Miami-Dade County’s Strive 305 initiative and BizHack Academy Launch Masterclass Series for Businesses on “Artificial Intelligence for Marketing and Sales”

Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava announced today seven free #BizHackLive Masterclasses for small business owners entitled, “AI for Marketing and Sales.” The Masterclasses, run by Miami-Dade County-based BizHack Academy, are designed to be a “user guide” to the opportunities and challenges of artificial intelligence for the workforce of the future. Small business owners and their teams will learn during seven dynamic hours of instruction the key concepts and larger context of AI, the best way to take advantage of AI-powered tools, and how to avoid bias, factual errors, and other downsides to the new technology. The sessions will include guests from Microsoft and other software companies, top marketing agencies, and other experts in the practical applications of AI in business. The Masterclasses run from  April 19, 2023, to May 31, 2023, for seven consecutive Wednesdays from 12:30-1:30 pm ET. Businesses can learn more and register here and by visiting www.bizhack.ai.

“For our local businesses to be future ready, we want to make sure they are fully prepared to take advantage of the latest technologies so they are not left behind,” said Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. “That’s why we are so proud to have partnered with BizHack Academy to teach small businesses how to use cutting-edge artificial intelligence tools to grow with purpose, streamline operations, and have a bigger impact on our community.”

BizHack Academy, a leading provider of marketing training and consulting services, has been a founding partner since September 2021 of Miami-Dade County’s Strive 305 Virtual Incubator program, a one-stop shop for small business learning. The County’s partnership with BizHack includes three elements: 

• The #BizHackLive Masterclass series which has included 29 live training webinars attended by 1,960 small businesses
• $90,000 in scholarships for 30 under-represented businesses for BizHack’s signature training course, “The Digital Marketer’s Edge”
• A free 15-hour recorded course on marketing strategy in English, Spanish, and Creole, which will be released later this year

BizHack Academy is on a mission to help 100,000 businesses recover from COVID-19, use modern marketing practices, and achieve sustainable growth.

The #BizHackLive Masterclasses on “AI for Marketing and Sales” will demonstrate the power of AI to turbo-charge small businesses by boosting productivity and reducing costs. It will provide small businesses, which might lack the confidence to jump into AI, with practical first steps to streamline, ideate, and generate. To learn more click here.

“We’re delighted that Mayor Cava recognizes AI’s critical role in helping small businesses prepare for the future, and we applaud Miami-Dade County’s willingness to invest in training our businesses to be Future Ready,” said BizHack Founder and CEO Dan Grech, a former NPR and PBS correspondent and the host of the Masterclass series. “AI is a once-in-a-generation technological shift, and it's advancing at a breakneck speed. But AI tools are also highly practical, immediately useful, and inexpensive to implement. This course will help small businesses get started.”

About the “AI for Marketing and Sales” Masterclasses

Learn how to leverage AI to improve your marketing and sales. Join Season 8 of the #BizHackLive Masterclass, led by experts and featuring cutting-edge case studies and tools. Discover how AI can streamline processes and save you valuable time and resources, giving you a competitive edge in your industry. The sessions will feature concrete, actionable advice that small businesses can implement immediately and see results in no time. 

The first session will introduce the basic terms and context of Artificial Intelligence and show businesses how they can effectively partner with AI to create better work. We’ll then spend three sessions on how to use AI to create compelling marketing and sales content in text, images, video and audio. We’ll then focus on how AI can drive business value through enhanced marketing strategies, sales efforts, and analytics and forecasting. 

The sessions will be hosted by Dan Grech, the Founder, and CEO of BizHack and a former NPR and PBS correspondent, and will be co-hosted by two AI experts, Nicole Donnelly of AI Smart Marketing and Jeff Cooper of Saltbox. Masterclasses take place every Wednesday from April 19th to May 31st from 12:30-1:30 p.m. ET. Here’s what we’ll cover each week:

1. The Human Element of AI (April 19)
2. AI for Text, Translation and Email (April 26)
3. AI for Images, Social Media and Ads (May 3)
4. AI for Video, Audio and Podcasts (May 10)
5. AI for Content Strategy and SEO (May 17)
6. AI for Sales, Lead Scoring and LinkedIn (May 24)
7. AI for Analytics, Forecasting and Prediction (May 31)

The #BizHackLive Masterclasses are brought to you by the Strive 305 initiative of the Office of the Mayor of Miami-Dade County. Our partners are South Florida PBS, AI Smart Marketing, and Saltbox.

The sessions will capture the excitement and energy created by AI as it opens up new creative possibilities. And we’ll explore the ethical, legal and privacy issues it raises. After each session, participants will be given assignments, handouts and resources to further their knowledge. The Masterclasses will equip business owners, marketing professionals, and sales teams with cutting-edge tools and up-to-the-minute insights they need to leverage AI for maximum impact. Join us and elevate your business to new heights.

Registration is free and open to the community here or at www.bizhack.ai. Only a single registration is required to attend all of the sessions.

You can find over 100 free training sessions on digital marketing for small businesses on BizHack’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/bizhackacademy 

Register for the Masterclass Series here: 

https://try.bizhack.com/MCseries

Masterclasses and the Miami-Dade Community

The Strive 305 #BizHackLive Series has included 19 Masterclasses since September 2021 with nearly 2000 live attendees. Previous seasons ranged from topics such as develop a marketing strategy to crisis communications to preparing for Web 3.0 and the Metaverse. The #BizHackLive series was launched during the pandemic as a service to the business community, and it has been recognized with national awards in Cause Marketing from the American Marketing Association and Ragan's PR Daily. More than a dozen partners and media organizations help promote the sessions. The full list of community partners is below.

The Masterclass series is sponsored by the Office of the Mayor of Miami-Dade County, and its Partners are South Florida PBS (WPBT2), AI Smart Marketing, and Saltbox. Other Community Partners include:

• Aventura Marketing Council
• Comcast Rise
• Coconut Grove Chamber of Commerce
• Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce
• Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce
• ICABA
• IT News and Events
• Miami Bayside Foundation
• North Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce
• Prospera
• Resort Trades Publications
• South Florida Interactive Marketing Association, 
• Score Miami

To become a community partner, email [email protected] or call (786) 664-7324.

ABOUT MIAMI-DADE MAYOR’S OFFICE STRIVE 305 INITIATIVE AND FUTURE READY PLAN

Miami-Dade County’s Future Ready Plan aims to build an economy that works for all: a thriving, inclusive economy that meets today’s challenges, and an innovation-driven, fast-paced economy that is ready for the future. It has 3 pillars: empowering the local workforce, supporting small businesses, and unleashing the power of innovation. 

Strive 305  is an initiative of the Miami-Dade Mayor’s Office of Economic Development that provides resources, technical assistance, and collaborative spaces where small business owners can learn and support one another. The program is designed to accelerate the growth of small businesses countywide and support budding entrepreneurs as they launch and grow new businesses.

The program will support the small business community through:

• An online small business and entrepreneurship hub that will inform, educate, and connect small businesses to the resources offered by the county and its partners
• A virtual small business incubator that will feature a full educational curriculum, coaching, and mentorship opportunities for companies of all types and stages of growth
• A countywide network of physical incubators, co-working spaces, and maker studios equipped with the tools entrepreneurs need to launch new ventures
• Multi-week technical assistance boot camps to help small businesses overcome common challenges such as access to capital, finances, business planning, branding, digital marketing, sales, operations, and more

For more information about the Strive 305 initiative, visit https://www.miamidade.gov/strive305 

ABOUT BIZHACK ACADEMY

BizHack Academy is a certified minority-owned Florida business on a mission to give 100,000 small businesses a simpler path to purpose-driven growth. It’s the creator of the award-winning Lead Building System™, a proven process for online lead generation, and the Thought Leadership Pyramid™, a systematic approach to content marketing. BizHack provides training programs, personalized coaching, and fractional Chief Marketing Officer services. Since its start in 2017, BizHack has provided digital growth training to thousands of businesses across Miami-Dade County and around the globe, ranging from startups to Fortune 500 companies, including NBCUniversal, Whirlpool, Novartis, Wells Fargo, and Royal Caribbean. The average participant in its 7-week accelerated program generated $28.87 in revenue for every $1.00 spent on ads. BizHack Founder and CEO Dan Grech is a former NPR and PBS journalist turned entrepreneur and educator, and he carries forward a family legacy of teaching and coaching. BizHack has participated in business accelerator programs funded by Goldman Sachs, the Knight Foundation, and Entrepreneur’s Organization. It has partnered with over a dozen university programs, including StartUP FIU, The Idea Center at Miami Dade College, and the Innovation Hub at Broward College. It was awarded Top Global Campaign in 2020 by the American Marketing Association, was a finalist for Cause Marketer of the Year by Ragan’s PR Daily, and was recognized as a Top Startup in 2019 in The Miami Herald’s Startup Challenge. For more information about BizHack Academy, visit www.bizhack.com or call (786) 664-7324 or email [email protected].

###