CEI

Please register for "Black Restaurant Accelerator Program Series - S2: Best Practices in Food Costing" by visiting https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/499102840448311134. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. Join the Urban League of Louisiana for a special 3-part entrepreneurial education series for food service operators looking to grow and scale! The series is designed to provide restauranteurs, caterers, and food truck operators with best practices and actionable steps related to growth tactics, food costing, and consumer packaged goods. This special spring series is hosted in collaboration with the National Urban League and sponsored by the PepsiCo Foundation as a part of the Black Restaurant Accelerator Program (BRAP). BRAP is a part of a $10M investment by the PepsiCo Foundation to provide current and aspiring Black restaurateurs with access to capital, training, mentorship and other support services through the National Urban League’s 12 entrepreneurship centers. Each session will be facilitated by PROOF, an accelerator, incubator, and bar based in Chattanooga, TN. Founded and led by food and beverage industry veterans, the mission of Proof is to support owners and operators in the industry through programs, resources, and community. Register today to reserve your seat for each session! […]

Join the Urban League of Louisiana as we host a “Voice of the Community” (VOC) Roundtables in St. Charles Parish! This community-based event will be used to gain valuable insights on the challenges impacting small businesses across the state of Louisiana. The goal of this convening is to hear directly from entrepreneurs about challenges, gaps, opportunities, and resource needs and to leverage this information to create, mobilize, and enhance ULLA’s small business support services across the state. These meetings are hosted as a part of the Urban League of Louisiana’s SBA Community Navigator Pilot Program in collaboration with the National Urban League. There is no cost to attend, however, registration is required. Masks are highly encouraged. Refreshments will be provided at each session. Host: Dr. Carla Antoine, Director, Small Business Support Services, Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation, Urban League of Louisiana

Please register for "Black Restaurant Accelerator Program Series - S3: Grow Your Consumer Packaged Goods Business" by visiting https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/813559867457403232 . After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. Join the Urban League of Louisiana for a special 3-part entrepreneurial education series for food service operators looking to grow and scale! The series is designed to provide restauranteurs, caterers, and food truck operators with best practices and actionable steps related to growth tactics, food costing, and consumer packaged goods. This special spring series is hosted in collaboration with the National Urban League and sponsored by the PepsiCo Foundation as a part of the Black Restaurant Accelerator Program (BRAP). BRAP is a part of a $10M investment by the PepsiCo Foundation to provide current and aspiring Black restaurateurs with access to capital, training, mentorship and other support services through the National Urban League’s 12 entrepreneurship centers. Each session will be facilitated by PROOF, an accelerator, incubator, and bar based in Chattanooga, TN. Founded and led by food and beverage industry veterans, the mission of Proof is to support owners and operators in the industry through programs, resources, and community. Register today to reserve your seat for […]

Join the Urban League of Louisiana as we host a “Voice of the Community” (VOC) Roundtables in St. John the Baptist Parish and St. James Parish! This community-based event will be used to gain valuable insights on the challenges impacting small businesses across the state of Louisiana. The goal of this convening is to hear directly from entrepreneurs about challenges, gaps, opportunities, and resource needs and to leverage this information to create, mobilize, and enhance ULLA’s small business support services across the state. These meetings are hosted as a part of the Urban League of Louisiana’s SBA Community Navigator Pilot Program in collaboration with the National Urban League. There is no cost to attend, however, registration is required. Masks are highly encouraged. Refreshments will be provided at each session. Host: Dr. Carla Antoine, Director, Small Business Support Services, Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation, Urban League of Louisiana

Join the Urban League of Louisiana for its signature “Becoming Bankable Series: Preparing to Access Capital”, March 7-9, 12:30pm-2:30pm! This series is sponsored by Louisiana Economic Development and the U.S. Economic Development Administration. For small businesses, there are certain indicators that are very telling as to whether or not obtaining a traditional business loan will be possible. These include the personal credit score of the owner, time in business, profitability, debt service coverage, and collateral. In considering these factors and others, it is imperative that entrepreneurs understand how to best position themselves to access capital and what they can be doing today to advance their business closer to becoming bankable. Session 1: Understanding and Improving Your Personal Financial Position | Tuesday, March 7 | 12:30p-2:30p During this session, participants will learn what it means to become bankable and how the personal finances of the entrepreneur are connected to the business. This session also includes a deep dive into the components of a personal financial statement and why it is such a critical part of the funding package for small businesses. Attendees will examine the debt to income ratio versus the debt service coverage, as well as, one’s personal credit score […]

oin the Urban League of Louisiana for its signature “Becoming Bankable Series: Preparing to Access Capital”, March 7-9, 12:30pm-2:30pm! This series is sponsored by Louisiana Economic Development and the U.S. Economic Development Administration. For small businesses, there are certain indicators that are very telling as to whether or not obtaining a traditional business loan will be possible. These include the personal credit score of the owner, time in business, profitability, debt service coverage, and collateral. In considering these factors and others, it is imperative that entrepreneurs understand how to best position themselves to access capital and what they can be doing today to advance their business closer to becoming bankable. Session 2: Examining Your Business’ Financial State and Needs for Growth |Wednesday, March 8 | 12:30p-2:30p During this session, participants gain insights into how to get their business finances in order including ensuring that your balance sheet, income statement, and statement of cash flows are accurate. Attendees will receive tips on accounting systems, banking, equity needs and other important aspects of becoming bankable. Participants will also learn how to examine the financial needs of their business, how to convey funding needs through a business plan, and how to make the […]

Join the Urban League of Louisiana for its signature “Becoming Bankable Series: Preparing to Access Capital”, March 7-9, 12:30pm-2:30pm! This series is sponsored by Louisiana Economic Development and the U.S. Economic Development Administration. For small businesses, there are certain indicators that are very telling as to whether or not obtaining a traditional business loan will be possible. These include the personal credit score of the owner, time in business, profitability, debt service coverage, and collateral. In considering these factors and others, it is imperative that entrepreneurs understand how to best position themselves to access capital and what they can be doing today to advance their business closer to becoming bankable. Session 3: Action Planning for Becoming Bankable and the Funding Package | Thursday, March 9 | 12:30p-2:30p The final session of the series will focus on assisting participants in developing a plan of action for improving their financial position over the next 6-12 months. This session also provides participants with final guidance on developing a funding package. This session will cover best practices in finalizing a loan package, obtaining support, and how to prepare for follow up questions. Common mistakes and items overlooked will be revealed so that participants know […]

A Recipe for Success: Leveraging Best-in-Class Accelerator Programs to Grow Your Food Service Business Monday, March 27, 1:00pm-3:00pm Location: Southern Food & Beverage Museum, 1405 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd., New Orleans, LA 70113 Accelerator programs can be a game-changer for start-ups and growth stage businesses in the food service industry. During the New Orleans Entrepreneur Week’s NOEW In Your Neighborhood series, the Urban League of Louisiana’s Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation and its partners will share how food service accelerators are helping diverse entrepreneurs to grow and scale their operations through guidance on food costing, operational efficiency, branding and marketing, site selection, expanding to consumer packaged goods, and more! The event will take place on Monday, March 27th, 1:00pm-3:00pm, at the Southern Food and Beverage Museum, 1405 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd., New Orleans, LA 70113; and will highlight the PepsiCo Foundation's Black Restaurant Accelerator Program, and feature Louisiana-based, Black-owned food service entrepreneurs who have leveraged the programs benefits to recover, grow, and sustain their operations. This session will also feature insights from PROOF, an accelerator, incubator, and food service consulting firm based in Chattanooga, TN. Founded and led by food and beverage industry veterans, the mission of Proof is to […]