Come lunch-and-learn with us!

Determine Your Small Food Business Costs, Portions, & Profits

Presented by Wilson Community College’s Small Business Center

Anyone can cook, but NOT everyone is cut out for entrepreneurship.

Are you ready to move from notebook or home production to legit business? How do you know if it's for you, and what the next steps should be?

Presented by Piedmont Community College’s Small Business Center

*photo by Alex Perez for Unsplash

Join us for an intense review of the material, then the exam. Always the last Monday of the month, and only if folks have registered, so pay attention!

⭐️ AUGUST 25 EXAM: PAPER+PENCIL, NO COMPUTER NEEDED⭐️

THIS IS NOT A CLASS. Please be careful: this is for people who know their stuff. Unless you are already a master, you will need to obtain a book or an online course (look at Servsafe.com) AND STUDY THE MATERIAL ahead of time.

Ready to fire up your food truck dreams? Come hungry for knowledge, leave with a plan!

Presented by Moore County Chamber of Commerce

In one fast-paced day you'll access the accumulated wisdom of fun successes and heartbreaking failures by many food entrepreneurs who've come before you, and come away with great information to grow your business wisely and well. Lunch is included.

Presented by Sandhills Community College’s Small Business Center

Part 4: Planning With Purpose

Pulling all the pieces together for business planning is as much for you as for anyone else. Build a plan that YOU believe in, and you’ll have the confidence to put it in place. We’ll talk about templates and methods for planning, with tips for working with pros: bookkeepers, accountants, contractors, architects, and inspectors.

Presented by Lenoir Community College’s Small Business Center and the Lenoir Chamber of Commerce

Part 3: Forecasting with Confidence

What will it cost to do what you want to do? Revenue forecasts have to match expense forecasts. Let’s put dollars on the dreams and try to match them up for profit. Understanding your potential startup expenses and operating expenses will help you make smart, realistic plans and decisions.

*photo by jason jerrach for unsplash

Presented by Lenoir Community College’s Small Business Center and the Lenoir Chamber of Commerce

Part 2, Portions, Prices, Profits!

How will you turn food into money? Putting numbers on dreams can be terrifying: how can you possibly know what you’ll make?  Come learn the basics of food business math, including costing and pricing your product for profit, which will help you forecast revenue.

*photo by thermopro for unsplash

Presented by Lenoir Community College’s Small Business Center and the Lenoir Chamber of Commerce

Part 1: How Hard Could It Be, Really?!

Building a business around a dream is so scary that many people skip right over the most important parts of planning and get in over their heads, fast. Why would smart, passionate people do that? Because what's unknown can seem really hard!

Let's say it out loud, test your idea, put business words around what you love and see what happens. Find out who might regulate you, what the rules are, where you can do it, and how you move from a great idea to a solid concept.

*photo by maarten van den heuvel for unsplash

Presented by Lenoir Community College’s Small Business Center and the Lenoir Chamber of Commerce

Food business dreamers are passionate entrepreneurs. That enthusiasm can create a great business that makes everyone happy, or it can lead to frustration and great loss. Revenue does not equal profit, and understanding where the money comes from and where it goes will help you assess the feasibility of your dreams.

Presented by Wake Tech Community College’s Small Business Center

This FREE seminar will cover the following topics:

• The roles of the local health department, N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, N.C. Cooperative Extension and the WCC Small Business Center

• Requirements for processing food in your home, acidified food products and value-added supplements

• Catering, food trucks, fundraisers, and temporary food stands

• Food businesses planning resources and considerations from respected chef and entrepreneur, Dani Black

Presented by Wilkes Community College’s Small Business Center

I’m excited to present this first-thing-in-the-morning dive into food business money. Get a good cup of coffee and settle in to a class that can help you feel much more confident and competent!

Most of us didn’t learn this stuff in school, but we’re in business anyway: it’s never too late to learn “your numbers” and some basic definitions to find your way.

Presented by Wilkes Community College’s Small Business Center

Business planning is a practice, not a report with a deadline. You’re probably already great at your food and menu, but that’s not the most important part of this work.

What needs your attention are things like rules and regs, food safety, financial forecasts and other operational realities, and that can feel overwhelming.

Planning for a safe, legal, profitable food business means having good basic knowledge about how these parts work together. This builds a strong foundation, and the planning process will make you a stronger, smarter, entrepreneur, more confident in your business model.

The day’s focus is on customer service and hospitality, and providing local businesses a better idea of the number of visitors coming at different times during the week, when peak periods are expected and how they might prepare to take advantage of these opportunities.

This interactive, lively course will cut through the noise to engage with clear, specific, unique information and support for you and your food truck business. In a confidential, judgment-free space we’ll celebrate the wins, and explore what’s not going the way you thought it would. Your instructor and some Very Special Guests will help you figure out what’s needed to improve the situation with real solutions and tools for real challenges.

With a combination of in-person classes and zoom sessions in between, plan for a FULL SERIES of opportunities to assess and calibrate your food truck business with the support of Wake Technical Community College’s Small Business Center.

Food, beverage and hospitality enterprises are critical drivers of economic and social development in communities. A desire for freedom and flexibility, or financial necessity, can inspire people to start small food businesses.

The intended audience for this event is for those dreaming about, planning or growing small food businesses such as restaurants, bakeries, catering operations, food trucks. Entrepreneurs who want to leverage their passion and enthusiasm to build small food businesses should attend to learn practical skills, tools and resources.