Carbon Chamber and Economic Development Corporation is challenging entrepreneurs to follow their dreams.

This fall, CCEDC will be holding the Build Your American Dream Challenge, a series of courses aimed to help people with business ideas work through the process of starting a small business. The dates for the event have not yet been set.Kathy Henderson, director of economic development, said that anyone in the county with a business idea is welcome to sign up. There will be a nominal fee for the series."We are challenging small-business owners and entrepreneurs to come in and learn how to set up a business," she said.Courses on whether the business idea is viable for the area, demographics, QuickBooks, financing options and more will be taught by business professionals through partnerships with Wilkes University's Small Business Development Center and Lehigh Carbon Community College.The finale of the series will be Carbon County's own "Guppy Tank," similar to the television show "Shark Tank."Entrepreneurs will go in front of a panel comprising local banks and lending institutions as well as private investors to pitch their idea in the hopes of securing funding to start the business."At the end of the program, we're hoping to have at least a large percentage of those who signed up be able to have a viable small business to start in Carbon County," Henderson said.Marlyn Kissner, executive director of CCEDC, said this will be a fun way to kick-start the local economy and small-business sector in Carbon County.More details will be released at a later time, but Kissner and Henderson urge entrepreneurs to gather their ideas now.For more information, call the CCEDC office at 610-379-5000 or email Henderson at

khenderson@carboncountychamber.org.