Chicago-area school believes business improves disadvantaged communities around the world
Joseph Business School (JBS) is embarking on an ambitious five-year mission to help 100,000 entrepreneurs scale their businesses to $1 million. Scheduled to launch on June 29, 2024, the campaign aims to rival the best offerings from elite institutions and reshape the global business landscape.
Led by Harvard Business School MBA graduate Dr. Deloris Thomas, JBS is a Christian school founded in 1999 by noted evangelist Dr. Bill Winston. Located at 7600 Roosevelt Road in a once abandoned shopping mall, the school now features a state-of-the-art worship center, technology hub, educational institute, business incubator and vibrant shopping plaza. Celebrating its 25th anniversary, JBS has also launched a campaign to raise $25 million to provide full scholarships to students and entrepreneurs.
The commencement event will include a press conference at 9 a.m. followed by the Class of 2024 Commencement at 10 a.m., which will recognize 115 students, including 20 Spanish language course graduates. Over the past 25 years, 2,326 students from five continents have completed the school’s entrepreneurship programs. JBS has partnered with APEX to help students secure more than $1.6 billion in government contracts, with more than 50 alumni becoming millionaires.
Dr. Thomas emphasized Dr. Winston’s vision for the school, to help entrepreneurs scale their businesses and eradicate poverty. “When you look at the average small business in the United States, the average income is very low,” Dr. Thomas said. “They’re sole proprietors, they make less than $100,000, and they can’t afford to hire people. If you have a million-dollar business, you can create jobs and opportunities for others, and you can start to scale your company.”
Named after the biblical figure Joseph, JBS was founded to eradicate poverty and create generational wealth using biblical and practical principles. We welcome students who are committed to our mission of faith-based education and community development.
David Ramser, dean of the Entrepreneurship Campus Program, highlighted the transformative power of a JBS education and shared the story of a financially successful graduate from Cabrini Green: “Her family moved from Cabrini Green to a million-dollar home in the Chicago suburbs in one generation. It’s very inspiring,” Ramser said.
Dr Thomas quoted Ezekiel 36:35 to explain the school’s vision: “The land that was desolate will become like the Garden of Eden, and cities that were desolate, waste and abandoned will be fortified and inhabited,” she added, “We believe we can nurture the talent we find in these disadvantaged communities and help transform it into entrepreneurial enterprises that can help close the wealth gap for communities, families and the world.”
For more information about the Joseph School of Business, please visit the school’s website at https://www.jbs.edu.
