Launch Local at Work: Classic Carolina
Did you know that small businesses account for 44% of economic activity in the US? And right now they are struggling. The coronavirus pandemic has hit businesses hard across the board, and according to a Mckinsey report, those amongst the least financially resilient include 1.7 million small businesses, leaving 20 million workers vulnerable.
At Launch Local, we have assembled a highly skilled and passionate team to offer free consulting and business services to struggling small businesses across the nation with backgrounds ranging from web/graphic design to professional consulting and financial services.
Our client, Classic Carolina, is a family-owned UNC apparel store that sells everything from t-shirts to dog leashes and is best known for their humorous designs and their customer relationships. However, despite the local popularity of this establishment, Classic Carolina did not have the digital tools or online presence that became so important when the pandemic hit.
When we first approached shop owners Dhruva and Kris Chellani, they explained, “We are a small mom-and-pop shop on Franklin Street. We have a great location and a lot of great products, but we don’t have brand recognition, we have a terrible market presence, and we have an even worse online presence.”
Pictured: Classic Carolina co-owners, Kris Chellani (left) and Dhruva Chellani (right).
Our team immediately got to work. Poring over whatever data analytics the store had and our own market research, our head of strategy, Nikita Billman, led a team of LL seeders (our special term for interns, because they plant the seeds for digital growth) in devising a game-plan to get Classic Carolina on the digital map and improve the efficacy of their internal processes.
“Before we started working with Classic, we learned that Dhruva had been keeping track of inventory in his head for the past 18 years. We had our work cut out for us, but I feel thankful to work with Kris and Dhruva because they were open-minded to learning about digital transformation even though this idea was new to Classic.” - Nikita
The team identified and carried out 3 key work streams - 1) developing and implementing a digital marketing campaign, 2) re-designing and optimizing the website and 3) putting in place a digital inventory management system.
“Launch Local has been amazing for us over the past month. They have an outstanding team, made up of the most eager and motivated people I’ve worked with. Their passion for helping small businesses is unmatched and it has made me all the more excited to work on this project. They know exactly what questions to ask and how to get things done quickly.”
- Kris Chellani, co-owner, Classic Carolina
The people behind the Launch Local initiative are driving change forward for small businesses like Classic Carolina and everyone from seeder to upper management is motivated by a passion to help. We spoke to a few of our seeders working the Classic Carolina project and this is what they had to say -
Devon Triplett, freshman, UNC-Chapel Hill University,
majoring in Business Administration and Social Inequality
“I am passionate about assisting minorities in building wealth through business, investing, and personal finance. My desire to support small businesses through the pandemic coupled with my desire to apply the business fundamentals I learn in the classroom to a real world business are what initially drew me to Launch Local. Since joining, it is the people I am able to work with and the impact we are able to have on small businesses that makes me eager to continue working on projects with Launch Local.”
“My proudest moment at Launch Local was seeing my client, Kris (co-owner of Classic Carolina), smile and say “wow that is awesome!” following a client presentation. Knowing that the work my team and I did for Kris is going to create value for his small business makes everything worth it!”
Anna Manocha, junior, UNC-Chapel Hill University,
majoring in Business Administration + double-minoring in Spanish for the Business Professions and Entrepreneurship
“This past summer, I worked as a consultant for a start-up food hub in Chatham County that helped keep restaurants afloat during the pandemic. I was originally drawn to Launch Local because I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to give back to my community.”
“My mom owns her own small boutique (Pink Magnolia in Cary, NC), which is one of the reasons I am so passionate about helping family-owned businesses. After meeting Kris, I am even more passionate about my work with Classic Carolina because he is incredibly generous and open to all of our suggestions.”
“I think the largest impact the team and Kris have created together is updating the inventory system so that it is all organized within a POS system. This will help Classic Carolina keep a better track of inventory, ensure that the website is up to date, etc.”
Carson Moore, freshman, UNC-Chapel Hill University,
double-majoring in Business Administration and Economics + minoring in Spanish for the Business Professions
“I grew up working alongside my parents on our family farm in Idaho. A strong connection to family and the outdoors has certainly shaped who I am today. Originally, I was drawn to Launch Local because it offered the opportunity to apply the skills I've learned in the classroom to real-world engagement. Since joining, this has grown to include the connections that I am able to make with others who are part of the organization.”
“I was drawn to the Classic Carolina engagement because it was an opportunity to help a small main-street business that had clearly been hit hard by the pandemic. I think our work on the engagement is going to allow Classic Carolina to reach a larger base of customers and better differentiate itself from the competition.”
This is just the beginning for Launch Local and our team is looking forward to helping many more small businesses push through this difficult time. If you or someone you know runs a small business and might benefit from free business and design services, please fill out the form on our business services page, or reach out to us via email at hello@launchlocal.org. We are constantly looking for more people to help and you could help us to help our next client by simply sharing this article or our website with your circle.
Help us to help those who need it the most; we may be small but we are effective and we are growing.
