-
North Carolina Secretary of State Elaine Marshall presents at the WeSpeak WNC Workforce Conference on Monday, Feb. 27.
Larry Griffin
lgriffin@thesmokymountaintimes.com
At the two-day WeSpeak WNC Workforce Conference at the Cherokee Convention Center, Secretary of State Elaine Marshall said small businesses needed to be raised up and supported by community resources.
Per the conference website, the event was designed as “an opportunity for WNC businesses in the retail, hospitality, accommodation, tourism and entertainment sectors to connect with each other, with potential employees, and to resources available for them in our region.”
In a presentation before a few dozen people at 1 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 27, Marshall cited statistics of record new business creation.
In 2021, the stats showed that there were around 178,000 new businesses formed, up from 126,000 in 2020 and 100,000 in 2019.
But further stats showed not everything was going as planned – one in four new North Carolina businesses close by their third year, and half close by their seventh year. The statistics from Marshall show there were a variety of reasons the businesses were being started – 8% did so because they lost another job, 3% did so because a previous business closed, 15% wanted a second income and 55% saw a new opportunity in general.
Of the new businesses chronicled, 34% were in services, including various personal, professional and home needs, while 12% were in retail and 10% were in construction and trade.
Marshall said some of the obstacles faced by new businesses included inadequate funding, government regulations and not enough “know-how.”
She said there would be efforts to tour the state and speak with the small business communities in various counties, to try and assess what needs to change to help their businesses flourish.
Part of that will come with the state’s Rural RISE NC program, which aims to connect small business owners with resources to help them stay in business longer.
Speaking in an interview after the speech, Marshall said the main thesis of what she was saying was that business owners and those who want to open new companies shouldn’t be afraid of reaching out for help.
“They don’t need to be intimidated,” she said. “Economic development groups, community college, these things are there for them.”
Marshall said the idea her office was working on was reducing the gap between rural and urban areas.
“We want to begin to curtail the divide,” she said. “Success for small businesses will come when we do that. There’s not a lot of available land for big corporations to come [to areas like Swain County], and small businesses need support to get a better success rate.”
On Tuesday, a group of high school students from various schools around the area arrived to sit in on the second day of the WeSpeak conference.
Melissa Haigler, a teacher at Smoky Mountain High School, said it would be a positive experience for the kids.
“It’s important for them to see the wide variety of careers available right here,” she said. “They can meet adults who are successfully following their dreams. It shows them you don’t have to leave to follow your dreams.”
Lance Culpepper, who is a member of the Cherokee Historical Association, was in attendance both days. He said it was “valuable” to have a place for various business leaders to gather and share ideas. And Julie Fox Jones, who owns Sylva-based Wildkitchen Supply, said the conference had inspired her as to the presence of resources in the area that she could use for her own new business.
Meanwhile, John Milner with Quirky Birds Treehouse & Bistro said he thought the event was a strong networking opportunity.
To learn more about the conference and support available for local businesses, visit wespeakwnc.com.