SMALL BUSINESS WORKSHOP

Business Advisers of Cleveland have invited EDWINS Alum to a complimentary workshop we are hosting focused on marketing and developing your business’s SWOT analysis.  Our goal is to continuously improve how we help Northeast Ohio entrepreneurs; this workshop is the first of a series.  

As you know, SWOT stands for "Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats" and is an acronym used for businesses to conduct a marketing analysis for their own service or product.  

If you don't understand where your product or service fits in the marketplace, or you haven't identified your main competition, (or you mistakenly think you don't have competition!), this workshop is for you. 

If you are developing a strategic plan for your business and you don't have a thorough SWOT analysis, this workshop is for you.  

As an attendee of this BAC workshop, you will be paired with a BAC mentor during the meeting and will leave with a personalized SWOT analysis for your business.  This session will be held Wednesday April 29th from 9am - 11am.  You are welcome to arrive after 8:30am.  We will begin promptly at 9am.

Please RSVP using this link: RSVP HERE

Where: Business Advisers of Cleveland
Midtown Tech Hive
6815 Euclid Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44103

We are able to accommodate the 15-20 clients during this session and your registration will be confirmed via email closer to the date.

Thank you!  Questions?  Please call or text Grace Ann: 216-466-5585

When: Apri 26th at 3 PM

Where: EDWINS Bakery 13104 Buckeye Road

RSVP: Here

A Monthly Supper Club for EDWINS Staff & Alumni

What It Is

EDWINS: After Service is a monthly dinner club designed to bring EDWINS staff and alumni together around a shared table. Once a month, on a Monday evening, the group gathers at one of Cleveland’s great ethnic restaurants to eat family-style, talk honestly about food and the industry, and spend time in community—after the work is done.

This is not a class.

This is not a networking event.

This is hospitality, experienced together.

The experience

Each dinner centers on a single restaurant and cuisine. One EDWINS team member serves as the food lead, ordering dishes to be shared across the table and briefly setting the context. What we’re eating, why it matters, and what to notice.

The conversation is organic but intentional, touching on:

Food, culture, and tradition

Life in the restaurant industry today

Career paths, lessons learned, and real talk

What we take from other kitchens into our own work

How It Works

When: Tuesday, May 12

Where: TBD by Chef Gerry

Who: EDWINS staff and alumni

Group Size: Limited seating to keep it intimate (10 tickets will be available)

Cost: $20 per person buy-in

TICKETS: (If interested email alumni@edwinsrestaurant.org or call 216-921-3333 for and we will add you to preorder waitlist)

Food: Family-style, ordered by the food lead (Chef Gerry will be the next food lead!)

Alcohol: Not included, unless integral to the cuisine and experience (at staff discretion)

Why It Exists

Restaurants are classrooms.

Tables are where learning sticks.

EDWINS: After Service is about expanding perspective, building relationships, and honoring the cultures that shape our industry. While reminding us why we chose this work in the first place.

No uniforms.

No rush.

Just good food, good conversation, and time together.

EDWINS: After Service

Where the real conversations begin. 

Pre-Kitchen-CLE Site Visit

In March, members of the Edwins Leadership & Restaurant Alumni group had the opportunity to tour Pre-Kitchen-CLE, a shared commercial kitchen space here in Cleveland. During the visit, the group explored the facility and learned about the many opportunities the shared kitchen model offers to small business owners; from low-overhead kitchen access to the potential for growing a food business without the burden of a traditional brick-and-mortar investment. It was an inspiring and informative outing for our community of culinary entrepreneurs.

Edwins: After Service at Szechuan Gourmet

March brought a wonderful evening of food, fellowship, and good conversation as nine Alumni gathered at Szechuan Gourmet in Cleveland for another edition of Edwins: After Service, hosted by Jon Khanna. Jon curated a fantastic spread of Szechuan dishes for the group to enjoy, and the table was filled with as much laughter and great conversation as it was with great food. Alumni caught up on each other's lives, shared what's been going on, and enjoyed the kind of camaraderie that makes this community so special.

We're grateful to Jon for his hospitality and for bringing everyone together for such a memorable evening.

Our next Edwins: After Service will be held on May 12th, hosted by Chef Gerry; we hope to see even more Alumni there!

Webinar Recap: The Line & The Life - Mastering the Restaurant Interview

On Monday, March 9th at 5PM, Alumni tuned in via Zoom for an insightful webinar led by Brian Zrimsek titled The Line & The Life: Mastering the Restaurant Interview. With over 35 years of corporate experience, Brian guided participants through the often nerve-wracking process of interviewing for a new role, particularly when looking to take that next step in your career.

The presentation covered how to put your best foot forward in an interview setting, with a focus on developing your personal brand and refining your individual style - tools that can make all the difference when you're sitting across the table from a potential employer. It was a practical and encouraging session that left attendees feeling more confident and prepared for whatever opportunity comes next.

Missed the webinar? No worries... it was recorded! Reach out to alumni@edwinsrestaurant.org to request access to the recording.

 

Are You Looking to Connect with Your Children/Grandchildren Through the Music?

The Beck Center for the Arts is partnering with EDWINS to offer a free to you music enrichment program. The program consists of musical experiences, including singing, listening, instrument play and movement in every session. Children will also have the opportunity to learn about different band and orchestra instruments throughout the year, see, hear, and touch the instruments.  Reach out and let us know if you plan on attending, we're here to help you take that next step.

 

Join us at 10:30 AM at John Carroll University for our next big graduation. 

The students over the last few classes have worked hard and are ready to go into the world armed for their next moves in life.

There is no better way than to celebrate with the people that have been in their shoes and we would love to have our alumni there.

10:30 AM at 1 John Carroll Blvd, University Heights, OH 44118

Upcoming Programs

BUSINESS WORKSHOP

Business Advisers of Cleveland have invited EDWINS Alum to a complimentary workshop we are hosting focused on marketing and developing your business’s SWOT analysis.  Our goal is to continuously improve how we help Northeast Ohio entrepreneurs; this workshop is the first of a series.  

As you know, SWOT stands for "Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats" and is an acronym used for businesses to conduct a marketing analysis for their own service or product.  

If you don't understand where your product or service fits in the marketplace, or you haven't identified your main competition, (or you mistakenly think you don't have competition!), this workshop is for you. 

If you are developing a strategic plan for your business and you don't have a thorough SWOT analysis, this workshop is for you.  

As an attendee of this BAC workshop, you will be paired with a BAC mentor during the meeting and will leave with a personalized SWOT analysis for your business.  This session will be held Wednesday April 29th from 9am - 11am.  You are welcome to arrive after 8:30am.  We will begin promptly at 9am.

Please RSVP using this link: RSVP HERE

Where: Business Advisers of Cleveland
Midtown Tech Hive
6815 Euclid Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44103

We are able to accommodate the 15-20 clients during this session and your registration will be confirmed via email closer to the date.

Thank you!  Questions?  Please call or text Grace Ann: 216-466-5585

 

Intro to Sheets

Learn the essentials of Google Sheets or Excel for running your small business.  This will be a brief introduction to using spreadsheets and how to make the most out of them without spending money on a software system when you are as cash strapped as it is.

When: Apri 26th at 3 PM

Where: EDWINS Bakery 13104 Buckeye Road

RSVP: Here

 

EDWINS FOOD FIGHT

More details coming soon but if you want to compete, please email Greg at alumni@edwinsrestaurant.org. This will be open to watch to other alumni and the public, and if successful may become a series. We hope you help make it a success.

 

Ongoing Programs

Cooks Book Club

Are you interested in exploring the hospitality industry more in depth and improving skills at the same time?

We are meeting virtually to discuss chapters 10-12 of Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara.

You can buy your copy of the book from Loganberry Books on Larchmere and if you'd like to join the "book club" email Greg at alumni@edwinsrestaurant.org

Next meeting will be via zoom on April 16th at 11 AM. Sign up here!

 

Health and Wellness Saturdays

April 18th at 10 AM 

Let's switch it up and hold our health and wellness meetings via zoom. This is an open conversation with what goals you have and maybe some of the struggles you have with reaching those goals.

Details: Monthly informal health and wellness discussion.  

RSVP here but if you have questions feel free to reach out, alumni@edwinsrestaurant.org.

Where: Online - Here

 

Life Skills Seminars

Stay tuned for life skill seminars ranging from mental health and financial health to small business planning and development.

These will be offered in person and via Zoom!

Recipe of the Month: Parsley Cheddar Scone

3 cup Flour

1/3 cup Sugar

2 1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

1 tsp Salt

3/4 cup Butter, cubed cold

1 cup Buttermilk

1 cup Parsley Chopped or minced

1 cup Shredded Cheddar 

 

Prep Method

1. Preheat oven to 425 and line a baking sheet on a parchment paper

2. Add flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt to a bowl and combine thoroughly with a whisk

3. Add cold cubed butter and combine with hands until butter crumbles are about the size of a pea.

4. Add buttermilk until dough is a shaggy consistency

5. Add in parsley and cheddar cheese

6. Place dough onto a sheet pan and using a sharp knife divide into 8 scones.

Steve Weiss, ACC
Catalis Leadership
Resurgence Leadership

Imagine living on the Moon.

Not visiting. Not planting a flag and coming home. Living there — a base, a community, human beings making a life a quarter million miles from Earth. And from there, eventually, Mars.

That's the dream behind NASA's Artemis program. And this April, the first crewed step toward that dream is scheduled to launch.

Four astronauts will climb into a capsule called Orion, ride the most powerful rocket ever built, and travel farther from Earth than any human being in history — past the Moon, beyond it, into a darkness no person has ever entered. And then they'll come back.

That's it. That's the whole mission.

No landing. No moonwalk. No base. Just: go out there with people aboard, see if everything works, and come home.

We are exploring the idea of having Alumni made products at the Edwins Butcher Shop.

If you have a product you'd like to sell...herbal blends, sauces, packaged items, etc. we would love to share them with the world. We will also have a spot to host your business cards for highlighting your small businesses.

Email Greg at alumni@edwinsrestaurant.org with your products and to get information on next steps.

If you put EDWINS in your profile under the education section you will automatically show up as an alumni on the EDWINS LinkedIn page.