Dream. Build. Mentor. Lab: 1st Cohort
GOOD NEWS › FOUNDER’S BLOG > DBM: 1ST COHORT
From Our Founder:
Dream. Build. Mentor. Lab: First Cohort
For years, I have witnessed how much Sunday Friends families rely on their own, small, home-based businesses - housecleaning, food catering, yard services, and more. Typically, the whole family participates, from the youngest to the oldest. They work hard. They are proud of their work. And they usually make just enough to survive.
Back in my day with Sunday Friends, we tried to support our entrepreneurial families with some business skills education, but it was our newer ED Tatiana who recognized that the time to take this education to the next level is NOW. The main impetus: the rising prices and rents that are making everyday life more difficult than ever for our families.
Tatiana fully understood Sunday Friends’ mission to help families break the generational perpetuation of poverty. And, while she appreciated our history of path-to-college programming for the youths, she also recognized that that path was not necessarily the right fit for the parents who are in need right now - and also not for those youths who lack the resources for college.
Tatiana saw that we could do both: Help families support their children’s path to college and careers AND help families lift themselves out of poverty now.
A core value of Sunday Friends has always been RESPECT. Respecting our families’ lifestyles, situations, and choices is key to how we support them. For many, a small family business can leverage what they already do well. They bring special talents and gifts along with admirable work ethics. What they need from us, Tatiana recognized, is specific business knowledge, resources, and connections.
So, that’s how the Dream. Build. Mentor. (DBM) Lab was born.
Tatiana began by learning from the families. (Every bit of programming in Sunday Friends begins that way.) And then she conducted research, developed the case, acquired startup funding, hired staff, and developed community partnerships, especially with Santa Clara University’s My Own Business Institute (MOBI), the providers of much of the class curriculum.
Fifteen families enrolled in the first DBM Lab, starting in November. Three intensive months later, fifteen families graduated. There they are in the picture. Their businesses include: tacos, daycare, commercial cleaning, housecleaning, tamales, donuts, nails, makeup, haircuts, flowers, events, crocheting, landscaping, a clothing consultant, a bartender hiring consultant, and an influencer in the insurance industry.
The programming includes CLASSES on business planning, accounting, credit, financing, payment processing, data collection, taxes, licenses, permits, marketing - and that’s just a sampling.
Each family is also assigned a MENTOR - a community member steeped in small business experience and expertise - who provides personalized and dedicated support. Many of our mentors have come from community businesses, such as Keypoint Credit Union.
DBM grad stories may best illustrate the program's impact.…
Juan learned about DBM because his wife and children had been attending Sunday Friends programs for 4 years. He hadn’t been able to join them because he was busy working three jobs just to make ends meet. Juan worked for commercial cleaning companies, where he had mastered the trade but still brought home low hourly wages. He knew that, if he could go into business for himself, he would be more successful and might actually have more time to spend with his kids. Well, DBM helped him see that his vision was possible. Through the programming, he gained confidence, acquired a business license, and launched his own commercial cleaning business. Juan has clients now and is on his way to opening up more time for his family.
Monica enrolled in the DBM program because she wanted to be able to help her daughter strengthen her crocheting business. One of the strengths of Sunday Friends has always been that parents are supported in leading by example as they prepare their kids to succeed in life. Well, in spite of her 9-to-5 job and family responsibilities, Monica’s daughter joined her mom for the full 3-month course. Her daughter is now carrying forward the business, thanks to Monica’s initiative.
Maria joined DBM to support her husband’s moving business. She took the course without him and brought her new knowledge to him, which made her a more valuable partner. But, another consequential thing happened. Through the course, Maria started connecting the dots and realized that she could also apply her new skills to her cleaning business, where she engages moms who stay close to home caring for young children.
And Sandra enlisted in DBM with just a dream: to run a clothing boutique for women, operating, at least initially, out of her home. Sandra has a knack for helping women figure out what clothes will work for them. She loves to encourage her clients to try new things. Thanks to DBM, she has acquired a rack, a mannequin, and hangers and is pursuing the permit she learned she would need. She shared that there were so many beginning steps to establishing a legitimate business in San Jose that she would not have known about otherwise, like insurance, taxes, selling online, budgeting, and tracking expenses.
Graduation Day for the first cohort of families was a landmark celebration. Participants were told that, if they prepared a “pitch deck” presentation of their business, they would receive $150 for a business expense. If they went further and gave a public speech at graduation, they would receive $300. Scary as that was for some, every single grad mustered the courage and spoke to the crowd on graduation day. Sandra had to overcome “shyness” and said that she could hardly remember afterwards what she had said. But, the assembled families, mentors, and collaborating organizations, along with some community dignitaries, cheered them on.
I see a promising future for each of these remarkable families. Please join me in congratulating them along with the Sunday Friends staff, the community partners, the mentors, and the funders. What a successful rollout of a program that will surely serve many more enterprising families, not just for now but for years to come! And not just for this first cohort of families, but for the next cohort (underway now) and the next.
-Janis, 08/2025
Janis Baron: A Powerful Force for Change
For over 30 years, Janis Baron has inspired transformative action through her unwavering compassion. In 1997, she answered a “Call to Action,” conceptualizing the Sunday Friends model—a program built on self-respect, where pride stems from work and community service, not handouts.
Janis, with her extensive experience leading projects at Intel and Apple, turned her focus to community service, from suicide prevention to inner-city programs. She transitioned from Silicon Valley boardrooms to addressing the stark realities of struggling families.
Janis, her children, and friends began by visiting a local family shelter. This wasn’t a one-off act of charity. Janis and her dedicated team of volunteers spent years listening to the shelter families’ needs, building relationships based on trust, and a genuine desire to uplift.
Sunday Friends grew slowly and organically, fueled by a shared vision. The program fosters self-respect and pride, allowing families to contribute and learn, with thank you letters as bridges for giving back. Literacy and computer skills programs, fresh produce distribution, and the “Sunday Friends Bank” for financial literacy empower families to break the cycle of poverty.
This initiative is about more than survival—it’s about empowerment. Janis’ dedication saw young mothers land jobs and families rise from despair, fueling her passion for years. Even after her retirement in 2019, Sunday Friends thrives as a vibrant community, a testament to her vision, and the countless volunteers who found purpose within its walls.
Janis’ legacy is a reminder that we are all connected, and that small acts of kindness can blossom into extraordinary change. Sunday Friends continues to be a “Call to Action,” helping families break the generational cycle of poverty and inspiring hope for a more equitable community.
