George Mason University’s School of Business is launching a program for underserved business owners in the food and beverage retail sector with the goal of growing those companies during and beyond the Covid-19 crisis.
The school’s Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship is accepting applications until March 15 for the “Build Back, Dream Forward” program, which will offer mentoring and coaching to small hospitality businesses in Northern Virginia.
“Covid underscored the importance of a strong local food system and has created opportunities for innovative food and beverage firms to come out of the pandemic stronger,” David Miller, executive director of GMU's center, told the Washington Business Journal.
The general idea is to gather a cohort of about 20 business owners for a seven-month program that includes eight online sessions focusing on a range of topics from customer outreach via social media, to “technology, logistics and physical space,” to “social capital and wealth creation.”
Participants will also have access to an online discussion board, be matched with a participating business mentor and receive individual coaching sessions on specific needs or areas of focus for each.
Eligible participants could include restaurants, retailers and farms, in addition to businesses in food preparation, packaging and processing, transportation, catering and nutrition services.
The program is limited to businesses between six months and 10 years old with an annual revenue of between $100,000 to $2 million. The owners must commit to a growth plan of one to three years, which could include increasing revenue, adding new locations or hiring more employees.
Build Back, Dream Forward is backed by a $25,000 grant from the Community Foundation for Northern Virginia. It is one of the larger grants the foundation awarded as part of its post-Covid-19 Growth Initiative.
Mason’s program targets businesses in underserved communities, which it said can include those “who face barriers in accessing and using relevant resources, assets, institutions and services” because of their religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, language barrier, disability or age. It also includes racially and ethnically diverse groups.
Late last year, Mason's business school opened a Center for Retail Transformation that looked to help small businesses grow by offering research and data-driven forecasts, while developing strategies.
