Growing Neighborhood Businesses Block By Block

Contact: Linda Wallace, 215-751-8082, liswallace@ccp.edu

Philadelphia Initiative Provides Small Businesses with the Resources to Create Big Impact

PHILADELPHIA, PA., Feb. 22, 2017 - What’s the next big thing in Philadelphia? Neighborhood businesses. Community College of Philadelphia is offering a bold, new initiative— designed to strengthen commercial corridors in local neighborhoods and provide free services for small businesses that employ local residents.

Power Up Your Business, which launched this year and is currently enrolling small business owners and entrepreneurs, offers free training and tools, strategies and best practices for developing a business. From childcare centers and corner store grocers to micro businesses— Community College of Philadelphia’s program is a neighborhood-centered approach to economic prosperity.

“Power Up Your Business has answered so many of my questions about opening and managing a small business,” said aspiring South Philadelphia small business owner, Carey Madden, who participated in the College’s first workshop in January. “Now, thanks to the connections and resources offered through the program, I know where to go and who to ask when more questions crop up. I feel so much more confident in my ability to run a successful business.”

"We are excited at the initial response to this innovative program designed to serve Philadelphia's small businesses in the neighborhood,” said Carol de Fries, the College’s vice president of Workforce and Economic Innovation. “Since the workshops began on Jan. 11th, over 100 attendees representing more than 60 neighborhood businesses have participated, and they have come from at least 17 zip codes across the city. A wide range of companies are participating, including day care centers, cafes, beauty salons, retail stores, cleaning companies and more. Five of the businesses that enrolled in the initial workshops later returned for the more intense, 10-week program."

The initiative offers several levels of training, at the College’s three regional centers and Main Campus. The Store Owner Series covers small business basics, such as financial management, personal and business credit, bookkeeping and neighborhood-based marketing.

It is currently open for enrollment at the College’s Main Campus on Tuesdays from 8-11AM; upcoming dates include:

  • Feb 21: Personal and Businesses Credit for Growth
  • March 14: Basics of Bookkeeping
  • Mar 28: Resource Event: Resources for Small Businesses Interested attendees can RSVP on the College’s website at www.ccp.edu/powerup, registration closes a week prior to each program.

Business owners seeking a more intensive program should consider the Peer-Based Learning training, which offers a 10-week, 30 hour per week, peer-based learning session for up to 25 businesses at a time. The College will match each participant with a professional coach who will, among other things, connect them to small business resources.

The peer-based learning series are scheduled at all the College’s locations, including Main Campus and the Northwest, Northeast and West Regional Centers. To qualify, participants must have at least one full time employee and earn less than $1 million in revenue per year.

Peer learning classes at the Main Campus are May 17th, 24th and 31st; June 7th, 14th, 21s and 28th; and July 12th, 19th and 26th. Applications for the Main Campus Cohort are currently under review; those interested can register on the College’s website at www.ccp.edu/powerup.

A newly released report by the non-profit Initiative for a Competitive Inner City titled The Big Impact of Small Business on Urban Job Creation found that small businesses are the biggest job creators in most cities, especially in underserved neighborhoods. The study examined five big cities across the nation - Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles and Washington, DC; discovering that if small inner-city businesses hired an additional one to three employees each, unemployment could be eliminated in most neighborhoods.

“There are workshops and grants for businesses with large revenue streams, but small businesses like mine are excluded because we don’t meet the benchmark,” says Power Up advisory board member, and owner of Marz Auto Center, Monica Parrilla. “Small businesses have the power to keep the local economy moving, provide jobs in our area and to increase our revenue.”

For additional information or questions about Power Up’s workshops or programs, please contact the business office at 215-496-6151 or via email at powerup@ccp.edu.

 

###

Community College of Philadelphia is the largest public institution of higher education in Philadelphia and the sixth largest in Pennsylvania. The College enrolls approximately 34,000 students annually and offers day, evening, and weekend classes, as well as classes online. Visit the College at www.ccp.edu. Follow us on Twitter. Like us on Facebook.