North Carolina

Inside North Carolina’s Small Business Centers and their role as ‘economic development engines’

Published

4 weeks ago

June 8, 2026

Inside North Carolina’s Small Business Centers and their role as ‘economic development engines’

Many businesses begin with an idea followed by a vital question: Is this idea feasible?

In North Carolina, there are 58 Small Business Centers (SBCs) — one at each of the state’s community colleges — dedicated to helping people answer this question.

In 2025, there were 1.1 million small businesses in North Carolina, accounting for 99.6% of businesses across the state. These small businesses employed over 1.8 million people, which makes up 44.2% of the state’s private-sector workforce, and they contributed to the creation of 52,820 jobs in 2024, underscoring the vital role small businesses play in the state’s economy and labor market.

SBCs support these small businesses by providing no-cost counseling, training, and technical assistance to entrepreneurs and small business owners at any phase in the business cycle. One SBC director, responding to an EdNC survey, described the centers as “the first welcoming place where everyday people can explore a business idea without feeling embarrassed, overwhelmed, or dismissed.”

To document the landscape of SBCs in North Carolina, EdNC conducted an online survey from March 12 to April 2, 2026. In the survey, 30 SBC directors answered questions about opportunities and challenges facing their center. Follow-up interviews were conducted with Anne Shaw, director of the Small Business Center Network, and SBC directors at Southeastern Community College and Surry Community College.

This article explains what Small Business Centers are, describes the role they play in local economies, and highlights challenges directors face that limit their ability to meet demand.

What are Small Business Centers?

Each of North Carolina’s 58 community colleges houses a Small Business Center, forming a statewide network that helps individuals translate their business dreams into reality. Together, these centers make up the Small Business Center Network (SBCN), which is housed within the N.C. Community College System (NCCCS).

SBCs provide counseling, training, and technical assistance to entrepreneurs at every stage of the business cycle, ranging from individuals exploring potential ideas to established businesses looking for growth opportunities.

“When they come to us, they’re bringing their precious dream, and it is a privilege to help them build that out, plan it, nurture it, grow it, and turn that dream into the reality of a business that is … really adding to the richness of a community,” said Shaw.

While SBCs are funded by the NCCCS and housed within individual community colleges, they are not just an on-campus program. Instead, SBCs are community-facing, meaning they are designed to serve the broader public. The services SBCs provide are free and available for anyone in the state of North Carolina, and SBCs primarily serve members of the public who may not have an existing connection to the community college, Shaw said.

Services provided

No matter what kind of idea you’ve got, we can help you get that business off the ground.
— Anne Shaw, SBCN Director

All SBCs offer a core set of services focused on the fundamentals of entrepreneurship, including guidance on how to start a business, manage finances, market products, and navigate taxes and administrative burdens. Demand for different services vary by SBC, and survey respondents identified startup guidance, marketing, financial management, and business development as their most common service areas. The SBCN aggregates training opportunities across all SBCs on its website.

While SBCs provide a wide range of services, Nathan Moore, director of the SBC at Southeastern Community College, said the most impactful work happens beyond workshops and training. Through one-on-one counseling, SBC staff work directly with clients to evaluate ideas, troubleshoot challenges, and guide decisions over time, and Moore views this as one of the most effective services.

SBCs are often misunderstood as “just a training program,” he said, when in reality, they support businesses from conception to fruition.

Funding sources

Anne Shaw, state director of the Small Business Center Network. Courtesy of Anne Shaw

SBCs are primarily funded by the General Assembly through the N.C. Community College System. At minimum, the base allocation for each SBC supports salary and benefits for one full-time Small Business Center director and $9,000 for instructional costs.

In addition to this base allocation, SBCs can receive additional performance-based funding, which is determined via six metrics.

These measures include the number of businesses started, number of jobs created, number of jobs retained, number of counseling clients, number of counseling hours, and the number of small businesses in the service area. This funding model ensures baseline access to funding across all SBCs while simultaneously rewarding centers for generating positive economic outcomes and providing more funding for centers in geographic areas that serve more small businesses.

In 2024-25, total state funding for SBCs was roughly $10 million.

Some SBCs supplement state funding with local college funding, grants, or donations; however, these secondary sources often make up a small portion of funding, with most SBCs relying primarily on state allocations.

Of the 30 SBC directors EdNC surveyed, 17 SBCs said they receive funding beyond the state allocation, and most of those respondents said additional funding made up less than 10% of total funding. Therefore, most centers rely heavily on state funding, which determines their capacity and the scope of services they are able to provide.

Staffing structure

Most SBCs operate with limited staff, often employing just one full-time director. The base funding provided by the state ensures salary and benefits for a full-time director.

However, Shaw’s vision of an ideal SBC staffing model would include a full-time director, a program assistant, and access to business counselors who are either part-time or contracted.

“It just seems like there’s never enough capacity to meet the needs of all the business owners that are calling in and emailing and dropping in, stopping by to get the help that we provide,” said Shaw.

Of the 30 SBC directors EdNC surveyed, 18 SBCs reported having only one full-time equivalent employee, with an average of 1.33 staff per center. Many directors expressed challenges with current staffing capacity, as they are often required to take on multiple roles to balance counseling, programming, outreach, and administrative responsibilities.

Common misconceptions

One of the most common misconceptions is that Small Business Centers are the same as the Small Business Administration (SBA), at least in terms of services offered; however, they are distinct.

The SBA is a federal agency that offers “counseling, capital, and contracting expertise” to small businesses. They are the only national agency with a specific focus on small businesses, and unlike SBCs, they have the capacity to offer funding for small business owners.

Of the 30 SBC directors EdNC surveyed, one-third said that entrepreneurs seeking their services commonly expected them to offer financial support, such as grants or loans, which SBCs do not provide. Instead, SBCs can help clients access capital by connecting them to financial institutions or individuals who can help and by providing one-on-one guidance and counseling.

Across interviews and survey responses, several other misconceptions about SBCs were identified. SBC directors shared that people often believe that SBCs are only for startups, are only available to community college students, and only offer training programs.

Directors described these misconceptions as understating the scope of their work. In reality, they said SBCs are community-based support systems working to provide ongoing, individualized guidance to entrepreneurs and small business owners. Survey respondents described SBCs as “boots on the ground,” “acting as a high-stakes consulting firm for the underserved,” and “the collective brainpower of the entire state” within their communities.

“Small Business Centers are economic development engines, not just class providers,” said Moore. “We measure success by how many businesses survive, grow, and create jobs.”

Nathan Moore, director of the Small Business Center at Southeastern Community College. Courtesy of Nathan Moore

The impact of Small Business Centers

The impact of SBCs is traditionally measured via the number of businesses started and the number of jobs created or retained. Directors expressed that much of their work takes place well before those outcomes as they are involved in facilitating conversations, initiating referrals, and cautioning risky decisions throughout the entire business development process.

For Moore, fulfilling these duties involves supporting both economic and community development. On any given day, Moore said he may meet with county leaders about planning and zoning, counsel a business owner looking to expand without taking on additional debt, or connect a prospective entrepreneur with local partners.

“Economic development starts with something as simple as a trusted conversation right here at the community college,” he said.

Fostering community connections

SBCs often bridge relationships between entrepreneurs and organizations that support business growth. Shaw said that centers work with chambers of commerce, banks, accountants, the North Carolina Department of Revenue, the Secretary of State’s office, the federal Small Business Administration, the federal Small Business and Technology Development Center, and other state and local partners. The goal, according to Shaw, is not to duplicate services, but to help entrepreneurs access the right resources at the right time.

At Surry Community College, the SBC recently relocated from campus to a coworking space in downtown Mount Airy called InterWorks. This move has made the SBC more visible to the public, said Lesa Hensley, director of the Surry Community College SBC.

Prior to relocation, Hensley said, the center was located in a classroom building on campus, where it saw less walk-in activity. Since moving downtown, she said more people have dropped in and more community members have become aware that the center’s services are available to anyone.

“This is my home base, but I’m still out and about in the community. It’s just brought awareness to the Small Business Center,” she said of the relocation. “I’ve been doing it, and it’s been around for a long, long time, and there’s people (who say) ‘I had no idea that you offered these free classes and counseling.’”

Survey responses emphasized that where SBCs are located, how visible they are, and how connected they are to local partners can shape awareness of and demand for services among entrepreneurs.

Serving rural communities

Several directors emphasized how essential SBCs are to rural communities, in particular, as these areas often have fewer places for entrepreneurs to turn to for no-cost business support.

In Columbus County, Moore said, small business support comes in many forms due to the diversity of income and needs. Small businesses “may be a family farm … it might be a tradesperson hiring their first employee, or some big main street storefront,” each of which require tailored approaches. Collectively, these small businesses sustain the local tax base and better their communities.

Additionally, Moore said the community college is often the most trusted institution in rural communities, positioning the SBCs in a space where individuals may already turn to seek support.

“That’s why the work of the SBC matters so much in rural North Carolina,” Moore said. “When you think about the 58 community colleges, all the SBCs are helping families create stability, because every job matters in … our community.”

This theme was also present in survey responses. One SBC director wrote: “Because rural small businesses can’t afford $250/hour private consultants, SBC directors often have to act as CFO, Marketing Director, and Operations Manager all at once.”

Phydesia Lewis, director of the Small Business Center at Alamance Community College, with client Rogue Walrus. Courtesy of Anne Shaw

Hurricane Helene response

SBCs also provide support in times of crisis, such as following an economic or natural disaster. As covered in EdNC’s playbook on Hurricane Helene recovery, SBCs played a pivotal role in supporting western North Carolina businesses after the storm, providing disaster counseling and aiding business owners in navigating recovery challenges.

This support included guidance on insurance claims, loss assessments, rebuilding financial records, marketing, and applications for grants and recovery loans to replace inventory and restore damaged property. Some SBCs also helped businesses secure temporary working-spaces in cases where their physical locations had been destroyed.

Examples of recovery initiatives led by SBCs include:

These responses highlight the flexible support SBCs can provide in times of need and their economic impact on local communities.

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North Carolina

Manns Harbor Bridge repairs to be ‘most complete’ in decades | Coastal Review

Published

9 hours ago

July 7, 2026

Press Room

Manns Harbor Bridge repairs to be ‘most complete’ in decades | Coastal Review

Diver Roman Morgan applies quick-setting mortar by hand, the final step in this method of repairing damaged bridge pilings. Photo: Kip Tabb

As the Manns Harbor Bridge over the Croatan Sound nears its 70th birthday, it’s getting what North Carolina Department of Transportation Resident Engineer Pablo Hernandez recently called “the first major renovation that I’m aware of in my 28-, almost 29-year career here in Dare County.”

The bridge, he added quickly, needs work, but overall, “the fact is that we got almost 70 years out of it without a tremendous amount of maintenance investing.”

Hernandez also added that the work that had been done, mainly minor concrete repairs and a paint job about every 25 to 30 years, “but the current project seems to be the most complete.”

When the William B. Umstead Bridge, as it is officially known, opened to traffic in December 1956, Outer Banks newspaper the Coastland Times described it as “a fine Christmas present for the Southern Albemarle region,” adding that it “will make possible a lot of holiday visiting, particularly on the Dare County mainland.”

North Carolina Department of Transportation Resident Engineer Pablo Hernandez takes Coastal Review under the bridge. Photo: Kip Tabb

The bridge connects mainland Dare County with Roanoke Island and the Outer Banks. This delivered 20th century amenities to the isolated hamlets and towns of mainland Dare County that had yet to be electrified. With the bridge carrying connections for electric power and telephones, “some eight families will have electric lights for the first time” in the sleepy fishing village of Mashoes. And in the longstanding, unincorporated Manns Harbor community, “the bridge makes possible modern telephone,” the Coastland Times reported.

Although the bridge may appear to be in surprisingly good shape, it is a solid 40 years beyond its expected lifespan, and when the $33.75 million project began in summer 2023, uncertainty remained about the extent of repairs needed.

The original price tag has risen: “Estimated projections of total costs are currently around $45 million,” Hernandez wrote in an email. “We are doing what we can to control the costs but not to the detriment of the structure.”

“Until you’re there, you don’t know what you’re going to find, just like with an old house,” Hernandez said, “you start renovating it, and things need attention.”

The project is a blend of modern materials and traditional, often hands-on applications. Resurfacing the deck, for example, was completed using an epoxy that included an aggregate material to provide a textured surface. During the application process, the bridge was closed for nine months.

This aerial view of the Umstead Bridge over Croatan Sound and connecting Manns Harbor and Roanoke Island was made by photographer Charles Brantley “Aycock” Brown in 1957. Source: State Archives of North Carolina

“All of those layers of the epoxy, as well as the aggregate to provide the textured surface, were all applied by hand, so over 300,000 square feet of bridge deck was rolled and squeegeed with these four separate layers of epoxy,” Hernandez explained.

The decision to apply the new surface in this way, instead of using “specialty trucks and pavers,” was in part because of the bridge’s 70-year-old design and the weight of the materials. “We don’t put a lot of what we call dead load on the bridge,” said Hernandez.

Other factors were also considered. “The deck was in surprisingly solid, good condition,” Hernandez said, “so there was no need to remove an inch just to put back another inch.”

The epoxy used is a viscous material that seals any cracks that may have developed.

Hernandez said the bridge design has a “certain robustness to begin with. It’s kind of like building a a deck on your house when you use a six-by-six post or an eight-by-eight or four-by-four post.”

Home to purple martins, pre-dedication damage

The bridge has for years been home to thousands of purple martins during summer. Hernandez, in response to Coastal Review’s query, was emphatic that the birds’ droppings had not damaged the bridge. He pointed out that the aerobatic birds roost on the bridges steel beams and atop the caps, concrete members that support the steel beams and are only there at night.

“From my experience, we have not seen a tremendous amount of bird droppings,” he said. Hernandez cited as evidence one night when he was with the Purple Martin Society conducting bird surveys. “We provided a boat and there were hundreds of thousands flying around. I don’t think anybody got nailed (with droppings).”

A piling was removed from this part of the structure after a grain barge rammed the bridge in March 1957. Photo: Kip Tabb

The most recent work has been below the bridge deck and the view down there is concerning. On the north side of the bridge, toward the mainland side, an entire piling is missing. In its place, iron girders support this part of the bridge. A March 1957 storm took out the piling before the bridge was officially dedicated the following month.

A grain barge, the C. W. Curlett “struck the bridge when it got out of control, said to have been due to the failure of one of the two motors. It swung down and struck the North side of bridge, shattering one of the huge concrete piles, so that the reinforcing steel inside it was exposed and bent,” the Coastland Times reported.

Just to the east of the bridge’s center rise, workers have been lowered to assess its condition. One worker taps the concrete with a hammer while another makes notes of their observations.

“They are listening for a hollow or dull sound,” Hernandez explained. “This indicates a deteriorated concrete layer. If it is solid, it will have a distinct sharp, pinging sound.”

Repairs to the concrete pilings are now the project’s focus. The concrete is showing its age, largely because of the limited materials available in 1956, as compared to current designs. The bridge pilings, Hernandez said, were only “mildly” reinforced. “It just has reinforcing bars in it.”

Kevin Brown and Adam Conner with the bridge crew evaluate a piling for spalled and deteriorated concrete. Photo: Kip Tabb

The reinforcing bars, or rebar, is exposed through cracks in the concrete. Repairs involve removing any rust from the iron and replacing the concrete. Although there is visible rust on the rebar, the one-inch bars are still in good shape with only basic maintenance needed to clean the rust and repack the concrete.

Hernandez compared the Manns Harbor Bridge pilings to those supporting the nearby new Lindsay C. Warren Bridge, aka the Alligator River Bridge, a project to replace the early 1960s-era structure that Hernandez also supervises. The pilings there are prestressed, by “basically taking a very dense and durable cable and stretching it, pouring concrete around it, and then letting that elastic force come back in (and) help squeeze the concrete together, so you get a denser piling that can go through a lot more cycles without any kind of cracking.”

Looking back: State awards $450M deal to build new Alligator River bridge

The cracks in the Umstead Bridge were not unexpected after seven decades. Temperature variations and cycles of freezing and thawing in a marine environment will cause the material to develop small fissures. Once air reaches the rebar, the iron begins to rust. Conversely, below the surface of the water, in what is considered anaerobic conditions, “the concrete is dense and sound, and the rebar is protected from water and oxygen,” Hernandez replied in an follow-up email. “The majority of the deterioration of the concrete and rebar is in the splash zone where there his ample oxygen to facilitate the corrosion process of ferrous metals.”

Repacking the piling concrete is one of the most labor-intensive, hands-on parts of the project. After removing the damaged concrete and cleaning the rebar of rust, barges form a protected area around the work zone under the bridge. On a barge deck, workers mix Speed Crete Blue Line, a product described by Hernandez as a “rapid-setting underwater concrete repair mortar.” According the manufacturer, Euclid Chemical, the product will set in three to five minutes after coming in contact with water.

Three divers are also employed in the repairs, reaching into buckets of mortar, pulling out a handful and pushing it into the voids and continuing the process until the piling is back to its original specs.

The mortar creates an airtight seal, protecting the rebar inside the piling. Then the pilings get an additional layer of protection.

“After we do the concrete piling, we come back with an epoxy-saturated carbon-fiber sheet of fabric and wrap that around the piling shell,” Hernandez said.

The bridge is considered one of the state’s “high-value bridges,” Hernandez said, referring to bridges within a $50 to $70 million range replacement cost.

Hernandez noted an NCDOT assessment of the bridge that asked, “Could we invest in a significant bridge preservation effort to get another 20, 30 or 40 years of life out of those structures?”

The repairs, Hernandez said, are going well, but the work originally slated for a Nov. 26 completion date that is “around the corner,” is unlikely to wrap up as scheduled. “Unfortunately we’re not going to be complete with the concrete repairs.”

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North Carolina

SIGN: Pass Duke’s Rescue Act to Protect Dogs and Cats in North Carolina

Published

19 hours ago

July 6, 2026

Press Room

SIGN: Pass Duke’s Rescue Act to Protect Dogs and Cats in North Carolina

235 Signatures Collected

PETITION TARGET: North Carolina House Speaker Destin Hall and Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger

A pit bull named Duke, who spent the first four years of his life chained outside in Windsor, North Carolina, was found emaciated, anemic, suffering from heartworm disease, and living in filth, according to local news. Chained nearby were several other neglected dogs and the skeletal remains of his sister, Minnie, who reportedly died of starvation.

Following the discovery of Minnie’s death, all the dogs on the property were rescued—but many dogs aren’t so lucky.

To help prevent tragic cases like this, North Carolina lawmakers introduced Duke’s Rescue Act, which would prohibit outdoor tethering of animal companions in extreme weather, establish minimum care standards for dogs and cats, and give authorities clearer direction and better tools to help animals left without the care they need.

If enacted, those who violate the law would face a Class 3 misdemeanor for a first offense and a Class 2 misdemeanor for any subsequent offense. It would also provide funding for public education, so guardians responsible for dogs and cats can understand the basic care the law would require.

The suffering Duke, Minnie, and the other dogs on that property allegedly endured should never have been allowed to happen. No dog or cat should be left without food, clean water, proper shelter, or veterinary care — or left chained for years, forced to watch a companion die in front of them.

Sign our petition urging North Carolina House Speaker Destin Hall and Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger to help advance Duke’s Rescue Act so North Carolina can pass clear minimum care standards for dogs and cats.

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North Carolina

Saving homes or beaches? NC faces tough call on seawall ban

Published

1 day ago

July 6, 2026

Press Room

Saving homes or beaches? NC faces tough call on seawall ban

A new report says placing hardened structures along the N.C. oceanfront could help with chronic erosion woes. But they come with plenty of risk.

North Carolina’s love-hate relationship with hardened structures along the oceanfront is heating up.

From the Outer Banks in the north to Ocean Isle Beach in the south, many portions of North Carolina’s 320 miles of oceanfront are dealing with erosion woes that are threatening homes, infrastructure and coastal economies.

Coastal officials have long complained that the state’s ban, although softened in recent years, on hardened structures along the oceanfront like seawalls and jetties leaves them with few options beyond expensive beach nourishment to deal with the shifting sands.

Environmentalists and others say the ban protects the natural beauty and feel of North Carolina’s beaches while reinforcing that there are simply some places that we shouldn’t be developing. They also note that hardened structures often do little but move the erosion woes to other parts of the beachfront.

In June 2026, the N.C. Coastal Resources Commission’s Science Panel released its draft report on the effects of hardened structures on the coast. The report, while not taking sides on the state’s four-decade-long ban on permanent structures along the beachfront, is meant to provide guidance for regulators and policymakers as they debate the emotionally charged issue.

How did we get here?

North Carolina’s existing rules on oceanfront construction are largely based on using a 30-year setback rule. The thinking was that a 30-year window of sand and dunes in front of a structure would give homeowners and local communities a chance to come up with a long-term solution if the ocean started encroaching on oceanfront properties.

But structures these days often last longer than 30 years, and the environmental conditions of the 1970s aren’t the same as those the coast is facing today.

Storms are bigger and more powerful than those of last century thanks to climate change, and sea-level rise is increasing. Sea level is expected to rise by a foot or more by 2050 from today’s levels, amplifying the impacts of tidal flooding and storms that aren’t even tropical in nature.

As environmental conditions grow more challenging, oceanfront homes are tumbling into the water. In Rodanthe and Buxton on the Outer Banks, more than 30 homes have collapsed since 2020. Closer to Wilmington, sandbags now line stretches of beachfront in North Topsail Beach, Figure Eight Island and Ocean Isle Beach, offering the last line of protection for million-dollar homes.

‘Maintain a cautious approach’

With pressure mounting on officials to come up with some solutions to disappearing beaches, the science panel was asked to look into shoreline management, both in N.C. and other states, and examine the pros and cons of different measures − particularly the use of oceanfront hardened structures.

“Recent erosion impacts in several North Carolina oceanfront communities have brought shoreline management issues back to the forefront, prompting questions about whether alternatives to beach nourishment should be considered to address chronic erosion,” states the report.

But the science panel makes it crystal clear that hardening the shoreline to prevent the natural movement of beaches and dunes landward will likely lead to, first, a narrower and then likely a disappearing beach in front of the structure. Groins and jetties, while helping the beach adjacent to them, also end up “starving” beach areas downdrift of the structures. The volunteer panel, however, also noted that securing the shoreline could offer coastal communities an economic lifeline.

“The panel therefore recommends that North Carolina maintain a cautious approach to any expansion of the use of hardened structures and that any major reconsideration of the state’s oceanfront management policies include a broad and comprehensive assessment of the physical, ecological, recreational, and economic consequences of expanded use, including consideration of who will likely benefit and who will likely suffer adverse effects, prior to policy modification,” the report states.

Legislators getting involved

As erosion threatens more oceanfront properties, infrastructure, and the coast’s vital tourism industry, legislators are taking notice and proposing solutions.

A bill working its way though the N.C. General Assembly could permanently change the face of the state’s coast. Senate Bill 1009, would lift the state ban on hardened structures, including seawalls, jetties and terminal groins, low-slung structures built perpendicular to the shoreline that helps trap sand in areas of high erosion, such as near inlets.

Proponents of the legislation say times along the coast have changed, and state policy needs to match the new realities that residents, visitors and local officials are dealing with along the oceanfront.

While current rules push beach communities to favor nourishment, enhanced dune systems, and other “natural” approaches to shoreline management, some say more permanent and immediate solutions are sometimes required.

Beach nourishment isn’t cheap, with even small projects costing millions, and can be a regulatory challenge if you have to find compatible beach sand that is often in short supply. In places like the Outer Banks, officials have said trying to maintain more than 80 miles of beachfront simply isn’t feasible under current rules and regulations. And to be truly effective, nourishments have to be repeated every few years due to natural erosion and storm-related events − heaping more pressure on state and local budgets that already face a lot of funding priorities.

Environmentalists and coastal advocates say installing hardened structures to control erosion means picking winners and losers along the oceanfront, since they will end up taking sand from other parts of the beachfront. There also can be environmental impacts, such as the loss of habitat and beaches for nesting sea turtles and shorebirds.

Greg “Rudi” Rudolph, a member of the science panel, said there’s no “magic bullet” for North Carolina’s oceanfront erosion issues, with each possible solution carrying pros and cons. He also said many of the shoreline management tools need to be done in conjunction with each other to offer a truly effective long-term solution, such as a groin and periodic nourishment.

“There are trade-offs, there are benefits, and there are costs,” Rudolph said. “That’s what makes this so challenging.”

Reporter Gareth McGrath can be reached at GMcGrath@usatodayco.com or @GarethMcGrathSN on X/Twitter. This story was produced with financial support from Journalism Funding Partners. The USA TODAY Network maintains full editorial control of the work.

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