In Central Florida, amid small business growth and economic inequality, Joseph Simmons is helping people rewrite their stories.
As the Founder and Executive Director of the Center for Micro-Entrepreneurial Training (CMET), Joseph is empowering underrepresented business owners to transform ideas into thriving enterprises. And sometimes, those stories begin with a single, life-changing conversation.
One of Joseph’s most impactful early memories from CMET’s training program came during a business financials session. A participant with a marketing business seemed overwhelmed by balance sheets and cash flow statements.
“You could see that she was really digesting everything we covered in that session,” Joseph recalled. By lunch she had excused herself, but by the end of the day, she called Joseph with some huge news. “She said, ‘Joe, guess what? I took all the information they gave us; I went to my banker… and I got a credit line.’”
Then there was the story of a single mother of two, passionate about writing and clinging to her business by a thread.
Joseph remembers her honesty during CMET’s five-day virtual Entrepreneur Business Accelerator (EBA) program.
“She said, ‘I'm on my last breath with this business. Hopefully this can help me,'" Joseph explained.
And it did. After the program, she registered her business, sought legal help, and secured a $250,000 book deal with an NFL player. Today, she’s on track to break $1 million in revenue, with multiple contracts, a growing sales team, and a relentless drive, despite suffering a major accident last year.
“She’s got that ‘it’ factor,” Joseph said. “She’s going to be successful.”
These aren’t just stories, they’re testaments to the mission and model of CMET.
The mission behind CMET
CMET was born in May 2020, during the height of the pandemic, when Joseph—then a mentor with SCORE, which provides free business mentorship in all 50 states—was assigned to help process small business applications for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster EIDL loans. What he found was deeply troubling.
“The majority of applications couldn’t move forward because they didn’t have the basics,” Joseph said. “They weren’t registered with the state. They didn’t have a W-9, no employer identification number (EIN)… all the critical things needed to get access to capital.”
With more than 40 years of experience in medical and pharmaceutical sales management, Joseph was no stranger to problem-solving or leading workshops. He took that background and sketched out what would become the foundation of CMET.
By November 2020, CMET had its nonprofit status. By March 2021, it launched its first cohort, a modest eight-day program with six participants. From the start, Joseph insisted on including funders directly in the process, helping build trust and transparency.
Over time, CMET streamlined its training into a five-day accelerator, built on five pillars of entrepreneurship: business planning, identifying your target audience, marketing, sales, and access to strategic advisors.
The power of relationships
Among the first and most important partners to recognize CMET’s potential was TD Bank.
Jason Rothamel, Regional Vice President for Orlando, first heard of CMET through internal connections shortly after relocating to Florida. He was immediately struck by the organization’s impact.
“I pulled up CMET’s website and was shocked to see how much they were doing,” Jason said. "Organizations like Joseph’s are foundational to what TD Bank stands for, including giving back to the community it serves and lifting up historically marginalized groups."
TD Bank’s involvement has evolved beyond financial support. Their team members serve as judges for pitch competitions, panelists at events, and mentors in the EBA program. TD Bank also funds CMET’s six-month Growth Accelerator, which offers one-on-one coaching and deeper development for select entrepreneurs ready to scale.
According to Joseph, “It’s not always about access to capital, it’s about access to thought leaders, advisors, people who hold them accountable.”
Jason echoed that sentiment. “There’s no better feeling than seeing someone start with a vision, open a deposit account, and then grow to the point where they need a $250,000 line of credit,” he said. “That’s what banking should be, building real relationships and growing together.”
In addition to TD Bank, CMET has forged relationships with organizations like Lift Orlando and the City of Winter Park, launching specialized business academies and pilot programs to expand its reach. And because CMET is fully virtual, its impact now extends beyond Florida, training entrepreneurs from Canada to Nigeria.
To date, CMET has supported over 400 entrepreneurs and counting.
How family built the foundation
For all his accomplishments, Joseph doesn’t take the credit. He gives it to his parents, Albert and Hettie Simmons, who instilled in him the values, skills, and vision that now drive CMET.
“My father was a builder, a carpenter and mason,” Joseph shared. “Any time he was assigned a church, he had to build it from the ground up.”
Watching his father mobilize communities, organize teams, and lead with quiet resolve gave Joseph a unique lens into what it takes to launch something from nothing.
“From a business standpoint, it was like watching someone launch a product," he said.
His mother had only a sixth-grade education. Yet she filled their home with business magazines and high expectations.
“She’d bring home Forbes, The Wall Street Journal… She saw something in me,” Joseph said. “I was expected to act right, do the right thing, and read to be in rooms with adults.”
Joseph’s public speaking skills were sharpened in church, where he often had to address the congregation. His father’s discipline, preparing just as hard for six people as for 60, left a lasting impression.
“I always remember that,” Joseph said. “Now, when I run a small cohort, I do the same. I prepare like it’s the most important event of the year.”