The Joseph Business School in Forest Park has launched a campaign to help 100,000 entrepreneurs, particularly Black and Hispanic business owners, grow their businesses to reach $1 million in revenue within the next five years.
The initiative comes as a celebration of the accredited Christian school’s 25th anniversary last year. The Joseph Business School started offering its entrepreneurship program in 2023 and, since then, over 50 graduates have created million-dollar companies while at the institution.Â
The school’s entrepreneurship program is four-months long, and the next session starts in February. It offers more than 30 specialized courses that cover marketing, sales and financial management. The program combines business education with biblical principles and provides personalized support, training and access to a network of experts to help participants grow their businesses.
“We are always enhancing the program to ensure our students are aware of, and take advantage of, the latest changes in technologies, modern business practices, regulatory updates and emerging marketplace opportunities,” David Ramseur, dean of Joseph Business School’s Chicago campus, said in a written statement.
Participants don’t need a high school diploma or college degree to apply for the entrepreneurship program. The cost of the program is $3,525, though the school offers flexible payment plans and scholarships from private donations.
Starting Feb. 15, those accepted into the entrepreneurship program’s spring session will begin hybrid classes. On Feb. 17, the online, asynchronous program will start. Programs are available in English and Spanish.
Ramseur said Joseph Business School recently conducted a study among prospective students, asking them what was keeping them from starting or scaling their business.
“I thought it would be securing capital, but they told us their biggest challenge is not knowing the right steps to take,” Ramseur said in a statement. “That concern ranked even higher than access to funding. Our program is designed to bridge that gap – providing entrepreneurs with a clear roadmap, expert guidance, and proven strategies to help those just starting to build a strong foundation and those already in business take their company to the next level and scale successfully.”
In addition to its initiative to help 100,000 entrepreneurs to scale their businesses to earn $1 million in revenue, the Joseph Business School is also launching a campaign to raise $25 million for students who can’t afford tuition.
“The Joseph Business School believes entrepreneurialism is a key factor in any economy, and entrepreneurs’ ideas are key to any economy becoming a thriving economy,” said Joseph Business School’s President Dr. Deloris Thomas in a statement.
“When you look at particularly Black and Brown communities that are under-resourced and under-financed, you see a great divide as far as wealth, poverty, and violence,” Thomas said. “All those things can happen when a community is under-resourced. We believe we can help create those gifts into entrepreneurial ventures, whereby they can close the wealth gap in communities, their families, and the world.”
Joseph Business School, 7600 Roosevelt Road, is launching the next session of the entrepreneurship programs in February. Apply at https://www.jbs.edu/apply/.