Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream Returns to Miami to Host Small Business Speed Coaching
MIAMI, April 13, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Samuel Adams in partnership with Accion announced it is hosting its third annual small business Speed Coaching in Miami on Tuesday, April 14th. Designed to provide expert, customized 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 the food, beverage and craft brewing industries.
During the Speed Coaching event, which will be held from 6:00 p.m.– 8:30 p.m. EDT at Gold Coast Beverage Distributors, Inc. (10055 Northwest 12th Street), food and beverage entrepreneurs have the opportunity to participate in up to six 20-minute, one-on-one, high-impact coaching sessions. Coaches will include experts from Samuel Adams and Accion, along with local area business professionals. Topics covered will include sales and distribution, packaging, finance, e-commerce, and marketing to name a few. While the event is free, small business owners should register online at http://speedcoachingmiami.eventbrite.com.
Participants are encouraged to bring samples of product, packaging, and other items that they want feedback on, and should come prepared with questions regarding specific challenges their business is facing. For example, a small business owner may want to ask a finance professional for advice on how to competitively price his/her product.
"We're excited to bring our Brewing the American Dream Speed Coaching back to Miami for a third year," said Jim Koch, founder and brewer of Samuel Adams. "I know from my own experience with starting Samuel Adams that real world advice is just as important as access to capital. Whether it's helping a small business owner understand how to setup a payroll, negotiate a lease, or price a product, our goal is provide the nuts-and-bolts counseling that will help these entrepreneurs succeed."
Koch added that Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream also continues to support Accion's year-round efforts throughout South Florida in providing microloans to entrepreneurs who struggle to access capital from traditional lending options due to lack of credit, the small size of the loan request, or the volatile nature of the food and beverage industry. Since entering the Miami market, the program has supported Accion in lending over $100,000 in microloans to nearly 20 small businesses.
A local small business that has recently benefited from a program loan is Nitin Bakery. Located in "Little Santo Domingo," the bakery desperately needed renovating and updated equipment. Realizing that traditional financing would not be an option, co-owners Gabriel and Tania Jauregu turned to Brewing the American Dream to secure a loan that ultimately allowed them to make important improvements to their business. What has resulted is an increase in sales, catering opportunities and overall excitement about their new renovations.
"Gabriel and Tania's ability to seize this business opportunity exemplifies the importance of ensuring small food and beverage businesses have the tools they need to grow," said Accion U.S. Network CEO Gina Harman. "We salute the work of Accion East in South Florida and the great partnership we have with Samuel Adams for supporting the dreams and the aspirations of entrepreneurs like Gabriel and Tania."
Program Inspiration and Impact
Samuel Adams is celebrating 31 years of brewing, and despite the craft brewery's success, Jim Koch 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 Samuel Adams: financing and real-world business advice.
As the core philanthropic program for Samuel Adams, Brewing the American Dream is executed in partnership with Accion—the largest nonprofit micro- and small business lender in the United States. Since 2008, through the support of the Brewing the American Dream program, Accion has lent more than $4.1 million to nearly 475 businesses. Just as important, over 4,000 businesses have been coached or mentored through the program. 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 60 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 the Accion U.S. Network
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 nonprofit 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, members of the Accion U.S. Network have collectively made over 54,000 loans, totaling over $454 million. Additionally, over 500,000 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 is a pioneer in microfinance, reaching millions of individuals through its international network of partners. For more information, visit usnetwork.accion.org (http://usnetwork.accion.org). For more information on Accion small business loans in the United States, please visit us.accion.org (https://us.accion.org).
SOURCE Samuel Adams Boston Beer
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