Forget the rankings. Charlotte is not that friendly to small business
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It was easy to make fun of our neighbor to the south a few years back when state government employees began answering the phones with the phrase, “It’s a great day in South Carolina. How can I help you?”
It was cliche. It sounded forced. And at the time, the economy in South Carolina wasn’t all that great. But the point then-Gov. Nikki Haley was trying to make was that government exists to serve its citizens, and borrowed from the playbook of customer service to do so.
It’s an approach that Charlotte could learn from.
You won’t necessarily know there’s an issue if you just look at the surveys. Wallethub put the Charlotte area as tops in the nation for small business. The Kauffman Foundation and Thumback.com gave Charlotte a “B+” for small business friendliness this year.
Most of those surveys are heavily influenced with net job growth, salaries and the economy, though.
When you’re on the ground in Charlotte, you hear a different story.
I’ve spent the past year and a half chronicling new businesses trying to gain a foothold across Charlotte. Rare is the instance where some type of issue with inspections and permits didn’t delay the opening, run up costs or scuttle the project entirely.
Golden Cow Creamery had to resort to crowdfunding after their construction costs ballooned before launching in South End. Hart’s Soda Shop is in serious jeopardy in a similar situation. Charlotte Oktoberfest had to cancel its 2016 event because of permitting issues. And the Twisted Eats food truck had to pack it in after running afoul of a rule that it not be within 400 feet of an apartment building.
There are so many others as well.
Most of the time, business owners will only talk to me about their issues with local government off the record for fear of upsetting the people who hold the future of their livelihoods in their hands.
But Suzie Ford, the owner of NoDa Brewing, went on record to the Observer saying that if she had to open her brewery again, she wouldn’t do it in Charlotte. It cost too much and was too difficult.
This isn’t a particularly new issue. In 2014, County Manager Dena Diorio launched a review of Mecklenburg’s code enforcement practices after widespread complaints about the difficulty of seeing projects through.
For its part, the county says it has put all of its staff through customer service training and streamlined some of its practices.
That’s well and good. But true change takes a shift in culture and mindset. Instead of looking for reasons to hurt a business, our local governments need to look for reasons they can help out.
Instead of cracking down on dogs in brewery taprooms, the health department should help breweries find a permit classification that will let them operate the way their customers would like them to. Bark & Brew has dogs and beer together, so it can be done.
Instead of cracking down on food trucks near apartment communities — which honestly is where they should be — the city should be willing to grant waivers or the city council should hold an emergency meeting to fix illogical rules.
I’m not arguing for anarchy or unregulated construction. I’m just asking for Charlotte to become a force supporting small business instead of a stumbling block.