Allen Eubanks from Pauls Valley, Oklahoma has always wanted to own his own business. Now, as a semifinalist in the Dream Ace contest, he has a chance to make his wish a reality. The winner of the contest will be awarded an Ace Hardware store, valued at $1 million.

Eubanks says the contest appealed to him because he has always been handy, and he loves hardware stores. Eubanks was selected from 5,400 applicants to represent Oklahoma. A question and answer session narrowed the contestants down to 20, and a 10-minute presentation closed the gap even further to 12 remaining contestants. The final 12 have been given a battery of personal assessment tests ranging from personality tests to sales and business aptitude evaluations. Eubanks will also participate in a hardware boot camp, where he will be evaluated on hardware acumen, customer-service skills, and home-improvement knowledge.

The contestants’ final challenge will be to present their business plan to the judging committee. The idea for the Dream Ace promotion came about after Ace surveyed its customers and found out that more than 75% of them want to be their own boss, but don’t have the capital to support their dreams.