A Nonprofit Built for People the Job Market Has Overlooked
Option C Foundation is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit that helps adults facing serious employment barriers — disabilities, prior felony convictions, long-term unemployment, or limited access to opportunity — pursue economic independence by building real small businesses, with hands-on professional execution and mentorship, at no cost.
Removing the Cost Barrier to Becoming a Small Business Owner
Option C Foundation's mission is to help adults facing employment barriers — including disabilities, prior felony convictions, and long-term unemployment — achieve economic independence through small business ownership.
We believe a disability, a prior conviction, or a difficult chapter of life should not permanently close every door — and that with real structure, real mentorship, and real implementation, capable people in these situations can build something meaningful of their own.
Option C Foundation does not sell programs or take any ownership share of the businesses we help launch. Every service is funded by donors, grants, and community partners who believe motivated people deserve a fair shot.
"Many people who apply to Option C haven't failed — they've just been failed by a system that didn't leave room for their circumstances. We're here to create another option."
— Kyle K. Peterson, Founder
The Problem We're Trying to Solve
Millions of adults in the United States face hiring barriers that have nothing to do with their potential, work ethic, or ability to build something of value. Option C was built to address this directly — not with another job-skills class, but with a complete path to small business ownership.
Background Checks Close Doors
People with prior felony convictions often face automatic rejection in hiring — regardless of how much time has passed, the nature of the offense, or the growth that has happened since. The legal system has been served, but employment opportunities remain locked. Self-employment removes the gatekeeper.
Disability Limits Traditional Employment
Traditional employment often requires schedules, environments, and physical demands that aren't compatible with many disabilities or chronic health conditions. Self-employment can be built around a person's actual strengths, schedule, and capacity — not bent to fit someone else's job description.
Long Gaps Lead to More Rejection
People who have been out of the workforce for extended periods — due to illness, incarceration, caregiving, or other circumstances — face an impossible cycle: they can't get a job without recent experience, and they can't get experience without a job. Building a business breaks the loop.
Ideas Without Structure Don't Launch
Many people have a viable business idea, real motivation, and genuine potential — but no mentorship, no framework, and no money for an agency. Without structure, most ideas stay ideas. Option C exists to bridge that gap with hands-on execution, not another workbook.
What Actually Helps People Move Forward
Option C doesn't offer generic business advice. Our program is designed specifically for people who face real barriers, and it's built to be practical, structured, and actually executed alongside the participant — not just taught.
Start With the Person, Not the Business
Before anything else, we take time to understand each participant's background, strengths, limitations, and goals. The right business for one person may be completely wrong for another. We start there — not with a template.
Build It With You, Not Just Teach You About It
We don't hand out a workbook. Our team produces a 20+ page custom business plan, designs a logo, builds a custom website, sets up SEO, Google Business Profile, Google Analytics, and the social pages — alongside the participant, with them in the loop the whole way.
Focus on Lawful, Realistic Businesses
We only support legitimate small business ideas that are legal, practical, and aligned with the participant's actual situation. We do not support schemes, passive income promises, or MLM-style structures. Sustainability matters more than novelty.
Provide Structure, Accountability, and a Path to Independence
Most small businesses fail early because of missing structure and outside accountability. We build both into the program through scheduled check-ins, milestone reviews, and 1-on-1 mentorship — and we measure success by how prepared participants are to operate independently when they leave.
The System Behind the Work: The Business Building Machine
Everything Option C does runs on a structured, repeatable framework called the Business Building Machine — a 6-stage operating system that takes a participant from "I have an idea" (or no idea at all) to "I have a real, functioning small business with customers." Each stage has defined inputs, concrete deliverables, and a checkpoint before the next stage begins.
6 Defined Stages
Research & Direction, Strategic Foundation, Offer & Path, Visibility Engine, Delivery System, and Optimize & Grow. Every participant moves through the same six stages, in the same order, with clear inputs and outputs at each step.
Real Outputs Each Stage
Every stage produces tangible, approved deliverables — a Business Direction Report, a 20+ page business plan, a logo and brand identity, a custom website, social profile setup, and tracking infrastructure — not abstract lessons.
Mentor-Guided Throughout
Participants are paired 1-on-1 with a mentor who walks them through each stage, answers questions, reviews outputs, and holds them accountable to the work. No one is left to figure it out alone.
One stage at a time. No skipping. No guessing.
Founded by an Entrepreneur with Real Business-Building Experience
Option C Foundation was founded by Kyle K. Peterson, a multi-business entrepreneur with hands-on experience in business formation, digital marketing, web development, and systems automation. The Business Building Machine is the same operating framework Kyle uses in his own businesses — now made available, at no cost, to participants who otherwise couldn't access this level of structured support.
Kyle started Option C with a straightforward belief: people who face serious barriers to traditional employment deserve a real alternative — not platitudes, not generic advice, but a structured path toward something they can actually build and own. Across years of running and building real small businesses, he saw the same pattern repeatedly — capable people with strong work ethic, real ideas, and lived experience were being filtered out of the job market for reasons that had nothing to do with their ability to do the work.
The traditional employment system is built around assumptions — clean background checks, continuous work history, predictable schedules, full physical capacity — that exclude millions of capable adults. Entrepreneurship is one of the few paths forward that doesn't require an employer to say yes. But it's also the path most often locked behind tools, expertise, and money these same individuals don't have.
Option C exists to close that gap. Not with another free webinar or PDF, but with the actual deliverables a real small business needs to launch — a custom business plan, a logo, a website, SEO, a Google Business Profile, analytics, social pages — paired with the kind of 1-on-1 mentorship that makes all of it usable. Built with the participant. Built for the participant. Built for free.
Our Goals for Real, Measurable Impact
Option C is a young organization. We're building something rigorous from the ground up — and we believe in being clear about what we're working toward, year by year, instead of inflating our claims today.
Serve 25–40 Participants
Help launch at least 20 new small businesses in our first program year. Build the systems and case studies that prove the model works — one participant at a time.
Serve 150+ Participants Annually
Grow into a sustained program with strong referral partnerships across reentry, disability service, and workforce development organizations. Multiply the operating capacity of the Business Building Machine.
Become a Recognized Model
Establish Option C as a leading regional model for inclusive entrepreneurship — a scalable, replicable nonprofit approach that other communities can adopt to expand access to legitimate small business ownership.
If you'd like to help us hit these goals — whether by referring a candidate, donating, partnering, or volunteering — we'd love to hear from you.
What Option C Stands For
These are the four principles that shape every decision we make — from who we accept into the program, to how we deliver the work, to what kind of businesses we'll support and the kind we won't.
Equity
Opportunity should not be denied due to past mistakes or physical limitations. Most of our participants have been screened out, ignored, or written off — not for what they can do, but for what they've been through. Option C is built to look at the person in front of us, evaluate their potential, and give them a real shot at building something of their own.
Accountability
Participants are held to real-world business standards. We don't lower expectations because someone has had a hard road — that would be a different kind of dismissal. Every participant is expected to do the work, hit the milestones, and treat the business they're building like it actually matters. Because it does.
Dignity
We focus on ownership, not charity. The goal is not to hand a participant something to consume. The goal is to help them build something they own, run, and can take with them. Even if Option C disappeared tomorrow, the business stays theirs. That's the point.
Sustainability
Businesses must be legal, ethical, and viable. Option C does not support schemes, passive-income promises, or MLM-style structures. We build real, lawful small businesses with real customers and real cash flow. If a business model only works under deception or technicalities, we won't help build it — full stop.
Option C Foundation Is a Registered 501(c)(3) Nonprofit
Option C Foundation operates as a tax-exempt nonprofit organization. Donations are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. EIN: 41-3208039.
501(c)(3) Status
Option C Foundation is recognized by the IRS as a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. We operate in accordance with nonprofit governance, financial transparency, and public benefit requirements.
Tax-Deductible Donations
Contributions to Option C Foundation are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. Donors should consult their tax advisor for guidance specific to their situation. We provide written acknowledgment of all qualifying donations.
Focused on Public Benefit
All program activities are directed toward our nonprofit mission: helping adults facing employment barriers build legitimate small businesses through education, mentorship, and structured implementation support.
Referring Organizations and Partners
If you work with adults who face employment barriers — through reentry programs, disability services, workforce development, social work, or other support services — Option C may be able to serve the people you work with.
We welcome referral relationships with organizations aligned with our mission. If you believe someone in your network may be a candidate for the program, you're welcome to share our interest form with them or reach out directly to learn how we work with referral partners.
Organizations We Work With
- Reentry and reintegration programs
- Disability services and vocational rehabilitation
- Workforce development organizations
- Social service agencies and case managers
- Faith-based community organizations
- Community colleges and adult education programs
Ready to Build Something of Your Own?
If traditional employment hasn't worked for you, Option C may be able to help you build another path through entrepreneurship — with a real business plan, a real website, real branding, and real mentorship. Apply now to see if you qualify. There's no cost. There's no commitment.