By KATHY HENDERSON

Carbon Chamber & Economic Development CorporationI recently read an interesting article titled "Enabling the American Dream" by Ed Burghard. The article made me ask myself exactly what is the American Dream?Fundamentally, the American Dream is about hope the hope that every individual of whatever status has the chance to be all that he or she can be.There is a direct relationship between the number of people who pursue the American Dream and the health of society. The greater the number of people who pursue their dreams, the healthier America's economy is.Historically economic development in the United States has meant job attraction, retention and expansion as a way to help residents achieve prosperity. But sometimes that method falls short of what should be the real goal: to help the citizens achieve their own version of the American Dream.When I first told people about my new job as economic development director, their initial response was "so when are you going to bring big companies into the county so we can have more jobs?"Yes, this is part of what I do, however the reality is that small businesses make up the majority of employers in our area and across the country.Small businesses are the backbone of our economies. They give life to areas that perhaps bigger companies overlook for one reason or another.One of our functions in economic development is to work with existing businesses in Carbon County to help them with low-interest loans to purchase equipment or property or to expand their business. We also consult with business owners on cost-effective ways to market their business using the Chamber's network of over 6,000 members.For new entrepreneurs, we partner with the Small Business Development Center from Wilkes University. The SBDC provides counseling and advice on starting and operating your business. It is free, and you don't have to travel to Wilkes-Barre because appointments are set up through our office and you meet with your adviser here in Lehighton.A new project we are offering this fall is the "Build Your American Dream Challenge." We will take entrepreneur hopefuls through the process of setting up an actual business from idea to funding and everywhere in between.Beginning sessions will give you a reality check with "Does Your Idea Have Legs?" and "Demographics for Dummies." You may think you have the world's best idea, but if it doesn't meet our litmus test, you could be paddling upstream.Next on tap will be a homework assignment called "Are You Wired to be a Business Owner?" This will entail taking an online personality test and is meant as the next level of the reality check.From there we will move on to "Steps for a Business Plan" and "Social Media Marketing" to name a few, along with the legalities of setting up a business. The attendees will also learn about ways to obtain funding for their business and setting up their bookkeeping system. A huge portion of this session will include "Quickbooks and You" where the attendees will get to set up their own bookkeeping system, download it onto a USB drive and take it with them.But the best part of all of this will come at the end with our version of the popular ABC-TV show "Shark Tank." Ours will be called "The Guppy Tank."We have enlisted local bankers to sit on the panel and vie for the opportunity to help out new entrepreneurs in building their American Dream by financing their new business.We are extremely excited about this new venture for CCEDC and can't wait to get started!So, do you have what it takes to "Build Your American Dream"? If you think you do, register today through our website at

www.carboncountychamber.org or call our office for more information at 610-377-5000.Kathy Henderson is the director of economic development for the Carbon Chamber & Economic Development Corporation.