Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream Returns to San Diego to Host Small Business Speed Coaching Event

SAN DIEGO, March 27, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Samuel Adams announced it will host small business Speed Coaching in San Diego on Thursday, March 27^th as 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. This marks the second time Brewing the American Dream has brought Speed Coaching to the region.

Speed Coaching will be held from 5:00 – 8:00 p.m. PT at Marina Village (1904 Quivira Way), and provides one-of-a kind access to industry experts. Attendees will be able to participate in up to six 20-minute, high-impact sessions with expert coaches in areas such as sales and distribution, packaging, finance, and marketing. For example, a small business owner may meet with a packaging expert for advice on labeling compliance for his/her product. In San Diego, Samuel Adams coaches will be joined by experts from area businesses and Accion, the nation's leading non-profit provider of small business capital and coaching.

Small business owners working in food, beverage, hospitality and craft brewing can register online for the free event at http://samadamspeedcoachingsandiego.eventbrite.com, and are encouraged to come prepared with questions regarding specific business challenges they face. They are also encouraged to bring samples of packaging, POS, and other material on which they seek feedback.

"San Diego is a fantastic craft beer city with great local food establishments," said Jim Koch, founder and brewer of Samuel Adams. "We're excited to bring Brewing the American Dream Speed Coaching back to the area, and work with the small business owners who are making such a positive impact on the city's economy."

Lending in San Diego
In addition to Speed Coaching events, Brewing the American Dream is helping small businesses across the country through its micro-lending, which is done in partnership with Accion.  Below are just two of the many success stories in San Diego:

• Cruz Caudillo, owner of Praline Patisserie, began selling his unique caramel sauces in local farmers' markets, and while the delicious sauces were a quick hit, Caudillo needed more supplies and kitchen upgrades in order to keep up with demand. After turning to Brewing the American Dream and Accion for a loan to finance the purchase of jars, labels, and insurance needed to increase inventory, Caudillo was able to begin selling Praline Patisserie products to major retailers, including Whole Foods.
• Marko Paulinovic, owner of Mangia Mangia Mobile, was working in Italian restaurants for more than eight years after immigrating to the U.S. when he decided to set out on his own with the opening of Mangia Mangia Mobile, a food truck selling Italian gourmet fare. Unable to secure traditional financing, Paulinovic was paying more than $1,800/month to lease a truck. Fortunately, a Brewing the American Dream loan provided funds to purchase and refurbish his own truck, which has since become a beloved San Diego staple.

"We are so fortunate to be able to partner with Samuel Adams to bring the Brewing the American Dream Program to San Diego," said Elizabeth Schott, executive director of Accion San Diego. "The financing and resources that this program provides give the entrepreneurs that we work with the opportunity to pursue their dreams of small business ownership, while ensuring their continued success for the long run."

Brewing the American Dream Inspiration and Impact
Thirty years ago, Jim Koch, armed with a generations-old family beer recipe, dreamed of starting his own craft brewery. He applied for bank loans to help him do so, but was repeatedly turned down. He also lacked the nuts-and-bolts know-how that's so important to running a small business.  But Jim didn't give up. He took his beer bar to bar – selling it out of his briefcase – and made his dream a reality.

As Samuel Adams celebrates its 30-year anniversary, Jim 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 has coached more than 4,000 small business owners, provided more than $2.8 million in microloans to more than 320 small businesses , and helped create or retain more than 1,910 jobs. The program has also seen an unprecedented loan repayment rate of 98.1 percent – well above the national average for small business loans. 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 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 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. Accion San Diego lends in San Diego County and offers business loans between $300 and $50,000 along with training, networking and other support services to hardworking entrepreneurs. Accion San Diego has lent over $18 million to date.

Since 1991, the five members of the Accion U.S. Network have collectively made over 48,700 loans, totaling over $394 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 us.accion.org.

SOURCE The Boston Beer Company