The complete outline of the 4-week Preliminary Self-Paced Training and the 12-Week Small Business Tech Academy — designed with Southern Lion Foundation to help merchants strengthen their business, improve digital skills, and compete at a higher level.
4 weeks · roughly 2–3 hours per week · completed inside your vendor dashboard. Finish all four weeks to earn your Foundations Badge and printable certificate.
Understand online selling from the customer's perspective, then set up the building blocks of a modern storefront.
Turn your physical retail knowledge into digital-ready systems: inventory, margins, customer flow, and repeat-buyer thinking.
Show up consistently on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook without burning out. Build a simple content engine.
Use AI as your personal marketing assistant, product describer, and idea partner — no coding required.
Hands-on, in-person + virtual instruction with individualized guidance. Cohort begins in September, with a preparation phase in August (self-paced review + One-on-One Technical Assessment).
Southern Lion merchants who complete the One-on-One Technical Assessment, all required Academy sessions, and the technology implementation assignments will be eligible to receive a one-month rent credit, prorated over nine months.
Excerpts from Sonja Nichols, CEO of Southern Lion Foundation, to the first Academy Cohort.
"Southern Lion Foundation, in partnership with ITDP Training, is launching our very first cohort of the 12-Week Small Business Tech Academy. This is a structured, technology-powered, hands-on business growth platform designed to help you strengthen your business, improve your digital skills, work more efficiently, reach more customers, and compete at a much higher level."
"This is not a collection of disconnected workshops or occasional meetings. It is a comprehensive 12-week program with consistent instruction, practical assignments, individualized guidance, and tools you can begin applying to your business immediately. Learn today. Implement today. See results today."
"Please do not worry if technology is not your strength. You do not have to be a technology person to participate or succeed in this Academy. Throughout the month of August, we will offer a self-paced online review course to help you become familiar with important technology terms, tools, and ideas at your own pace."
"You are already doing the hard part. You are investing your money, your time, your creativity, your energy, and your faith into your business. This Academy is designed to help you build the systems around your dream."
How to register: Visit itdptraining.com → Select "Join as a Vendor" → Complete the registration → Write "Southern Lion Merchant" in the Tell Us More section.