2014 GNEMSDC Supplier Diversity Golf Classics -
Registration Now Available!
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The GNEMSDC Massachusetts Supplier Diversity Golf Outing will be Monday, June 2, 2014 at Ferncorft Country Club, Middleton MA. This year we will have a putting contest at 1:00pm and the tournament will begin at 1:30pm.
The GNEMSDC Connecticut Supplier Diversity Golf Outing will be on Friday, July 11, 2014 Lyman Orchards Golf Club Middlefield, CT. The tournament begins at 7:30am.
If you are interested in a fun afternoon/morning of golf, networking, food, drinks and relationship building please register at: WWW.BOOTHLEADS.COM/GNEMSDC/GOLF2014 Please see the brochure for additional information and new Golf Sponsorship Opportunities. Enter our Putting Contest and you could win a cash prize! Not a golfer? We have several non-golfer activities or you can learn the game and be taught by a pro in the Golf Clinic. Call the GNEMSDC offices with any questions: 203-288-9744 or 617-578-8900 |
Boston MBDA Business Center Global Opportunity Forum
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 LET'S MAKE EXPORT OPPORTUNITIES HAPPEN FOR YOU!
Featuring: David Leister, Project Manager
MBDA Global Business Center (San Antonio, TX) Additional speakers announced shortly!
June 11, 2014 * 8:30am -10:30am
The Palladium (2 Copley Place, 4th Floor * Boston, MA 02116)
The National MBDA has a number of Business Centers that provide specialized support to Business Center clients. The San Antonio Business Center focuses on exporting & is already helping a number of Boston Business Center clients with contract opportunities outside of the U.S. Boston Business Center Clients can benefit from the San Antonio Center's established partnerships in numerous countries that reduce risk and increase opportunities.
Space is limited! Please RSVP to jwang@bostonmbdacenter.com by June 4
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The Affordable Care Act - What it Means to Your Business
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 The MBEIC Education Subcommittee is presenting a panel discussion to help clarify the Affordable Care Act (ACA), its requirements, and its impact on your business. Learn about the ACA from the perspectives of professionals on the front lines-the benefits broker, the health insurance provider, and the health insurance exchange.
You'll hear from:
Access Health CT, which built and operates Connecticut's wildly successful health insurance exchange
Fallon Health, the only health plan in Massachusetts that is both health insurer and provider.
KJB Associates, a health insurance broker that provides coverage to businesses.
Bruce Crohn, LLC, an employee benefits firm that provides insurance brokerage and support services for small to mid-sized employers.
There are many misconceptions about the healthcare law. This panel will help you cut through the fog, benefit from the ACA's provisions and avoid penalties.
This event is brought to you by the MBEIC and includes time for networking before and after the discussion.
Date: June 11, 2014 1:00pm - 4:00pm
Place: The MATLET Group 60 Delta Drive Pawtucket, RI 02860
Register here by June 10th: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/affordable-care-act-panel-discussion-tickets-11622594493
Please contact Arun Sinha at (203) 975-2950 or email asinha@accessc.com if you have any questions.
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Bridgeport MBDA Business Center Global Procurement Workshop
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This hands on workshop is Part II of our ongoing series on how exporting helps your business grow faster.
Featuring: David Leister (International Trade Specialist) MBDA Global Business Center Project Manager (San Antonio, TX)
Special Guest Speaker John Xu (District International Trade Officer) SBA Connecticut District Office
June 12, 2014 at 9:00 am- 11:30 am
GNEMSDC Business School, 333 State Street, Bridgeport CT 06604
One on One consulting is available as time permits. Space is limited! Click here to RSVP or call Jade Melvin for questions at (203)212-5835 by June 10, 2014.
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1st Annual S3 Diverse Vendor Summit
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 1st Annual S3 Diverse Vendor Summit: Synergy. Strength. Support.
June 17th, 2014-6pm-8pm - Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, 93 Worcester St., Wellesley, MA
An Exclusive Evening Event for New England Diverse Businesses!
Join us for this unprecedented opportunity to connect with other diverse business owners in New England and learn about the special business opportunities available to you. If are a minority-owned, women-owned, LGBT-owned, disabled-owned, or other diverse-owned business, you should not miss this event!
This event is being sponsored by Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and a newly-formed diversity coalition comprised of the Center for Women & Enterprise, the Greater New England Minority Supplier Development Council, Work Without Limits, and the Greater Boston Business Council. The four founding member organizations of this coalition are dedicated to working together to promote collaboration among all diverse businesses in New England so as to promote growth, partnership, and opportunity.
Please see the event flyer for additional information. Register by June 13th. Space is limited.
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Upcoming Events
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There are several events coming up on our calendar that are designed specifically for MBEs to learn about corporate opportunities. We know how busy everyone's schedule is, but these are events often hosted by our corporate members with the expressed purpose of finding out more about you and your business with the ultimate aim, to make you a valuable supplier to their companies. Here are some events you should consider:
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Corporate Member of the Week: Connecticut Hospital Association
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 The Connecticut Hospital Association (CHA) has been dedicated to serving Connecticut's hospitals since 1919. CHA advances the health of individuals and communities by leading, representing, and serving hospitals and their related healthcare organizations that are accountable to the community and committed to health improvement.
CHA is seeking to create opportunities for expanding supplier diversity in hospitals to be reflective of the diversity of the State of Connecticut by identifying product and service opportunities for Connecticut minority businesses to offer to hospitals.
The CHA Supplier Diversity Program is part of the CHA Diversity Collaborative: From Intent to Impact, a multi-year, statewide endeavor to improve health equity and eliminate disparities by increasing diversity in hospital governance and senior management, improving cultural competence in the delivery of care, and increasing supplier diversity. This first-in-the-nation collaborative of acute care hospitals has been recognized as a national model for advancing health equity and eliminating disparities.
For more information about the CHA Supplier Diversity Program, please contact Diane Mase, Assistant Vice President, at (203) 294-7330 or mase@chime.org.
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| GNEMSDC Trade Expo and Conference is Coming! |
 The GNEMSDC Business Opportunity Expo and Conference is coming. This year the event will take place on Tuesday, September 30 and Wednesday, October 1 at the Mohegan Sun Casino and resort. Please mark your calendar. It is time for MBEs and corporate members to start preparing for the event. One of the biggest attractions is the very successful One-on-One sessions. These allow corporate members to schedule 15 minute appointments with specific MBEs for specific commodity/service opportunities. This year we will once again employ some great technology that will allow us to efficiently make these matches between corporate members and MBEs. We encourage all of our corporate members to participate in the Expo and the One-on-One program. This year we have some very important editions to the program. Stay tuned. (Photo is of CT Governor Dannel Malloy with Dr. Fred at last year's Expo.) |
| Accelerate with Google |
 Accelerate with Google Academy
What: Accelerate with Google Academy is a 12-week intensive program that teaches underrepresented minority business how to be found online and generate business through their websites. It focuses on Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Google AdWords.
Key Benefits: Use the web to attract new customers, make your business website easier to find, and learn how measure the results.
Deadline: Upcoming application deadline is June 9th, with more rounds of application available in July and August.
Success Stories: http://accelerate.withgoogle.com/success-stories
Video: Last year's Accelerate with Google Partner Summit, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gj3x5Axo4Lg#t=25
Please find more information on the PDF attached. Apply today at: http://accelerate.withgoogle.com/. For any questions, email acceleratewithgoogle@google.com and kakui@google.com
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Invitations for Bid and Opportunities
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| Hartford Office Open House Photos |
 Thank you for coming out last Wednesday for the GNEMSDC Open House at our new offices in downtown Hartford, CT. It was a very well attended event with corporate members, MBEs, elected officials and new neighbors. I particularly want to thank CT Treasurer, Denise Nappier, Hartford Mayor Pedro Segarra, President of the Hartford City Council Shawn Wooten, and State Representative McCrory for coming by and spending time with us along with several other Hartford City councilmen and women. Our plan is to open the office for business later this summer. Stay tuned.Photos of the Open House |
| And Finally |
I recently advised an MBE to consider changing the way that they market to some of our corporate members. It was not an original thought, so I take no credit for the suggestion. My suggestion came from my experience as a consumer/customer, which is what our corporate members are to certified MBEs. If you purchase almost anything these days, companies will sometimes, point out not only the advantages of their product/service, they will point out the characteristics of the competitors products. This competitive grid of product/service characteristics, while is told from the perspective of the selling company, often provides very helpful information for customers that can lead to a decision.
If I were in the shoes of many of our MBEs, I would do the market research to determine who exactly are my competitors. I would want to know every thing about them from pricing,, product characteristics, and other factors that are important for customers. Once I had this information on my competitors, I would market my advantages to our corporate members, assuming of course that the MBE has competitive advantages, which I firmly believe they do in many cases.
If for some reason the MBE finds out in this competitive research that they are not the low price provider, or that the competitors have some compelling reasons that explain their market success, then the MBE has to rethink its strategy and consider changing something that will make a competitive grid analysis advantageous to them.
Occasionally, business just falls into your lap, and you can thank the heavens for this luck. However, this is not a strategy. I encourage MBEs to do this competitive analysis and it will inform you on where and how you should be spending your time and resources. Corporate members are fundamentally really no different from you and I when it comes to procurement decisions. We are all looking for value.
In your service
Dr. Fred
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