Week-long programming delivers practical training on leasing, AI, scaling, childcare licensing, and food business law to Montgomery entrepreneurs. See more at sbossmgm.com!
MONTGOMERY, AL May 11, 2026 — The Small Business One-Stop Shop (SBOSS) of Montgomery completed a full week of small business programming during National Small Business Week 2026, delivering five free workshops across five consecutive days to entrepreneurs at every stage of business development.
The five-event series — held May 4–8, 2026 at Dream Maker Studio and via virtual session — reached business owners seeking practical guidance on commercial leasing, artificial intelligence, scaling strategy, childcare licensing, and Alabama food business law. Across all five events, 51 participants attended from 108 registered, with Built to Scale achieving a 92.3% attendance-to-registration conversion rate — the strongest of the week.
Highlights by Event
MONDAY, MAY 4 — BEFORE YOU SIGN THE LEASE City of Montgomery officials walked attendees through the Certificate of Occupancy process, commercial zoning, building occupancy classification, inspection requirements, and the risks of committing to a space before confirming its legal suitability. Presenters Dalton Kimbrough, Construction Permit Specialist, and Pat McGilberry, Assistant Chief Building Official, emphasized that business owners should verify zoning and occupancy before signing any lease. The session helped three entrepreneurs — representing a 33% conversion from nine registered — gain direct access to the people responsible for interpreting and enforcing the city’s building requirements.
TUESDAY, MAY 5 — PLUG IN: AI TOOLS BUILT FOR THE BUSINESS OWNER Eleven entrepreneurs attended this hands-on technology workshop that introduced practical applications of artificial intelligence for marketing, operations, customer service, workflow automation, and business planning. Workshop facilitator Zach guided participants through prompt strategy, privacy considerations, and real-time tool comparisons across Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, Canva, and others. Montgomery-based AI company MM Intelligence — an NVIDIA Inception partner — demonstrated its tools, including Ask Montgomery and Mango, an AI voice receptionist designed for small business use. Attendance represented a 47.8% conversion from 23 registered.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 6 — BUILT TO SCALE LUNCH & LEARN WITH RUBY TUCK & SBA Twenty-four of 26 registered participants attended the week’s signature event, producing a 92.3% attendance rate. The session featured Ruby Tuck, Founder and CEO of Program Management Technology Services Incorporated, who shared her journey of building and scaling a woman-owned business through federal contracting, 8(a) certification, documentation systems, employee care, and values-based leadership. Ruby earned her 8(a) certification in 37 days — an unusually accelerated timeline — and has expanded PMTS to serve both federal and private sector clients across multiple states. The event included formal recognition of Ruby Tuck as the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Alabama Woman-Owned Small Business of the Year. Mayor Steven L. Reed and the City of Montgomery also issued a formal proclamation honoring her contributions to Montgomery’s economic vitality and the entrepreneurial community. Representatives from the SBA Alabama District Office, including Acting District Director David Glasgow and Outreach and Marketing Specialist Megan Rodriguez, participated in the program and connected attendees with federal resources for capital access, contracting, and business counseling.
“Small Business Week gave us the opportunity to meet entrepreneurs where they are. Whether someone is preparing to sign a lease, exploring AI, opening a childcare business, selling food from home, or learning how to scale, SBOSS is here to help business owners understand the process and move forward with confidence.” — Martavious Young, SBOSS Montgomery
THURSDAY, MAY 7 — OPEN THE DOOR: LICENSING YOUR CHILDCARE BUSINESS SBOSS delivered a step-by-step childcare licensing workshop for current and aspiring childcare providers. Licensing experts covered DHR requirements for family daycare homes, group daycare homes, and childcare centers — including zoning, fi re inspections, Alabama Arise Care, background checks, medical documentation, staff qualifications, emergency preparedness, transportation, and Alabama Pathways training. Three of 13 registered participants attended, with the majority being first-time SBOSS attendees entering the childcare space.
FRIDAY, MAY 8 — PLATE TO PERMIT: COTTAGE FOOD LAW WORKSHOP (VIRTUAL) SBOSS closed Small Business Week with a virtual session on Alabama’s cottage food law, led by Danny Reams, Regional Agent for Food Safety with Alabama Extension. Ten of 17 registered participants joined the virtual session. The workshop helped food entrepreneurs understand which products can be sold legally from home, how to register with the health department, food labeling requirements, allergen documentation, pH and water activity testing, canning safety, fermentation, and the certification steps needed to launch a compliant home-based food business.
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