Lakeville committee finalizes partners, schedule for May 24 small-business workshop

The Town of Lakeville Economic Development Committee on April 4 confirmed plans for a Small Business Administration workshop to be held May 24 at the public library, and discussed promotion, format and local partners.

A Seed representative, who is coordinating local logistics, said the SBA's Massachusetts district office provided draft flyers and a PowerPoint that will be shortened to allow local partners more time on the program. "I have coordinated with the representative from the SBA out of the Boston, the Massachusetts district office in Boston, and also with Eastern Bank and with the Chamber of Commerce," the Seed representative said. The session is scheduled to run from 5:30 p.m. to about 8 p.m., with the room booked for that span.

Committee members said they want the presentation to be less of a canned lecture and more engaging, and they requested that the SBA presenter shorten the standard two-hour presentation so local partners can speak. "I'm going to tweak this because I would like to be able to begin promoting it within a couple of weeks," the Seed representative said, adding that Eastern Bank will provide food and local businesses such as Baldi's may supply sandwiches.

The committee discussed which organizations the presenter will cover. The Seed representative said the presentation will introduce the SBDC (Small Business Development Center) network, SCORE, the Center for Women in Enterprise and SBA loan programs, and will note micro-lenders and Certified Development Companies (CDCs) such as Seed. "People think that the SBA lends money, and they don't," the Seed representative said, explaining that banks make loans and use SBA guarantees while CDCs act as conduits for certain loan programs.

Committee members agreed that local officials' attendance helps draw residents. The Seed representative said registration would likely be handled locally — either through the Chamber of Commerce (Valerie) or through Seed — and that Eastern Bank and the SBA will promote the event. The group agreed to plan a follow-up committee meeting for May 2 to finalize promotional materials and logistics.

The committee asked staff to circulate a draft flyer for review and said they want to give at least a month’s notice to potential attendees. Details that remain to be finalized include the exact program agenda, finalized flyer text, and whether state-level officials (members referenced as Keiko and Mike Rodricks) will appear and be listed on promotional materials.