Introduction to and Advanced Small Business, led by prison i

The Benefits of a Major Program, Plus Additional Opportunities: 

Exclusive Participation in Video and Live, On-Unit Business Seminars from SCORE 

Enrollment in Advanced Business Course and Advanced Workshops Based on Availability 

Mentors, Free Books, and Other Products/Services for Those who Qualify 

The First Step in being Eligible for Future Programs under development as part of the Integrated Development and Growth Initiative, including: 

Small Business Prison Employment Facility  

Free Small Business Transitional Housing and Employment Campus 

The Introduction to Small Business course was created, written, and is taught by inmates experienced in small business, and began in 2019 on a single unit with a goal of helping inmates learn about small business and develop business plans to improve their employment/work  

prospects once released.  To date, over 670 inmates have graduated the course, a number of those released have started businesses, and the course has been expanded as a major program – Arizona’s first and only peer-led major program - in 2025 to include the 25 major state prison units.  More than 30 inmate facilitators have been hired to serve as mentors, one for each unit, and it is expected the course will graduate more than 1,400 inmates on an annual basis. 

The course is a 14 class, 7 week course which meets two times each week for two hours.  Class sizes are limited to 12-14 students, and participants are given assignments to complete and turn in for most class subjects, periodic tests are conducted, various essays and presentations are written and given, and the culmination of the course is a refined product/business concept and sales pitch. 

Content for the course and other course benefits are provided through various collaborations, including:

The in-prison Advanced Small Business course and workshop certification series, is launching in April, 2025, and allows selected graduates from the Introduction to Small Business course to further their training and knowledge in specific business areas, as well as develop their business plan using their work from the Introduction course. 

Offered once per quarter on all ADCRR units offering Introduction to Small Business, the Advanced Business Course allows selected Introduction to Small Business course graduates to pursue the development and construction of a full business plan.  Using a small, mentoring, workshop-focused instructional environment, over the course of 8 weeks, 4-6 participants per session at each unit will build upon the skills learned in the Introduction course to put together the specifics of an actionable, fundable business plan, including budgets and forecasting, conducting and analyzing research, creating marketing plans and media strategies, completing a sales pitch deck, designing logos, and more.

Advanced Business students will be assigned a SCORE mentor upon enrollment to provide access to further assistance and resources and, at the end of the course, will have a comprehensive plan that will be sent to the core instruction unit to receive feedback, suggestions, and additional ideas by both the main course instructors as well as partner organizations. 

 Also occurring on a quarterly basis and offered to all participants successfully graduating the Introduction to Small Business course, various workshops will be offered that provide skill and knowledge certification in specific business areas that are critical and relevant to small business launches and continuing operations.  Participants will have the opportunity to sign up for and gain certification in areas including: 

Google Ads 

Fulfillment by Amazon

 Financial Freedom by Tony Robbins

Quickbooks

 Public Speaking Social Media Marketing Management by HubSpot

 Supervision Skills, Project and Time Management 

Effective Selling 

Combined, the Advanced Small Business class, SCORE mentorship, and workshop certification series bring together all the elements required to successfully start and operate a business, building upon the foundation of knowledge students acquired in the Introduction to Small Business course, and assist them in preparing a solid, actionable plan that is executable upon their release from prison. 

 With the exception of a few select courses, most prison inmates with lifetime sentences have few opportunities to participate in meaningful programming that will assist them and be relevant during their incarceration.  Further, many parole boards require applicants to seek out and participate in prison programs as part of the parole hearing review.  The Lifer Work Skills Certification course provides people in prison with job skills certification from accredited schools, foundations, and universities, including both online and printed certificates, and should assist the parole applicant in meeting those needs in a credible way.

To determine work skill areas, a survey was conducted among the inmate population with life sentences.  Of those surveyed, 94% indicated they were interested in participating in job/work skills courses, while 6% had no interest in programming due to the lack of ability to utilize these learned skills on the unit.

As we begin to prepare for the second wave of expansion of the Introduction to Small Business course at the end of this month, we recently started another important class…the Lifer Work Skills Certification course.  This new session has more than 20 participants, and the certification is Google E-Commerce Store Management.  Over the next several weeks, these guys – some who haven’t even seen a smart phone or experienced internet – will discover how to set up, operate, and marketing an online store! 

So far, the Lifer Work Skills Certification course has helped more than 75 individuals with life sentences prepare not only for upcoming parole board hearings but, should they get out, with useful knowledge and employment skills to support their future success.  This continues the commitment of PrisonFit and PF Holdings to provide innovative, comprehensive support among the incarcerated community.