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Peoria partners with Maricopa SBDC to offer free counseling, launches Start Smart, Grow Smart class

City of Peoria · January 16, 2026

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Summary

The City of Peoria is partnering with the Maricopa Small Business Development Center to provide free one-on-one counseling in Peoria beginning January 2026 and to offer a Start Smart, Grow Smart class that starts Jan. 27 for new and prospective business owners.

The City of Peoria announced a partnership with the Maricopa Small Business Development Center to bring free, one-to-one business counseling to Peoria beginning in January 2026 and to offer a Start Smart, Grow Smart class that starts Jan. 27.

The program aims to help entrepreneurs at all stages, from idea to expansion. A Maricopa SBDC representative said the SBDC provides free, individualized counseling across the West Valley and will deliver services in Peoria beginning in January 2026. "The Maricopa SBDC offers 1 to 1 free counseling for small businesses and entrepreneurs that are in any stage," the representative said.

City officials framed the partnership as a way to address common small-business pain points such as operations and marketing and to help business owners learn to use new tools, including artificial intelligence, more effectively. Another SBDC representative described the upcoming course as a "dream builder" program for new business owners and people thinking about starting a business, noting that the Start Smart, Grow Smart series will begin on Jan. 27.

Speakers cited local success as evidence of the SBDC's impact. The representatives highlighted JAG Construction of Peoria and owner Noel as a client who grew from a handful of employees to about 40 employees and recently qualified for a $38,000,000 project after working with the SBDC. The representatives said they serve thousands of clients each year and called such client growth "jewels in the rough."

The city said it will post registration details so Peoria business owners can sign up for counseling appointments and the Start Smart, Grow Smart class. No cost to participants was stated beyond the representatives' description of the SBDC's one-to-one counseling as "free." No additional funding sources, program capacity limits, or instructor details were specified in the transcript.

The city and SBDC representatives closed by encouraging interested business owners to register and watch for further outreach. The organizers indicated services and the Jan. 27 class are expected to proceed in January 2026.