Kingston Business Boost Wrapup - May 2023
As the Kingston Business Boost workshop series, hosted at The Broadway Bubble, comes to a close, we’re thrilled to say that it was a success — and very much a team effort!
The goal of the workshop series was to help Ulster County small business owners increase profits in smart, simple ways. This allows them to be more resilient, employ more people, and engage positively in their communities. In this post, we’ll share more about our outreach process, team, content, format, outcomes, and next steps.
Outreach & Participants
In our intensive outreach throughout Ulster County, we spoke one-on-one with close to 100 nonprofits, small businesses, and community members to spread the word about Kingston Business Boost.
The workshop sold out and participants were a vibrant, experienced group with a range of business stages and industries and speaking 4 languages, coming from 6 countries. Our business owners are embarking on food businesses, construction and rehab, spice import, product development and retail, cleaning businesses, interior design, specialty grocery, and more.
We ensured that outreach was in English and Spanish (although it would have been better to do outreach in more languages, including but not limited to Kʼiche, Qʼeqchiʼ, Kaqchikel, and Dari.) We went door-to-door to local businesses, having conversations about their goals and sharing the workshop offering in that context.
In addition to that key “community organizing” process, we also:
Used an accessible “technology language” – making signup possible via text message, email, WhatsApp, and online.
Did multiple followups with enrollees to ensure that expectations and dates were clear.
Used an iterative planning process – so that the course content and structure could be responsive to the people who signed up.
Our results show that very few (about 1 out of 15) people signed up from more passive flyering efforts and that almost all of our signups came from these active approaches.
The Team
In addition to our team at Briico, a diverse, enthusiastic, and skillful team around the community came together to make this project a success.
Jordan Scruggs, Jill Pacheco, and Enma Villacis from The Broadway Bubble (and Kingston Midtown Rising) have been our coconspirators from the beginning, having the vision for what the Hub space at the Bubble can be as well as helping us with many logistics, material support, managing the food and space, and community outreach.
Joshua Stratton-Rayner and Samantha Liotta from Ulster County Economic Development have been a really big source of support and encouragement. Their vision, cheerleading, and concrete support are indispensable.
Alexandra Lotero Vanderkam and Liliana (Li) Sierra have been intrepid partners in ensuring every workshop participant was able to work and learn in the language they felt most powerful in. Alex is an interpreter and language justice practitioner who has collaborated with us in shaping our approach – and provided simultaneous interpretation during the workshop series! And Li, Program Manager of the Language Justice Program at the Farm Hub, provided ongoing collaboration and guidance as well as the interpretation equipment for the series.
So many other Kingston organizations and people — including the Ulster Literacy Association — helped us spread the word shape the work.
Content & Format
The format of the series evolved in response to participant needs and took this form:
Session 1: Introductions & Business Design. Participants use our Small Business Canvas to zoom out on businesses and develop customer, product, price, “edge”, packaging, communication, and other fundamentals.
Session 2: Increasing Sales. We look at the Buyer’s Journey and our Bullseye Marketing framework to develop a strong, impactful, and resilient marketing approach.
Session 3: Money Management & Business Foundations. Learners explore the crucial money management practices that will help them understand and manage their business without complicated practices or technology. And we find a simple path through permits, corporate entities, business insurance, capital access etc.
Sessions 4, 5, and 6: Small group and One-on-One Meetings. Because of the range of participant industries and stages, we found that there were a range of needs that would be best met through one-on-one or small group meetings. In these meetings, do strategy coaching, developed concrete deliverables for the businesses, and problem-solved individual challenges and obstacles.
The series was presented free of charge. Full dinner was available each night for participants. On-site childcare was provided. Simultaneous English/Spanish interpretation was available, along with written translation in all four preferred languages of participants (Dari, Spanish, English, and Italian.) Sessions of the pilot ran April 13th - May 15th 2023 at The Broadway Bubble in Kingston.
Outcomes
While more quantitative business outcomes are still being measured, qualitative feedback from the participants was excellent. Participants noted benefits and experiences like:
Being able to take part in bigger sales opportunities without fear of making a misstep.
Having a place to ask questions and get concrete help with obstacles.
Connecting with likeminded peers (doing similar work) across barriers of language and culture to share resources and experiences.
Feeling comfortable and that the content and format was accessible and relevant in a way they never had with other local business resources.
Understanding in an actionable way the “scary parts of business” including taxes, corporate entities, key business math, insurance, permits, etc.
Next Steps
Here at Briico, we’re synthesizing participant feedback and outcomes and planning the most impactful next steps for the people we serve. One key project is our Next Level Program, which builds on the key insights and outcomes from Business Boost. We’ll be working one-on-one with early and mid-stage business owners to plan and create a tailored set of key deliverables that will get them to the "next level" in their business (setting up a mailing list, redesigning packaging, etc). Some key parts of this program:
A Briico coach meets with participants one-on-one to create a mid-term strategy for their business to boost profits and meet their goals.
Then, the coach and participant choose together from a menu of concrete deliverables that Briico executes/creates for the participant (with their guidance and input.) We work similarly to how a high-end agency works -- not just guiding the client but actually creating the key assets they need to get to the next level.
In addition to the one-on-one coaching and deliverables, we provide a personalized plan of video-based mini-lessons and mini-case studies (based on Business Boost curriculum) to provide the context, foundation, and inspiration that entrepreneurs may also need at the stage they're at.
More on the Next Level Program soon!
Thank you again to all of our partners, team, and participants for bringing their care, insight, and energy to the Business Boost series.