NC Rural Rise: Using State Data for Good Small Business Policy

My colleagues at NC IDEA introduced me to an interesting new report from North Carolina’s Secretary of State’s Office (and it’s not often that you see something interesting from state secretary offices, but NC’s office is an exception).  The study, The Potential and Success of North Carolina Startup Businesses, uses state data to assess the state of North Carolina’s small business economy.  Specifically, it looks at “self-sufficiency” among small business, which the researchers define as businesses that generate $50,000 or more in annual revenue.  Sadly, many US and NC businesses don’t meet this hurdle, and the study assesses how the state’s economy would benefit if more firms did meet this revenue goal.  

The researchers found that 37% of NC small businesses are self-sufficient, and an additional 47% are aspirational, i.e. they expect to meet this revenue goal.  Interestingly, they also find that if just 5% of aspirational firms achieve self-sufficiency, they could create more than 24,000 new jobs across North Carolina.  That’s a big and promising economic impact. 

I’m a fan of this report because of its interesting findings, but there’s more at work at here.  Across the US, Secretary of State offices regularly capture data on small business, via business license and tax registrations.  Yet, this information is rarely used to guide economic development policy.  In North Carolina, Secretary of State Elaine Marshall is seeking to change these legacies, and her agency’s Rural RISE NC initiative is an excellent model for what other states can do.  More states need to step like our friends in NC!