Berkshire Economic Recovery Project Technical Assistance Program
The Berkshire Economic Recover Project (BERP) Technical Assistance Program is a cohort-based technical assistance series for small businesses and organizations located in the Berkshires of Massachusetts. Each cohort indicated below is capped at 7 (seven) businesses per class, with that cohort going through a 2-hour initial workshop together, followed by required independent work, and then concluding with up to two hours of free one-on-one technical assistance provided by the cohort TA provider. This process is meant to provide each business the key structural guidance and individualized support to help them recover, rebound, and become more resilient in our current economic landscape.
Registering for any of these cohorts is a commitment to completing it. By registering, you are claiming a limited opportunity only offered to 7 businesses in each cohort. Below, please find the information about each of our technical assistance providers and registration links for our 2025 BERP Technical Assistance Program Cohorts. If you have any questions, please contact economicdev@1berkshire.com.
Need language interpretation? 1Berkshire is excited to be able to offer a limited amount of Spanish interpretation to support participation in program offerings. Please reach out if we can support you in this way so that you can participate in any of the offered cohorts.
¿Necesitas interpretación de idioma? 1Berkshire se complace en ofrecer una cantidad limitada de interpretación al español para apoyar la participación en los programas disponibles. Por favor, comunícate con nosotros si podemos ayudarte de esta manera para que puedas participar en cualquiera de las cohortes ofrecidas.
Do you provide services that could be helpful to businesses in the Berkshires? Click the button below to let us know!
“Building a Social Media Marketing Strategy” with Francesca Olsen
Thursday January 23rd, 2025 – 9-11am
Learn the basics to reach your customer and grow your business.
In this webinar, Francesca will cover the basics of digital marketing and branding, starting with why branding is important and what it encompasses, then moving on to best practices for things like branding, audience building, effective social media, SEO optimization, and your website, plus tips for making the most of the time you spend on marketing. We’ll also do a short branding exercise that will allow you to center some of your ideas about your business’s identity and values, then brainstorm how to use digital marketing to tell that story. At the end of the session, you will know what it takes to build an online audience, evaluate what digital platforms are best for you, use analytics to determine future decision-making, and put together a marketing plan that covers multiple platforms.
“Jump Start Your Crowdfunding Campaign” with Laura Christensen
Tuesday January 28th, 2025 – 4-6pm
Get yourself ready to crowdfund in order to start, grow, or help support your business. With programs like the Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation Biz-M-Power matching grants, now is the prime time to get prepared and build your plan for crowdfunding success!
The goal of this cohort is to help participants to learn how to best leverage crowdfunding to help support their business, operations, strategic goals, and dynamic programming. For information on Laura’s past success stories, visit her website at: https://laurachristensen.wordpress.com/crowdfunding/
“Let The Robots Do It: An Introduction to AI and Automation Tools for Small Business” with Jenny Bergman
Tuesday February 18th, 2025 – 4-6pm
Expand your knowledge and comfort with existing and emerging opportunities for small businesses to leverage easy to use, affordable, high impact artificial intelligence tools to improve efficiency, improve business operations, and increase revenue growth.
The goal of this cohort is to help participants gain a basic understanding of a variety of artificial intelligence and technology toolkits and how to make good use of them to unlock potential growth and resiliency for your small business.
“Be Press Ready: Preparedness Strategies for Media Coverage” with Cathy Husid
Learn the tips, tricks and strategies to maximize press opportunities when they come your way. This primer will prepare you for press inquiries, help you tell your story, and begin to build your capacity as your own greatest cheerleader.
The goal of this cohort is to help attendees better understand how press and media agencies can be a resource, how to work effectively with them, how to tell their story in a concise and meaningful way, and how to reach the press entities that could offer the most high impact coverage for their small business.
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