Eden Gilliam is the owner of Eve Milan, a beauty business. Working with TAP was a game changer for her. As National Small Business Week continues, we bring you this video from our April benefit. To see other client stories, be sure to visit this page. #smallbusinessweek #smallbusiness #entrepreneur
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It's National Small Business Week, so we continue to celebrate the entrepreneurs we featured in our annual benefit in April. Meet Trent Griffin-Braaf of Tech Valley Hospitality Shuttle in this video, and learn about the work he did with TAP. To see other client stories, be sure to visit this page. #smallbusinessweek #smallbusiness #entrepreneur Today we continue our series of client stories from TAP's annual benefit in April. You can watch the full replay here. But now, let's take a close up look at one client, Lorena Mardones, of Jade Garden Design. To learn about other TAP clients, please visit this page. #entrepreneurs #smallbusiness #smallbiz #smallbusinessweek TAP's annual benefit in April featured a series of client stories. You can watch the full replay here. But now, let's take a close up look at one client, Freddie Lee's Gourmet Sauces. To learn about other TAP clients, please visit this page. Did you miss our annual benefit? Want to learn how TAP has expanded to California, and is helping entrepreneurs across the country? Be sure to check out the replay below. SCARSDALE, NY (April 20, 2023) — On Wednesday, April 26, 2023, The Acceleration Project (TAP) will host its annual Spring for Small Business® benefit to support its efforts to empower under-resourced small businesses. The event will be held virtually, from 7:30 to 8:00 pm, and tickets are complimentary. You can learn about TAP and register for the benefit at this link. “Small businesses are the backbone of our communities. In these particularly challenging economic times, TAP serves underrepresented small business owners, thus helping to close income, gender and racial inequality gaps. We repeatedly see that supporting small businesses creates jobs, revitalizes communities, elevates families, and keeps Main Streets vital,” said Jane Veron, CEO of TAP. The benefit is made possible with the generous support of “Presenting” sponsor PNC Bank, “Champion” sponsors RXR Realty, Goldman Sachs, SoFi and Jane Veron and Andrew Feldstein, “Visionary” sponsors Mastercard and Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP, “Leader” sponsors Purrington Moody Weil, Polar Asset Management Partners, Jefferies, Barclays and Latham & Watkins LLP, “Innovator” sponsors J.P. Morgan, Hudson Valley Credit Union, M&T Bank and “Entrepreneur” sponsors PCSB and Bank of America. “We are grateful to our sponsors and partners who share our vision for creating a more equitable economy by delivering high-caliber and impactful services to under-resourced small businesses. It is their support that enables us to lift up and accelerate so many small business owners,” added Veron. “Our passionate, hard-working and inspiring clients motivate our work each day.” This year’s benefit will also feature best-selling author Joanne Lipman as well as several TAP small business founders. Please see TAP’s SPRING FOR SMALL BUSINESS® webpage for more registration information. About the Acceleration Project: TAP is a female-founded, female-led nonprofit that is laser focused on creating a more equitable economy by delivering high-caliber and impactful services to under-resourced small businesses. Structured as a 501(c)(3) with an extremely lean infrastructure, TAP is supported by grants and donations that enable clients to be served at a cost well below market. To learn more, visit www.theaccelerationproject.org/. ### Contact: Rebecca Shalam, RebeccaS@theaccelerationproject.org The son of an Air Force Sergeant, Julius West lived in many parts of the United States as a child. He enjoyed sampling dishes from the different areas he called home, and spent many hours in the kitchen with his mother where they prepared traditional, homestyle dishes. This inspired Julius to open his food truck in 2012, and his delicious shrimp & grits quickly became the most popular item on the menu. He recently decided to retire his food truck and focus on selling his bottled shrimp and grits sauce. Julius engaged TAP because he needed help with a sales and marketing strategy for his new business. He also wanted direction on managing his finances. Julius and TAP TAP consultants, Christine Iozza Lukkes and Souha Alameddine, worked with Julius to better understand the Sarge’s brand, its target market and its competition. The consultants suggested changes to the company logo and website to better reflect the focus on the new jarred sauce. Knowing it would be difficult to build a following for a new product solely online, they made recommendations on how to get Sarge’s Sauce to market via local groceries and fish markets. They emphasized the importance of sampling and suggested taking it to events such as fairs, festivals and farmer’s markets. Christine and Souha reviewed Julius’ FaceBook campaign and suggested testing out different targets segmented by geography, age and interests. The pair also created P&L and cash flow worksheets so Julius could get a better understanding of his revenues and expenses. Finally, they researched potential grants and showed Julius how to apply for funding under programs like the Restaurant Recovery Fund. Where is Sarge’s now? With TAP’s help Julius is taking Sarge’s Sauce to the next level. He recently got his product into three grocery chains and has received interest from food service companies. Sales have increased 15-20%. He eliminated some marketing channels that were not effective and is working on updating his logo and product labels. Julius also introduced a new product, packaged ground grits and is excited about its prospects. He uses spreadsheets that TAP consultants created for him to keep track of his finances and says, “TAP put us on a good path and taught us to focus on what is most important. I am more discerning about keeping my expenses in line.” Julius is energized by his business’ growth and is hopeful for the future. Growing up, Asia Roscoe was influenced by the strong, hardworking women in her family, and she dreamed of creating an online beauty destination for Black women. After graduating from Howard University in 2020, Asia developed “Above the Baar,” an ecommerce business specializing in satin-lined headwear and other hair accessories. Asia partnered with TAP because she needed help with her pricing, inventory management, and marketing plan. She also wanted guidance revamping her website, and needed a better understanding of her finances. Above the Baar and TAP TAP consultants, Susan Berman and Beth Dell’Orto, created a pricing model for Asia to ensure her revenues were covering costs and allowing for some profit. They worked with Asia to identify her brand and use it to guide her marketing plan and website changes. The consultants also provided a basic financial model to help Asia plan for Above the Baar’s future growth. Finally, they provided Asia with industry resources to support her business. Where is Asia now? As a result of TAP’s engagement, Asia’s sales are up roughly 15%, and she feels she has a clearer sense of who her ideal clients are. She adjusted her pricing strategy to ensure her costs were being covered while still remaining competitive with others in the space. Asia updated her website and is using email marketing to reach her target audience. Asia credits her TAP consultants saying, “Susan and Beth were awesome! They connected me with so many different resources and people that helped my business grow and helped me grow as an entrepreneur. TAP’s tools were very useful and helped out a lot with financial planning and organizing.” Asia is now better prepared to grow her business, and is more confident about the future. Meet Joanna! Joanna Prisco, a former food writer, transformed her farmer’s market pop-up into a thriving brick and mortar cafe when she opened The Good Witch Coffee Bar. Located in the Hastings-on-Hudson train station, the cafe offers delicious coffee and baked goods and prides itself on creating a sense of community by hosting live music, movies and other events. Joanna is incredibly passionate about her business and the impact it has on those around her. Why did Joanna need TAP? Joanna needed to make up for lost commuter and in-store business due to COVID. She was unsure of her financials and wanted marketing tactics and other strategies to help The Good Witch recover. In addition, she needed some legal advice regarding a denied insurance claim after a storm damaged her HVAC system. How did TAP help? TAP consultants Beatriz Franco and Suzanne Yearley created cash flow statements so Joanna could track revenues and expenses on a weekly basis. They suggested marketing tactics to help Good Witch increase sales and boost brand awareness, including website revisions, holiday boxes, local partnerships and changes to the menu. They also recommended initiating online ordering and delivery service to support business during the pandemic. Finally, they supplied resources so that Joanna could choose the right legal advice to help settle her insurance claim. Where are they now? Based on TAP’s recommendations, Joanna is updating the Good Witch website to include more visuals that showcase the breadth of baked goods it offers. She also introduced a "drink of the month" initiative that generated an immediate response from customers. Joanna is currently working with a law firm to help recover a claim owed to her by her insurance company. She notes, “my experience working with TAP was extremely beneficial. The consultants assigned to my business were experienced and well-suited to tackle challenges that the hospitality industry was uniquely faced with during the pandemic. Together, they brought a lot of energy and thoughtfulness to the project.” Joanna is now geared for growth, and Good Witch is thriving. Meet Denene Rodney, Founder of Zebra Strategies Denene Rodney founded Zebra Strategies in 2001 to fill a gap in the market research industry. Zebra examines marginalized and underserved communities, presenting its findings to Fortune 500 companies, non profits, and government agencies. Denene and her team aim to capture nuances that traditional market research often overlooks. Why Did Denene Need TAP? With a recent surge in sales, Denene turned to TAP for help scaling her business. How Did Tap Help? TAP’s Devon Briger, Elyse Kane and Amber Yusuf reviewed Zebra’s project allocation process and interviewed key employees to better understand operations. They built a new workflow plan to improve efficiency and reviewed Denene’s daily schedule to offer ways to reallocate responsibilities. Knowing Zebra would need additional workers to meet increased demand, the consultants updated job descriptions and suggested resources to improve access to a skilled and flexible workforce. They also presented strategies to increase brand awareness and analyzed financial reports so they could make realistic recommendations regarding scaling the business. Where is She Now? TAP gave Denene the tools to expand Zebra’s reach without sacrificing the quality of its services. Denene took steps to tie bonuses of senior staff members to sales which has had a positive effect on revenue. She is utilizing an intern to assist with financial reporting and looking for a new vendor to help manage the database. Denene is implementing software for time management tracking and is working on organizational structure and task allocation. Denene stated, “There are a lot of advisory programs out there, but TAP’s one on one, customized approach is really unique.” She is confident she has the tools she needs to scale her business. |
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