521 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-6342
202-228-2563
Welcome to my North Carolina Small Business Resources Page! During my time in the United States Senate, I have traveled all across the great state of North Carolina meeting with small business owners from Murphy to Manteo. And whether it's at a powerboat manufacturing business in Chocowinity, a food processing venture in Candler, or a small family farm in Kings Mountain, I am always impressed by the determination and ingenuity of North Carolina's small businesses owners.
Small businesses are the engine of the North Carolina economy, representing more than 98 percent of North Carolina's private sector employers and nearly half of our state's jobs. As a member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, I am committed to creating a better climate for small businesses to create jobs and grow. For more information on the legislative work I am doing in the Senate to support our small businesses, please click here.
I believe we must provide opportunities for small businesses to compete for federal contracts, while targeting support to entrepreneurs from underrepresented communities looking to start and grow new businesses. Below you will find a list of resources, contacts and information for North Carolinians who own a small business or are looking to start a small business.
And you should always feel free to reach out to my Economic Development Director Chris Sgro, who is an expert at helping North Carolina entrepreneurs identify opportunities to start or expand their small business. You can reach Chris by filling out this contact form or by calling 336-333-5311.
Thank you for visiting this page, and I hope you find the information helpful.
Loan Programs – In general, the federal government does not loan money directly to small business owners. But, the SBA still plays an important role for people who want to finance or grow their business. The SBA provides a guarantee on qualifying small business loans made by financial institutions across North Carolina. SBA does not make direct loans to small businesses. Rather, SBA sets the guidelines for loans, which are then made by its partners (lenders, community development organizations, and microlending institutions). The SBA guarantees that these loans will be repaid, thus eliminating some of the risk to the lending partners. So when a business applies for an SBA loan, it is actually applying for a commercial loan, structured according to SBA requirements with an SBA guaranty. SBA-guaranteed loans may not be made to a small business if the borrower has access to other financing with reasonable terms.
For more information about the SBA’s loan guarantee programs and how to apply, click below:
Grant Programs – In addition to SBA’s lending programs, the federal government provides assistance to innovative small businesses interested in participating in federal research and development activities. The SBA’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Technology Transfer (STTR) programs are designed to assist pioneering small businesses pursue federal research opportunities. To learn more, click here.
Disaster Assistance – In the event of a disaster, such as the recent tornadoes that struck North Carolina, small business owners often have unique short- and long-term needs to rebuild their businesses. To assist these efforts, the SBA maintains special programs for businesses affected by natural disasters. SBA Disaster Recovery programs provide direct loans to small businesses to repair damaged assets and provide working capital during an otherwise difficult period. To learn more, click here.
Entrepreneurial Development – Many small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs need assistance to get their business off the ground or expand their operations. To assist these small business owners, there are a number of entrepreneurial development programs in North Carolina, including:
Equity and Venture Capital
Contracting Opportunities
Regulations – Small businesses are subject to many of the same regulations as large corporations. However, the SBA works to ensure that these regulations do not disadvantage our nation's small businesses through the Office of Advocacy. The Office of Advocacy is an independent voice for small business within the federal government and advances the views and concerns of small business before Congress, the White House, the federal agencies, the federal courts and state policymakers. The SBA also offers a variety of programs to assist small businesses comply with regulations more easily.
Health Care – Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, more than 120,000 North Carolina small businesses will be eligible for Small Business Health Care Tax Credits to help make health insurance coverage more affordable.
Small businesses with up to 100 employees will also be able to participate in the Small Business Health Options Programs (SHOP) exchanges, beginning in 2014, and pool together for coverage.
Small businesses with fewer than 50 full-time equivalent employees are exempt from the employer shared responsibility requirements. Full-time employees are defined as those who work more than 30 hours or more; while part-time employees are those who work less than 30 hours per week based on a monthly average. For those businesses with more than 50 employees, the first 30 employees are not included in the shared responsibility assessment.
As originally written, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act would have affected small farmers who hire additional employees for brief periods of time. Senator Hagan successfully fought for a provision to exempt small family farms from the employer shared responsibility requirements. Under her amendment, employers with less than 50 employees who hire additional season workers fro 120 days or less in a year will not be subject to the penalty.
For more information on how the new health care law affects small businesses, click here.
More small business health care resources:
Taxes
Environmental Concerns and Energy Efficiency
Exporting and Trade
701 Green Valley Rd
Suite 201
Greensboro, NC 27408
1-877-852-9462
336-333-5311
336-333-5331
310 New Bern Avenue
Raleigh, NC 27601
919-856-4630
919-856-4053
1520 South Boulevard
Suite 205
Charlotte, NC 28203
704-334-2448
704-334-2405
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Suite 635
Asheville, NC 28801
828-257-6510
828-257-6514
301 South Evans Street
Suite 102
Greenville, NC 27858
252-754-0707
252-754-0766