Restaurant & Food Industry – “Competitive Advantage”

Tuesday, March 8, 2016

4:00 PM – 6:00 PM

Panel Event

A quick search of Larimer County restaurants yields nearly 2,000 results, not including food products. With so many food based businesses, how do you set yourself apart? For our March “Small Business After Hours Event,” we’re bringing together a panel of experts to discuss Competitive Advantage in the food industry. Some of the points we’ll be discussing are:

• How do you position your business versus your main competitors?
• How do you present your business to new potential customers?
• How do you evaluate new products/services to better position your business?
• What’s worked/what hasn’t from businesses who have been there?

• How do you strategically price your offerings?

Join us for this great event and take advantage of the opportunity to learn and network with potential partners for your business. We’ve all got to eat, learn why we should eat what you’re selling!

Our panelists for this event will be:

	Jennifer Lopez is the owner of Swallowtail Foods, LLC, in Fort Collins, which manufactures a line of instant chai latte mixes called Pi Chai. Pi Chai made its debut in 2014, and is sold at local stores & coffeeshops in Colorado. Jennifer has 25+ years of experience in the food & beverage industry.
	Owner of Loveland’s Generations Wine & Martini Bar, Erin Borsdorf came to Larimer county in 2006, operating/managing several restaurants including Cafe Vino, Vincent, Woody’s Wood Fired Pizza, and Basil Flats (Longmont) among others before working at Loveland’s Pourhouse Bar and Grill for two years. During this time she developed a business plan to open present day Generations. She has a background in secondary education, has worked as a political strategist in IL, and holds degrees in theatrical design, social sciences, and communication, as well as licensing as a secondary educator and real estate agent.
	Ken King has operated, rescued, designed and built over 100 independent restaurants in his 40-year food service career. He has owned a successful steakhouse, family restaurant, hot dog stand, prime rib house, and European bistro.Ken is an expert at improving business performance, creating new brands, identifying opportunities, and working with clients on specific operational and development challenges. He is available to SBDC clients for troubleshooting, business evaluation, and specialized assistance.
	Patrick O’Neill is a Colorado native, born to an entrepreneurial family. Patrick served 6 years in the Marine Corps as an intelligence analyst. He graduated from CU Boulder in 1991 with a degree in political science. Patrick then managed his family’s industrial painting business and later entered a career in law enforcement. In 2012 he and his wife, Stefanie, bought Vern’s Toffee House from her family and continue to nurture its growth.

Thank you to our event sponsor:

Our first 2016 “Small Business After Hours” event drew another great crowd! Presenter Andy Smith of Chrisland Real Estate Companies gave us some valuable information on expectations for leasing real estate for a retail business. In case you missed it, we wanted to give you a recap of what was discussed!

The Larimer Small Business Development Center (SBDC) released its 2015 economic impact results, and related business education metrics.  “Our clients enjoyed sales increases of a record $9.0M, up 70% from 2014, “ said Mike O’Connell, Larimer SBDC Director. “It was an excellent and exciting year,” he added.

Through its relationships with commercial banks, micro-lenders, and other resource partners, the SBDC also helped match client funding needs with financial providers.  “We helped clients harness  $6.7M of capital formation for business growth, almost double last year’s number” commented O’Connell.

The Larimer SBDC also helped 21 new businesses start, and its clients created/retained over 550 jobs in 2015.

“Working with the SBDC has been crucial to my success”, says Kelsie Schwager, owner of the Fernweh Inn & Hostel in Fort Collins.  “As a small business, who wouldn’t want this help?”  The SBDC consulted with  600 clients, 50% more than the 2013 client base.  Almost 20% of these clients were women, veteran, or minority-owned businesses.

“Our consultants did a fantastic job of providing both general and specialized business advice.   We also conducted 70 training classes covering financial, marketing, business planning, and business start-up processes; as well as industry-specific events for our restaurant, retail, and health and wellness clients,” added Terri Donovan-Keirns, Larimer SBDC Program Coordinator.