Welcome to the Power Up Your Business Industry Best Practices Series.
These courses target the unique needs of specific industries to strengthen resiliency and foster growth. Industry experts will lead a deep dive into topics such as regulations, laws and customer bases, as well as differentiating essentials of broader topics.
Each series, offered to small businesses for free, are comprised of 2-hour workshops designed to help you establish improving industry-specific best practices.
These series will support businesses in the restaurant, child care and hair industries, as well as others.
Restaurant Best Practices Series
Whether you’re planning to open a restaurant or simply want your restaurant to be more profitable, this is a series you won’t want to miss. We’ll take you through all the critical aspects of planning and operating a restaurant. In this series, you’ll skip the learning curve and beat the odds on your way to a successful, profitable business. Students will be selected by a team of professionals.
This series will be offered virtually through Zoom from 10 AM - 12 PM.
Topics will cover:
- Foundation | March 28, 2023
All successful businesses start with a strong foundation. Explore the critical elements to consider before embarking on your new business or expanding your existing business. - Location and Financing | April 4, 2023
In this workshop, we’ll explore concept and location, start-up costs, and financing your new restaurant or new profit center. - Management and Operations | April 11, 2023
This workshop covers staffing, operational tools for front and back of house, vendors, and maintenance tools that are critical in managing costs and improving quality of life. - Menu Engineering and Four Walls Marketing | April 18, 2023
Learn how to use your menu and venue as your #1 marketing tool to maximize profits. - Technology and Digital Marketing | April 25, 2023
Understand the critical role of technology in engaging customers and maximizing sales. A social media marketing expert will join the discussion to answer your questions. - Metrics and Profitability | May 2, 2023
You can’t improve what you don’t measure. Learn about the key restaurant industry benchmarks and how to maximize profitability.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
E-commerce Foundation Series
E-commerce Foundations will be a series in industry best practices that highlights tools, software, aesthetics, consumer behavior and digital strategic planning for an online store experience.
- E-commerce Foundations I
Learn how to start your e-commerce business with platforms such as Shopify, Big Cartel, and Vend by evaluating capability, design, templates and the shopping cart. This session will evaluate site aesthetics and what is necessary in order to connect with your audience in a digital shopping environment. - E-commerce Foundations II
In the second session, learn what is required to manage the e-commerce experience. This session will focus on photography, descriptions, and user experience in the digital shopping environment and will coach through managing time and workload for these tasks. - E-commerce Foundations III
In the last session, learn how to plan digital strategies to improve business performance. This session will focus on the goals of the digital shopping platform and strategies to be able to achieve those goals. Consider increasing awareness of the brand, curating target segments outside of the primary customer, and/or increasing units per transaction.
Registration for this cohort has ended. New sections will be offered in the future.
Small Business Importing and Exporting
TBA 2023 | Time TBA
Small Business Importing and Exporting with Mexico coming soon.
Registration for this cohort has ended. New sections will be offered in the future.
Retail Ready Bootcamp Series
Don't miss this bootcamp for emerging businesses who are considering leasing commercial space as their next growth opportunity.
Brought to you by Power Up Your Business and Lancaster Avenue 21st Century Business Association (LA21), the bootcamp will include:
- Business structure, budgeting and planning
- Storefront improvements
- Finance—capital and credit
- Legal, insurance and HR
- Understanding taxes
- Commercial leases—leasing vs. buying
The series provides a solid foundation for businesses at various stages of their development such as:
- Existing storefronts with a reliance on walk-in business
- Digital-first operators considering a brick-and-mortar location
- Kitchen table startups ready to grow
Workshops will be held once a week for 12 weeks via 3-hour live evening classes that begin at 6 p.m. Classes start every Thursday.
Qualifications
To qualify, businesses:
- Must be operational for at least 1 year
- Demonstrate some effort in retail expansion
Applicants will be chosen by a panel. In Partnership with LA21.
Important Dates for Retail Ready Bootcamp Series
TBD: Application deadline
TBD: First class begins
Registration for this cohort has ended. New sections will be offered in the future.
Manufacturing Best Practices Series: “Level up” Manufacturing
Operating a small manufacturing business can present big challenges. Issues related to leadership, strategy, culture, growth, and operations can trigger debilitating setbacks. Until now, few resources have been available to instruct and guide makers and micro manufacturers on their journey towards growth and sustained prosperity. This new program designed for manufacturing firms with fewer than 10 employees is what every Philadelphia-based maker or micro manufacturer needs to evolve and take their business to a new form.
In this virtual course, small teams from noncompeting manufacturers meet weekly to adopt a Plan, Do Check and Act (PDCA) approach towards business management, operations, and growth. It provides a highly interactive experience with subject matter expert-led lessons and corresponding manufacturing-based case studies. Further, it features ideation exercises and tools that enable participants to design and implement a vision and growth strategy as unique as their business.
This course is being offered in partnership with The Delaware Valley Industrial Resource Center (DVIRC), and is the result of DVIRC’s lessons learned from over 100,000 hours spent helping makers and micro manufacturers thrive.
This series will cover:
- Leadership Essentials for Leveling Up
- Business Strategy, Scaling Up & Defining Your “Way Forward”
- Marketing &andSales 101: The Basics for Growth
- PDCA - Plan, Do, Check and Act Performance Management
- Visual Controls and Other Easy Ways to Measure Your Results
- Creating a Culture of Continuous Improvement
Fridays
9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Important Dates
October 1: Application deadline
October 22: First class begins
Registration for this cohort has ended. New sections will be offered in the future.
For more information, email powerup@ccp.edu.