By : WNCT Staff
Source : http://www2.wnct.com
Category : Small Business Grant
A visit from Governor Perdue brought attention to innovative small businesses located right here in the east.
With the state unemployment rate still above the national average, Gov. Perdue pushed for more small business participation during her tour in Greenville Tuesday.
"At the end of the day the quality of our workforce will define how successful we are and also, it's really important that we continue to launch small businesses," said Perdue.
"It wasn't until we won those funds that we knew we would be able to get the business off the ground," said Matt Scully, co-owner of The Scullery.
We asked the governor how North Carolina can be a business friendly state while still having an unemployment rate higher than the national average.
“A lot of the increase you're seeing now comes from the continual downsizing of state and federal and local government, that's where the shift has been that bumped our number back up," said Perdue.
She says she's done her part, creating more than 80,000 jobs during her time in office, but those jobs haven't stopped the state from losing jobs at the same time.
The Employment Securities Commission reporting close to 650 jobs lost between 2010 and 2011 alone.
We asked Greenville Mayor Allen Thomas if the east was at a disadvantage because of it’s rural state.
“Yes,” he said, “But we also have some advantages. We're a big university city; we're a research city. We have a large hospital and medical influence."
Thomas hopes to curb that number by redirecting resources and hiring an economic developer for the city.
"You continue to train and re-train that's what you have to do. We continue to focus like a laser on bringing jobs," said Perdue.
Perdue toured Appogee, an apple technology and customer service centric company located in uptown Greenville, along with The Scullery, a café and creamery right across the street.
They’re two small businesses made possible through a forgivable loan program offered by the city.
The city of Greenville clinched the Governor's Innovative Small Business Award in November. The award recognized Greenville’s Small Business Plan and offered small businesses up to $30,000 in forgivable loans.
In this Nine on Your Side Tracking the Economy, we take a look at how a simple loan can get a small business off the ground and change our economy.
For the Scully's it was an all or nothing.
"We were really nervous about coming into this place because there had been so many other places that failed," said Erin Scully, co-owner of The Scullery.
"That cash flow is a really tricky thing to keep in balance," said her husband and co-owner, Matt Scully.
Matt and Erin Scully opened The Scullery café and creamery after they received a forgivable loan as part of a program Greenville city officials hope will bolster business in the uptown area.
The stipulation: the more time the scullery stays open - the less loan money the Scully's have to pay back.
"We applied for bank loads, traditional bank loans, and they're just not willing to lend to a start-up business," said Matt.
“We would not be open if not for the grant," said Erin.
The Scullery's innovation comes from the fact they use local fresh ingredients grown right here in North Carolina.
"Just a simple, small menu with really fresh ingredients and keep things as local and fresh as we can," said Erin.
That includes coffee beans roasted in Hillsboro and ice-cream they make themselves. Two things they hope will bring people to the uptown area and make the reward worth the risk.
"It's stressful just juggling the business and making sure we're taking time for our daughter. So it is a risk, but we really feel good about what we're doing so we know it's going to be worth it," said Erin.
Source : http://www2.wnct.com/news/2011/dec/13/2/governor-perdue-expected-greenville-tuesday-ar-1708035/
