Emily Scott
17 Jan 2022, 15:40 GMT+10
Despite the pandemic, North Carolina has seen a record number of new businesses created in the past year.
A report from the Secretary of State's office says new business filings for 2021 grew 40% over 2020, for a total of more than 178,000 new businesses in the state. The previous record had been set in 2020, and new business growth overall has more than doubled since 2017.
Secretary of State Elaine Marshall said the state is seeing a lot of homegrown activity, with residents inspired to start their own small businesses in an effort to find more flexibility during the pandemic.
"And I know a lot of folks that took their hobby and they decided to up their game," said Marshall. "They started working on it, perfecting it, maybe mass-producing it in some effects. Or they took an online course, to learn how to do something totally brand new for relaxation and said, 'I can make a business out of this.'"
The trend can be seen across the country, too, with Montana and Ohio also reporting record levels of new business creation in 2021.
Last year, the Secretary of State's office surveyed new businesses created in the last three years and found 90% still in operation.
Looking ahead, Marshall said it's smart to keep an eye on news headlines in the state when looking for potential new business ideas - such as the new Plant Sciences Initiative at North Carolina State University for research on sustainable agriculture.
"Those kinds of things will provide niches for folks in rural areas," said Marshall. "If we can get more productivity out of our land, if we can get diversity in productivity out of our land, all of those will create opportunities for folks in the rural areas."
Marshall said her department's new "Web Wizards," an interactive tool, has helped speed up the application process to incorporate a business in the state.
Source: North Carolina News Service
Get a daily dose of Raleigh Times news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Raleigh Times.
More InformationNEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks, bonds, and the dollar fell heavily on Tuesday as economic data revealed a ...
HANOI, Vietnam: Vietnam's government announced that it has removed Le Hai Tra, general director of the Ho Chi Minh Stock ...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: Tech firms have slowed or frozen hiring, and even accelerated layoffs, in response to the ...
MOSCOW, Russia: McDonald's has announced that it will sell all its branches in Russia to one of its local licensees, ...
SYDNEY, NSW, Australia - The euro has jumped above 1.0700 in Asian trading Tuesday, but stocks have fallen sharply.The run ...
MILAN, Italy: Netflix and Italy have agreed to a $59 million settlement to to settle a four-year tax dispute, Milan ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: Due to the inability of businesses to hire enough workers, the U.S. has announced that it will grant ...
Washington - An independent commission on Tuesday recommended new names for nine U.S. Army posts that commemorated Confederate officers. Among ...
Chappel Hill (North Carolina) [US], May 24 (ANI): A team of researchers at the University Of North Carolina has found ...
Paul Goldschmidt hit a walk-off grand slam with two outs in the 10th inning, giving the St. Louis Cardinals a ...
Rookie Julio Rodriguez hit a three-run homer as the Seattle Mariners defeated the visiting Oakland Athletics for the 13th straight ...
Rougned Odor's slow dribbler in the 11th inning made it through the infield as the Baltimore Orioles completed an improbable ...