NC Secretary of State visits Henderson

Nov. 17—HENDERSON — Secretary of State Elaine Marshall held a small business roundtable discussion — featuring the Rural RISE NC Initiative — at Southern Charm on Friday morning before taking a tour of select downtown locations — followed by a late lunch with her local entourage at Bistro 130.

Entrepreneurship is about breaking the mold, said VGCC President Rachel Desmarais, and VGCC seeks to help entrepreneurs. Small businesses are the backbone of local economies.

Vance-Granville Community College was named last year as the National Innovative Community College of the Year by the National Association of Community College Entrepreneurs, making it the smallest, most rural college to be given the award.

Vance County Board of Commissioners Chair Yolanda Feimster spoke as well. The county government has a goal to foster small businesses. She thanked Marshall for coming.

Later that day, Henderson Mayor Eddie Ellington shared that he and Marshall have a longtime bond. They've worked together for nearly his whole tenure, having met at a women's luncheon some years ago.

An attorney and former state senator, Marshall became the first woman elected to her position in 1996. She thanked Ellington for his service before diving into some data.

In 2020, Vance County saw 348 businesses open their doors — the next, there were 571. This year, 398 new businesses have opened their doors so far. Franklin, Warren and Granville counties saw similar increases that are predicted to continue this year.

When Marshall was elected in 1997, her office was registering around 30,000 new business per year. In 2021, that number jumped up to 178,000, marking a statewide explosion in the number of new businesses. All 100 counties saw double-digit growth during that year. Many of those entrepreneurs are women or minorities.

"A great headline for all of this is that some of the most rapid growth came in the more economically distressed, tier one counties," said Marshall.

One in four businesses in the state fail after their third year, so there's a narrow window for Marshall's office to point them in the direction of certain helpful resources, like funding opportunities, business counselors and so on. To better do so, at the end of 2021, Marshall's office started the Rural RISE (Resources for Innovators, Start-ups and Entrepreneurs) Initiative, an expansive directory for all sorts of resources for new businesses by county.

"One critical ingredient is 'local,' " said Marshall. Those resources have local contacts.

The goal is to foster economic opportunities in every county to reduce the rural-urban divide and keep families closer together, the secretary said.

A survey of business owners by Marshall's office showed that 38% have insufficient investment money, a quarter have issues with government regulations and 23% have problems with access to "how-to" info.

There was a group of local business owners arranged in a semicircle around Marshall. They took turns introducing themselves and going over some of the challenges they've faced during their time in business.

Crystal Myrick, who runs The Warrenist and 134 on Main, a production studio and intimate event space. She's faced some issues with funding, using primarily her own capital to start the studio up, internet connectivity and raising two teenage boys. Being her own boss, with the flexible schedule it grants, helps with the latter.

JaJa Crews, who runs a balloon decor company called Crews Balloons from her home in Warren County, said hers was exposure.

"People don't know that we're here," she said.

Chef Queen, owner of the Franklin County-based Indulgent Essential Spices, said her challenges were related to her being Black — some investors were unwilling to put their money into a Black and LGBT-run business. Queen noted that she points prospective new business owners to the secretary of state's website. That's where RISE can be found — sosnc.gov/rise.

After the roundtable, Marshall, Ellington, Mayor-Elect Melissa Elliott and others went on a walk downtown, visiting Nella Roo's Boutique, where Marshall picked up a pair of earrings; Sadie's Coffee Corner, where the baristas took her behind the counter and showed her the tricks of the trade; Branche and Associates and Betty B's, all before having lunch at Bistro 130.