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8 MONDAYS BUSINESS TRAINING PROGRAM FOR URBAN FARMERS & FOOD PROCESSORS IN BOSTON

By October 30, 2019 No Comments

Attention Boston Urban Farmers & Food Processors!

The Carrot Project is excited to announce Deepening Roots, Growing Success, a business training program for start-up urban farmers and food processors in Boston! This training is for you if you are interested in starting or are already operating a Boston-based urban farming or locally-sourced food processing business.

WHEN & WHERE
– 1 Saturday Intensive on January 28 from 8:30am-5:00pm at Hibernian Hall Ballroom in Dudley Square in Roxbury, MA
– 8 Monday evening sessions from January 30-March 20, held on Monday evenings from 6:00pm-9:00pm at Hibernian Hall Conference Room in Dudley Square in Roxbury, MA

WHAT
The Saturday Intensive will help orient you to the burgeoning local urban agriculture and food processing scenes! You will learn from local experts such as The Urban Farming Institute and Commonwealth Kitchen, as well as others, and become acquainted with resources to help you move forward in your business ideas and plans.

The 8 Monday Evening sessions will offer expert training from local business organizations and leaders that will help you develop the financial savvy you need to start and grow your business!

9 Session Training Includes:

Saturday Intensive Presentation:

Saturday, January 28, 8:30am-5:00pm

This is a full day event focused on the business of growing, sourcing, and processing local foods. Attendees will be introduced to the local urban farming and food processing industries, while learning about how growing and sourcing local food impacts local communities in a variety of ways. There will be panel discussions and presentations by experts in the field who will talk about their reflections on and experiences in the business, and their programs available for training, loans, and other assistance.

Speakers and panelists include Glynn Lloyd of City Fresh Foods, Orion Kriegman of Boston Food Forest Coalition, The Urban Farming Institute, CommonWealth Kitchen, Monica Leitner- Laserna of LaSanghita Café, Alex of Alex’s Ugly Sauce, Tony Durso of The Juice Box, and Quisha Hill of Q’zines and others! There will also be time for networking! Representatives from The Carrot Project, Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources, New Entry Sustainable Farming Project, Accion Food and Beverage Small Business Loan Program, the Mayor’s Office of Economic Development for Small Businesses, Local Enterprise Assistance Fund (LEAF), Conservation Law Foundation, The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Social Justice, Julia Shanks Food Consulting, GoodEgg Marketing, Green Beat, Boston Impact Initiative, Msaada Partners, LLC, and others from local businesses will be also be present. Wewill also have a light breakfast and a delicious, healthy lunch catered from a local food business!

An 8-session Classroom Training Instruction:

Monday Evenings, January 30-March 20, 6:00pm-9:00pm

Guest Speakers including The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Economic Justice, Julia Shanks Food Consulting, Klavens Law Group, The Carrot Project, Aaron Tanaka from Boston Impact Initiative & the Center for Economic Democracy, Denise Dukette, and others, who will present during a total of 8 classes on “Financing & Financial Management” to assist start-up urban farmers and food processors by instructing on:

-Legal Considerations Part I: Business Planning & Other Considerations: Attendees will be introduced to the necessary components of a business plan, as well as learn important introductory legal considerations relating to their businesses such as regarding contracts, intellectual property concerns, and employment law considerations (Jan. 30, 6-9pm);

-Legal Considerations Part II: Entity Formation: Attendees will learn about business entity formations, including for-profit entities, non-profit entities, and co-ops (Feb. 6, 6-9pm);

-Understanding & Using Financial Statements: Attendees will learn about basic business and financial terms, balance sheet statements, profit and loss statements, and cash flow summary statements, including how they apply to setting up and managing a business (Feb. 13, 6-9pm);

-Preparing for & Accessing Financing Part I: What Lenders Want to Know: Attendees will learn about the role of financing for their business, learn what lenders want to know when applying for a loan, and review a sample loan document (Feb. 20, 6-9pm);

-Preparing for & Accessing Financing Part II: Attendees will learn about the role of equity, why business owners need it, and options for building it (Feb. 27, 6-9pm);

-Preparing for & Accessing Financing Part III: Attendees will learn about creating realistic financial projections, including topics such as: estimating start-up costs, projecting revenues, estimating expenses, projecting profit & loss, and cash-flow projections (Mar. 6, 6-9pm);

-Setting Up Useful Financial Management Systems: Attendees will learn how to set up a computer-based financial management system to keep track of expenses and income and grow a business (for example, instruction in Quickbooks and Excel) (Mar. 13, 6-9pm);

-Practical Tools for Financial Management: Attendees will learn how to use analysis tools for managing a business, how to determine whether you have set the right prices for products, how to decide if you should make a capital investment, how to decide whether you should add a new product line, and how to determine if you can pay your bills