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Midland BAM BIZHUB in Midland currently offers an Entrepreneurship Certificate Program through Odessa College and plans to deploy this program at other universities in the region.
BAM president Michael Crain said the first classes were offered last June. BAM BIZHUB is the non-profit side of the company that provides business class, and BAM is the commercial side that cooperates with clients to develop their business.
“We have actually put it into action at Odessa University and Howard University. Crain said.
He added that they are working with South Plains College and New Mexico Junior College to bring the program there and possibly the university.
It is a 10-week program conducted through Odessa College and taught by Crane and executive partner Angel Garcia.
Crain said entrepreneurs can go through all stages from business development to market launch. Mentoring is also provided.
“It’s really starting to gain some traction. Ultimately what we’re doing is actually doing a proof of concept ourselves in class,” Crain says.
Since its opening, there have been 1,021 students.
Courses are conducted primarily via video conferencing, but four are face-to-face. This includes onboarding, business models, business plans, finances, and a review of what they’ve learned and any suggestions you can offer to improve it.
They examine items such as financial forecasts, investor fact sheets, and financing opportunities, including everything the Small Business Administration has to offer investors.
BAM has helped start a variety of businesses.
“We helped launch a shaved ice truck and then worked with a few large companies overseas. and we’re looking at the Permian so we’re finding gaps to see if they fit in. …here in the United States, we work with them …to find the gaps where they fit.
“But if you’re looking to take action, need resources, and want help on how to strategize your actions, we’re for you,” he added.
Crane and Garcia met at the University of Texas in the Permian Basin. Crain was Executive Director of Economic Development and oversaw the Small Business Development Center, where Garcia worked.
“When I left, I think we wanted to create something more valuable for our community. You could say there were a lot of missing pieces, but now we’re just filling them in.” The amount of resources to help start an idea and grow a business, Crain said.
They have several guest lecturers with different specialties, including grants, law, and intellectual property, along with Dileep Lau from Houston.
With 35 years of retail experience, Crain’s wife, Sandra, put together a program for customer service.
BAM board members also have financial, retail, legal, franchising, and many other expertise to help get your business off the ground.
Crain said BAM is something that has been missing in the field before.
“As a businessman myself who used to own a manufacturing company, I wish something like this was available. It’s a good way to help keep some startups that have increasing failure rates, and that’s what we’re trying to stop,” Crane said.
He added that their success rate is 80-90%.
“That’s because they not only took our classes, but they also received rigorous instruction. I think our greatest feature is that we don’t go to the bank with a business plan. We are a business. partner for life,” said Crain.
He added that the companies they coached can call even if they have been in business for 10 years or more.
According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 20% of new businesses fail in the first two years of operation, 45% in the first five years, and 65% in the first ten years. According to Investopedia, only 25% of new businesses have been in existence for 15 years or more.
BAM also has a bi-weekly podcast called BAM Biz Talk, hosted by Crain and Garcia. They just started season two.
Garcia said they had guests at every show except the first one where they introduced themselves.
“We try to keep a very diverse group, but you know, it’s focused on entrepreneurs,” Garcia said.
Crain said that the first show had Javier Joven and that Midland At-Large City Council member Dan Corrales was an advocate for their organization.
One of our upcoming podcasts will feature Midland Mayor Lori Blong.
“We will distribute this every two weeks to get to know the people in our community, those who do business or are associated with our business, and to echo their experiences, hardships, obstacles and things. Be careful when launching,” Crane said.
“We enjoy it, and if so, I think it’s really informative for the community, getting to know people you know and like and being able to reach out and touch. University of Oklahoma and These are all people within our community, except for the two giant professors at Lafayette, we have a relationship… maybe later in the first quarter someone from Kansas State and Tulane He’ll come and probably do an interview with us as well.
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