Small Business Bertie County
Small Businesses in Bertie County Can Thrive With Collaboration.
If you are looking for the keyword, small business Bertie County, you’re likely a person who owns a small business or someone wanting to find a way to support local businesses. The truth is that business success in a rural area like Bertie County, North Carolina, does take equal parts of hard word plus collaboration.
Our community has extremely limited resources for growing small companies. However, a few effective techniques can help create impactful growth opportunities. Although this web page is geared toward small businesses, The Bertie-Hertford Business Hub also welcomes consumers who might want to learn how valuable their dollars are in our sleepy little region of North Carolina. Our intent is to provide resources and ideas for business owners who want to see increases in sustained growth.
What the Bertie-Hertford Business Hub Offers
The Bertie-Hertford Business Hub has a singular goal: to provide resources that connect local consumers with Bertie-based business owners. Many people shop outside of our area, discouraged when they don’t find search results highlighting a local. However, many of our local entrepreneurs arrived late to the internet era.
- Some don’t have websites but do have Facebook pages or groups.
- Others have websites but don’t have social media.
- Some never heard of digital marketing; nor are they sure their customers have internet access.
Our directory is just a start. Once the shop local ethos catches on, nobody will be able to stop us!
How BHBH Helps Shoppers Find Opportunities to Support Bertie Business Owners
It gives the local person trying to build an empire an easy place to start. The Bertie-Hertford Business Hub is SEO-optimized and intuitively organized. It helps consumers find small businesses quickly.
How BHBH Will Provide Resources to Help Bertie County Entrepreneurs
On the flip side, small business owners in Bertie County can grow their business by creating a free account and taking advantage of the free directory listing. In the listing, you can share more than just your contact details.
Instead, you reach the customers you want to serve with:
- Photos
- Goods for sale
- Links to Facebook and Instagram
- Maps to your physical location (if applicable)
- Backlinks to your website if you have one (great for increasing your website’s authority)
You can entice shoppers on many levels with a free listing. Just grab your free account, log in, and get started.
Limited Resources Require Creative Thinking for Building Small Businesses
People living in Windsor, North Carolina, the county seat, may not fully realize the difficulties of doing business in the rest of the county.
Despite being over 741 square miles, the county hosts just one full-service grocery store and a few banks – all located in Windsor. Here are just a few examples of how this lack of access to basic resources can harm business owners:
- Large sections of the county are still eagerly awaiting broadband internet services. The lack of connectivity poses challenges in reaching consumers.
- A decreasing school population closed the county’s pre-K school last year and Aulander Elementary School more recently, creating new hurdles for business owner parents to overcome.
- Many of the county’s post offices are only open for part-time service; some residents can’t even get mail delivery to their homes, forcing them to pay for a P.O. Box.
- The insurance agencies that underwrite our policies are all in Windsor; it’s a fairly time-consuming drive for an entrepreneur from Kelford or Roxobel to get there. Some can’t pay online – see point #1.
- Need janitorial or office supplies? Forget it. We don’t have a single such store for miles.
But we are very determined folks here in Bertie County and don’t easily take no for an answer.
Here’s How We Boost Small Business Despite the Challenges
We can acknowledge those challenges with banking, financing, and getting other things we need to grow business and add to a more resilient economy. But let’s not dwell on them. We have a special secret sauce that can help each of us improve our success.
Collaboration within the business community in Bertie County. We can always count on business colleagues, neighbors, family, and friends. Still, there’s one thing that large companies in the cities an hour away lack. The people of Bertie County.
Collaboration Ideas for Building Your Bertie County Business
Local in-county consumers would help us grow if we could elevate our presence. The most valuable support and resources we have – each other! Here are a few things you can do to grow:
Take Free Classes to Network and Improve Your Business Acumen
The state of North Carolina has a robust community college system. The system provides resources through the Small Business Development Centers at each location, as well as additional online classes and learning opportunities. North Carolina business owners can take classes at any campus in the state or region.
The two campuses serving Bertie Co. are:
Roanoke-Chowan Community College
RCCC of Ahoskie offers a comprehensive range of free classes, workshops, and one-on-one business coaching. Topics covered include building your client base, marketing, and obtaining financing.
Its main campus is in Ahoskie, convenient for those who live and work in West Bertie. It also offers a second campus, The Vitality Center, located in Lewiston-Woodville, NC. The Vitality Center is a collaboration between RCCC, the Town of Lewiston-Woodville, Perdue Farms, and The Hive House.
Martin Community College Bertie Campus
Similarly, the Martin Community College has two locations. The main campus is in Martin County, and the Bertie Campus is in Windsor, North Carolina. The Windsor location is the most accessible for the person who wants to take classes in eastern Bertie.
Their classes are similar to RCCC – financing your business, Facebook and social media management, how to improve productivity, account management, and more.
Networking Opportunities That Support Further Your Growth
Networking means more than just a quick log-in to your Facebook account and sharing a few funny memes. Finding opportunities for genuine support and connections is key to unlocking the rapid expansion of your business empire.
Besides the Bertie-Hertford Business Hub, here are some local in-person and online groups in the region that can provide resources and help you discover new ways to grow:
The Windsor Bertie Chamber of Commerce
The Windsor Bertie Chamber of Commerce is one of the region’s best-recognized network organizations, offering in-person collaboration opportunities. Membership fees vary, depending on the number of employees you have. Their only goal is to grow businesses.
They have meetings, special events, and other get-togethers throughout the year to help businesses thrive. Most of the members and events are held in Windsor.
Bertie Business Network
The Bertie Business Network provides entrepreneurs with support from the ground up. They help business owners strategize their branding and marketing, become more productive with technology, and more. Joining the Bertie Business Network requires a nominal membership fee and a willingness to challenge yourself.
Bertie Business Network members enjoy a mix of in-person events, both for fun and to serve the community, as well as online classes and workshops. They also have an active Facebook community where you can connect with like-minded entrepreneurs.
Are You Ready to Continue Building a Local Presence?
If you are a person who wants to continue growing a local presence, it will take more than just a Facebook account. Yes, it is easy to log in to Facebook and post a few words about how you serve the county’s consumers.
But you might be leaving opportunities behind by ignoring other opportunities for local collaboration. Working with another person or group who knows the Bertie Co. area – and the challenges to overcome here – can boost your business in ways you had not imagined.
You may not always agree with the opinions or feedback you receive, but it is certainly worth listening to what they have to say and identify areas for improvement.
How do we grow businesses in Bertie? By connecting to one person at a time.
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