Jun. 8—When Larry Harris was a freshman at Cheyney University of Pennsylvania, he sold plates of Caribbean and soul food on the weekends out of his dorm room for $6 a pop.
The dorm endeavor evolved into the private dining and catering business Harris owns today, called Chef Penn Catering. With his business, Harris is a semifinalist with eight other entrepreneurs across the country in The UPS Store 2023 Small Biz Challenge, a national competition.
The semifinalists have been completing social media challenges to increase their web presence.
Public votes will decide the top three entrepreneurs. Those finalists will go to New York for a series of challenges to be completed in front of a celebrity host and guest judges.
The winner gets $25,000 and a feature in Inc. Magazine.
The $25,000 could help Harris get a brick-and-mortar location, he said.
It's hard to get bank loans for a small food business unless the business has proven success, he said. He's working a second job to fund the catering business in the meantime.
He wants his business to be in Frederick, where he lives, since there aren't many Caribbean and soul food options, he said.
"I think it would be that final step to getting that brick and mortar," he said. "... I think that it would help me a whole lot to go from where I'm at to actually having an actual building where people can actually come."
With Chef Penn Catering, Harris offers Caribbean and soul food, as well as private dining experiences. Harris is also a DJ, a service he can provide along with the food if a customer requests it.
Since he doesn't have his own business location, Harris and his team use the kitchens of people who hire them. He shops for groceries, cooks at the location of the event, and cleans up afterward.
He doesn't do individualized plates like he used to in the early stages of his business, but at a home base, he could bring them back, he said.
In order to advance to the Small Biz finals, Harris must be one of the top three vote getters by June 12.
Harris has been tackling the three semifinal challenges for this part of the competition. All are meant to help grow the presence of the small business. The participants are each assigned a mentor for the process.
The first step in the competition was simple: share information about the business, what the business owner wants to accomplish and their mission.
The second challenge has businesses work on their social media presence. The third challenge is for businesses to refine their web presence.
Harris' mentor is Jasmine Star, founder and CEO of the social media marketing strategy business Social Curator. Harris said she's been a great help in expanding Chef Penn Catering's digital footprint.