This morning, local business owners, elected officials and decision makers gathered at Cape Fear Botanical Garden for Power Breakfast: Taking Care Of Business. 

The speakers for this event were North Carolina Secretary of State The Honorable Elaine F. Marshall and Carolina Small Business Development Fund (CSBDF) CEO & President Kevin S. Dick.  Together, they provided insights into the small business ecosystem locally and across the state. 

Dick and Marshall addressed some of the obstacles small businesses commonly face such as access to talent, access to capital, access to supply chain, insufficient customer base and a lack of essential business knowledge. Both panelists work in their respective organizations to promote resources available to these small business owners to alleviate the struggles that come with owning a business and provide a support system. 

Oftentimes small business owners are unaware of the programs available to help them. 

“I really feel like it's a lack of awareness. Actually, there is a lot of capital through organizations … but people, they don't know about the entrepreneurial ecosystems through the Small Business Center at the community college…and there are a lot of free or what I prefer to say prepaid – they’re taxpayer-paid resources – available in public institutions,” remarked Dick. 

Community college Small Business Centers provide free or low-cost education, mentorship and support services. Additionally, a comprehensive new-business checklist and a curated database of resources by county are available on the Rural RISE NC webpage to help new entrepreneurs tap into resources in their local communities. The CSBDF also offers quick access to programs and information geared toward small business owners. 

A few tips the experts offered to small business start ups include:

• Know who your target market is
• Leverage available resources and join organizations rooted in helping small businesses
• Develop both short-term and long-term business plans

“It's really about an investment of public resources that are creating private outlook. What we do is the essence of public private partnership,” said Dick about small business operations. 

• Build relationships with other small businesses and larger local companies for collaboration, mentorship and contract opportunities

“The Fayetteville State study that I first referenced indicated that if we can improve the success rate of North Carolina businesses by 5% that will create 24,500 jobs annually, and we'll add $1.5 to $2 billion to the economy annually. That's why I'm fired up about what I can do. I'm not naive to think I can close the rural-urban gap, but I sure as hell can work pretty hard and mean it,” shared Marshall. 

Thank you to everyone who joined us for the final Power Breakfast of 2025! We’ll see you all again in the new year. Our next Power Breakfast will be a big one with the unveiling of our 2026 Book on Business in addition to our signature golden nuggets of wisdom, impactful conversations and great breakfast. More information soon to come!