Letter from the executive director, Small Business & Technology Development Center.

• Author: Daugherty, Scott
• Position: 2015 State of Small Business

Promising small business growth in North Carolina

The last few years have been good for North Carolina. Our economy has grown nicely and population growth remains among the highest in the country. Not surprisingly, this growth climate has been good for our state's small businesses.

Existing small businesses are starting to see growth and are adding new jobs. New business startup levels also are improving, nearing levels not seen since before the recession of 2008.

Small business lending activity was up sharply in the past year as well. In fact, the U.S. Small Business Administration reached its 7(a) lending authority cap for the current fiscal year a full quarter before the end of the year.

Prospects for growth

The U.S. and North Carolina economies are in pretty good shape. Unemployment is down considerably. The value of the U.S. dollar is strong and consumer confidence is high. As is always the case, there will be bumps in the road. The Greek debt crisis and more recent challenges to the Chinese economy have caused concerns, mostly reflected in stock market fluctuations and reductions in imports.

The trend for the near term, however, looks promising for small businesses in North Carolina.

Size matters--small business is big business

Small businesses in North Carolina, in the aggregate, continue to play a powerful role in our state's economy. There are more than 800,000 small businesses in North Carolina. Most of these are sole proprietorships with no employees beyond the owner and immediate family members. They account for nearly half of the private-sector workforce. They also account for 45% of the Gross State Product.

North Carolina's small businesses are located everywhere from small rural towns to our major growth cities, and provide a livelihood for thousands and thousands of North Carolina families. They also provide much-needed goods, services and expertise that the rest of us often couldn't live without.

The nearly 170,000 small firms with employees represent 97% of all firms in our state with fewer than 500 employees. These firms collectively employ 1.5 million people. They contribute remarkably to our economy not just in terms of jobs but through their innovation and marketplace responsiveness. Often these are firms with solid potential for growth, provided capital and resources are available to help them make better decisions. Fortunately, access to capital to support growth has improved over the past couple of years and North...