC. 7) Continued outreach to artists and to former mills on Pleasant Street and Cottage Street.

Joanne Campbell, Valley CDC Executive Director, stated, “We are thrilled to be working again with the City of Easthampton to help their residents start new businesses and to help existing small businesses succeed and grow.  This is the fourth business development technical assistance grant we have received from Easthampton.  It reflects the success of our past efforts to help Easthampton residents and business owners achieve the success that enables them to sustain and improve the quality of life they enjoy from being in Easthampton. We are pleased to be able to continue to promote the economic well-being of the City of Easthampton.”

 

The grant enables Valley CDC to retain its offices in the Eastworks Building, 116 Pleasant Street, Suite 325 in Easthampton. 
Information and appointments can be made by contacting Gene R. Talsky, Director Small Business Development, 413 529-0420, grt@valleycdc.com.  Office hours are Monday through Thursday from 8:00am to 2:00pm.  Workshop and seminar topics and schedules will be available on Valley CDC’s Website at www.valleycdc.com and are expected to be held in the fall of 2008 and the spring of 2009.

 

Valley CDC is a community-based non-profit organization that provides affordable rental housing, first time homebuyer programs, down payment assistance programs, credit education and training programs, foreclosure prevention and foreclosure counseling, and business development services to the communities of Northampton, Easthampton, Hadley and Amherst. 

 Valley CDC Gets Boost from HP, 7/17/07   

Valley CDC Awarded Technology Grant to Improve Economic Development

 
Valley Community Development Corporation (Valley CDC) is the recipient of the HP Microenterprise Development Grant worth more than $57,000 in technology equipment and cash.  The HP technology combined with support services, business training courses and technical assistance will provide new and established small businesses in the community with much needed resources and training.

 A microenterprise is a business with five or fewer employees, $35,000 or less in start-up capital that does not have access to the traditional banking sector.  Insert information about the agency, for example: For 19 years, Valley CDC has provided local entrepreneurs with business training and support to improve the economic development in the Pioneer Valley. Now Valley CDC has the assistance, training and access to capital to use technology to build and grow community businesses.

 With the success of Valley CDC’s free workshops for local micro-entrepreneurs in June 2007 sponsored by a grant from the Commonwealth of MA Office of Business and Technology, 167 individuals from 158 area businesses spanning 31 towns completed nearly 800 hours of training at 10 seminars over the course of 4 weeks.  Six of these classes were computer based, for which Valley CDC rented over 270 hours of computer time at local PC labs. 

Valley CDC has helped hundreds of low and moderate income entrepreneurs start and grow their own micro-businesses in Northampton, Easthampton, Amherst and Hadley for over 19 years.  Valley CDC has also helped many small businesses with five or fewer employees to succeed and, in some cases, survive.  During the past five years, Valley CDC has helped many clients obtain a cumulative $525,000 in financing for their micro-businesses. 

As a result, Valley CDC has helped create new jobs, and helped small businesses retain existing jobs and add new jobs in the communities they serve. 

Valley CDC was one of forty recipients of HP’s Microenterprise Development Program grants, which provide microenterprise agencies with technology equipment, services and cash to spur entrepreneurship and economic growth in low-income communities.  HP’s philanthropic community investments combine the power of information technology with creative and effective partnerships to create economic and social value for underserved communities around the world. HP engages in public/private partnerships to invest in underserved communities and help bridge the digital divide.

 “The possibilities for entrepreneurs to improve their businesses are multiplied when an organization such as Valley CDC can provide technical assistance with accounting software, training on web-based market research and the tools to launch a web site and e-commerce platform,” said Yvonne Hunt, Vice President, HP Global Philanthropy. 

Joanne Campbell, Valley CDC Executive Director, noted, “This grant provides us with the additional technological infrastructure to enable us to better serve low and moderate income entrepreneurs in our one-on-one counseling, and enhances the delivery of the course material we provide in the many free business and technology courses we offer.”
 
More information about HP’s Microenterprise Development Program is available online at http://grants.hp.com/us/programs/micro_index.html.

 

Free Workshops for Valley Entrepreneurs, 5/11/07 

Valley Community Development Corporation (Valley CDC) is offering free technology and business development workshops to small business owners in the Pioneer Valley during the month of June.  

Classes include: Exploring Your Business Dream: Is Starting a Business Right for You?, Guerilla Marketing, Websites 101: Getting Your Business Online, Introduction to Quickbooks Accounting Software, Introduction to Excel, and Creating Marketing Materials in Publisher or Word.  Evening classes start June 4.  See schedule for details.

This free workshop series is made possible by Valley CDC through a grant from the MA Commonwealth's Department of Business & Technology.  Valley CDC is a community-based non-profit organization that has been helping entrepreneurs start new enterprises and expand existing small businesses for more than 18 years.

 

Business Development Resource List Now Online! 1/24/07

Valley CDC's Business Development Resource List is a source for local people and organizations that are helpful when starting or growing your business.  Check back often as this list is constantly growing.

If you are a Valley business that provides business services, contact us at (413) 529-0420 to introduce yourself and be added to the list!

Note: Valley CDC provides this directory in the same way the Yellow Pages offers directory services, except we do not charge an advertising fee.  We do not promote or recommend these providers over others you may find in the marketplace.  This directory is a courtesy to those businesses interested in patronizing other local businesses and organizations.

Resource categories include:


Comprehensive Western MA Business Development Training Calendar Now Online  1/15/07

Learn about business development training opportunities in Western MA by viewing a comprehensive listing of workshops on our new calendar of events.  

Check back frequently as new organizations and classes are added!

Valley CDC Expands Small Business Support
With State Economic Stimulus Grant  12/1/06

Northampton, MA November 29, 2006: Valley Community Development Corporation (Valley CDC), a community-based non-profit organization providing housing and small business development support, has received a grant from the Massachusetts Office of Business and Technology.  The grant will enable Valley CDC to expand the free technical assistance counseling and support it currently provides to entrepreneurs and small businesses.  Valley CDC was one of only 16 non-profit agencies statewide to qualify for an Economic Stimulus grant in this first round of funding.

Valley CDC has been helping entrepreneurs start new enterprises and expand existing small businesses for more than 18 years.  Federal Community Development Block Grant (CBDG) funds received from Northampton and Easthampton has limited Valley CDC to working with low and moderate income individuals and small businesses with no more than 5 employees in those two communities.  Since 2003, Valley CDC has counseled more than 250 individuals and businesses, and helped them acquire more than $470,000 in funding from conventional banks and community loan funds. Valley CDC’s clients include companies in many diverse businesses, including restaurants, manufacturers, beauty salons, spas, artists and artisans, clothing designers, and retailers. The new Economic Stimulus grant will enable Valley CDC to expand its small business support programs to include Amherst and Hadley, two additional communities currently served by Valley CDC’s housing programs. This free business assistance service will now be available to anyone, regardless of their income, and can now serve existing businesses with up to 20 employees.

According to Joanne Campbell, Executive Director of Valley CDC, “We are very excited to be able to expand our small business technical services to reach an under-served segment of small businesses and to expand into the two other cities we support. The initial grant of $75,000 will fund Valley CDC’s expanded service offerings until June 30, 2007. We are hopeful that the legislature will recognize the economic benefits that all Massachusetts communities gain from their investment in local entrepreneurs and small businesses, and continue to fund the program beyond that date.”

Valley CDC's main business development office is located at 116 Pleasant Street, Eastworks Suite 325, Easthampton, 413 529-0420.  Clients may also meet with a counselor at the Valley CDC headquarters at 30 Market Street in Northampton.  VCDC is currently looking for an Amherst or Hadley site to see clients.  Call for more information.
 
Gene R. Talsky is the Director, Small Business Development, grt@valleycdc.com.
Stacy L. Kontrabecki, MBA is the Coordinator, Small Business Development, sk@valleycdc.com.




Last Updated: 4/16/08