THATCHER — The Small Business Development Center at Eastern Arizona College announced the program that helps develop entrepreneurs is accepting registration for the next round of classes.
Those wishing to learn more about Dreambuilder are encouraged to take part in one of two kickoff meetings.
In Greenlee County, the kickoff meeting will take place Monday, Jan. 26, at 6 p.m. at the Clifton Social Club. Register at https://clients.arizonasbdc.com/workshop.aspx?ekey=30460001.
The Graham County kickoff is Tuesday, Jan. 27, at 9 a.m. at the Graham County Chamber of Commerce. Register at https://clients.arizonasbdc.com/workshop.aspx?ekey=30460014.
“And then on Wednesdays, I’m going to have a special cosmetology-specific Dreambuilder cohort for the cosmetology students at their school,” said Torey Cranford, facilitator for the Dreambuilder program with the SBDC.
DreamBuilder is funded by Freeport-McMoRan and was created by FMI with the ASU Thunderbird School of Global Management. it started as an online training program designed for women in South America, to assist them in starting or growing their own business.
However, when the SBDC at EAC began teaching the course, it adopted a hybrid model of online courses with one in-person instruction each week. That change elevated Dreambuilder’s completion rate from 27 percent online only, to a 77-percent completion rate.
That success prompted the U.S. Treasury Department to grant $7.9 million to the Arizona Commerce Authority to implement the EAC SBDC model in 10 Arizona counties.
