Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream Hosts Speed Coaching for Seattle's Small Business Community

SEATTLE, July 28, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Samuel Adams announced it will host its signature small business Speed Coaching event in Seattle for the first time on Monday, July 28^th. Designed to provide expert, personalized business advice, the event is part of Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream, a micro-lending and coaching program for small business owners working in food, beverage, craft brewing and hospitality. In Seattle, Samuel Adams is partnering with Mercy Corps Northwest, a nonprofit organization that helps entrepreneurs with microfinance, business training and direct assistance.

Speed Coaching, will be held from 5:30 – 8:00 p.m. PDT at Impact Hub Seattle (220 2^nd Ave South).  Small business owners in the food, beverage and craft brewing industries will have the opportunity to participate in up to six 20-minute, high-impact coaching sessions with Samuel Adams and Mercy Corps professionals, as well as local area business experts, in areas such as sales and distribution, packaging, finance, and marketing. Small business owners can register online for the free event at http://btadseattle.eventbrite.com.

Participants are encouraged to bring samples of product, packaging, and other items on which they seek feedback, and should come prepared with questions regarding specific challenges their businesses are facing. For example, a small business owner may want to ask a finance professional for advice on how to competitively price his/her product.

"Seattle is full of food and beverage craftspeople who are fueling the small business community," said Jim Koch, founder and brewer of Samuel Adams. "We look forward to bringing our Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream Speed Coaching to Seattle for the first time to help support these passionate small business owners through real-world business advice and counseling."

Microloans for Seattle Small Business

While Speed Coaching is making its Seattle debut, the Brewing the American Dream program supports microloans to small businesses in the region year-round. Administered through Mercy Corps Northwest, Brewing the American Dream loans (typically ranging from $500-$25,000) often help local small business owners in greater Seattle who've been turned down by traditional lenders due to lack of credit, the small size of the loan request, or the volatile nature of the food and beverage industry. 

A good example is the Old Ballard Liquor Co., an artisan nano-distillery in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle. The company's founder wanted to expand distribution of her old fashioned liquors and liqueurs but struggled to secure financing. She was able, however, to receive a loan through Brewing the American Dream that allowed her to purchase small equipment and additional inventory as well as increase her operating capital.

"We are pleased to partner with the Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream program to provide microloans and business counseling to Seattle's small businesses," said John Haines, Executive Director of Mercy Corps Northwest. "This funding and coaching allows establishments like Old Ballard Liquor Co. to grow their businesses and support our economy, and we look forward to making the program available to many more local food and beverage entrepreneurs."

Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream Inspiration and Impact

Although founder and brewer, Jim Koch, is celebrating the 30th anniversary this year of Samuel Adams, he hasn't forgotten how hard it is to start and run a successful small business. That's why he created Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream, a unique program that provides the two things he wishes he had when starting Sam Adams: financing and real-world business advice. Since its creation in 2008, the program, in partnership with Accion, the nation's leading nonprofit provider of small business capital and coaching, has coached more than 4,000 small business owners, provided over  $3 million in microloans to more than 350 small businesses, and helped create or retain more than 2,000 jobs. The program has also seen an unprecedented loan repayment rate of 98.1 percent. To learn more about the program, please visit: http://btad.samueladams.com/.

Samuel Adams, Sam Adams, Samuel Adams Boston Lager, and Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream are registered trademarks of The Boston Beer Company.

About Samuel Adams and The Boston Beer Company

The Boston Beer Company began in 1984 with a generations-old family recipe that Founder and Brewer Jim Koch uncovered in his father's attic. Inspired and unafraid to challenge conventional thinking about beer, Jim brought the recipe to life in his kitchen.  Pleased with the results of his work, Jim decided to sample his beer with bars in Boston in the hopes that drinkers would appreciate the complex, full-flavored beer he brewed fresh in America.  That beer was aptly named Samuel Adams Boston Lager, in recognition of one of our nation's great founding fathers, a man of independent mind and spirit.  Little did Jim know at the time, Samuel Adams Boston Lager soon became a catalyst of the American craft beer revolution.

Today, The Boston Beer Company brews more than 50 styles of beer.  It relentlessly pursues the development of new styles and the perfection of classic beers by searching the world for the finest ingredients.  Using the traditional four vessel brewing process, the Company often takes extra steps like dry-hopping, barrel-aging and a secondary fermentation known as krausening.  The Company has also pioneered another revolution, the 'extreme beer' movement, where it seeks to challenge drinker's perceptions of what beer can be. The Boston Beer Company has been committed to elevating the image of American craft beer by entering festivals and competitions around the globe, and is one of the world's most awarded breweries at international beer competitions. As an independent company, brewing quality beer remains its single focus. Although Samuel Adams beer is America's largest-selling craft beer, it accounts for only one percent of the U.S. beer market.  The Boston Beer Company will continue its independently-minded quest to brew great beer and to advocate for the growth of craft beer across America. For more information, please visit www.samueladams.com.

About MERCY CORPS NORTHWEST

Mercy Corps Northwest (MCNW) is the U.S. economic development office of Mercy Corps, the Portland-based international relief and development agency. Our mission is working together to build more productive & resilient communities in the Pacific Northwest. We believe everyone should have the opportunity to improve their life regardless of their background. By investing in those without ready access to resources, existing economic disparities will become more equitable, and motivated, hard working individuals and families will have opportunities to break intergenerational cycles of poverty for good.

MCNW is a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) designated by the U.S.Department of Treasury, providing small business loans up to $20,000 for start-up businesses and $50,000 for existing businesses who may not qualify for traditional loans.

About Accion in the U.S.
In seeking a partner for Samuel Adams' Brewing the American Dream the company turned to Accion to facilitate lending to hardworking business owners seeking to grow. As the largest nationwide micro-and small business lending network in the United States, Accion connects small business owners with the accessible financing and advice it takes to create or grow healthy businesses. Since 1991, the five members of the Accion U.S. Network have collectively made over 50,000 loans, totaling over $406 million.

Additionally, over 400,000 business owners across the nation have turned to Accion for financial and business advice via workshops, online tools, and one-on-one consultations. Globally, Accion (www.accion.org) is a pioneer in microfinance, reaching millions of individuals through its international network of partners. For more information visit usnetwork.accion.org

SOURCE Samuel Adams