Secretary of State Elaine Marshall visited Catawba County to meet with a dozen first time business owners from Catawba and Alexander Counties at Catawba Valley Community College (CVCC) on August 29, 2024. Secretary Marshall highlighted the state’s Rural Rise NC initiative which connects new business owners with mentors, business counselors, funding sources, and more, for free.
Elected officials, The Chamber, and local resource partners including the Small Business Center at CVCC and SBTDC at Appalachian State University, attended the event. Secretary Marshall shared facts and data about North Carolina’s business creations, including how 172,000 new businesses were created in 2023. This amount is the second highest number of new businesses created in North Carolina’s history. The growth amounts to 650-700 new business creations every day. 2024 is on track to meet that amount.
The business owners had an opportunity to share about each of their businesses, as well as identify their struggles and pain points. Secretary Marshall offered them advice for each of their unique situations. All of the business owners in attendance have been in business for 0-4/5 years.
Businesses represented included 3 Little Birds Corks & More, Unique Reflection Mobile Detailing, Red Bird Cake Studio, We Rock the Spectrum, J Mack, Graceful Geese Mercantile, Golden Rule Music School, American FarmHer Box, American Range Metals, Inc., and Transform 365.
Following the Business Roundtable, Secretary Marshall and her team, along with The Chamber team, City of Hickory Mayor Hank Guess, and Hickory Downtown Development Association’s Executive Director, Amy Fauquet, visited three Downtown Hickory businesses.
Our first stop on our Main Street Walk was Beautiaura, owned by Chong Cha. Cha is a Licensed Esthetician and Certified Permanent Makeup Artist. Beautiaura offers Korean facials, permanent makeup services, as well as wax, lash lift, brows, lamination, tint, and threading services.
Next, we visited owners Mark and Holly Woodward at DASH Home + Kitchen. DASH Home + Kitchen is an upscale lifestyle boutique named after the Woodwards’ Great Labradane rescue, Dash. DASH is a collaboration between their love of food, entertaining, and design. DASH offers a collection of Southern inspired family dishes, snacks, and bakery items, as well as home decor, and kitchen items, and specialty gourmet products.
Lastly, we visited Lilly Thomas Boutique, a fun and unique clothing boutique offering the latest fashions and accessories, owned by Britney Lundy. Lilly Thomas Boutique, named after the owner’s children, offers tops, sweaters, bottoms, lounge and athleisure wear, as well as dresses, outwear, swim, and jumpsuits and rompers.
The Secretary of State’s office works with the private and public sectors to help strengthen North Carolina’s economy. Divisions within the department include Authentication Sections, Certification and Filing Divisions, Business Registration Division, Office of International Services, Publications Division, Securities Division, and Solicitation Licensing Sections. Learn more about the Secretary of State’s office here.
If you are an entrepreneur or are thinking of starting your own business and need additional resources, please access The Chamber’s Entrepreneur Resources page here. We also invite you to download our Startup Catawba County Digital Toolkit, our award winning step by step guide, designed to help you start a business in Catawba County.
