SCC and Stanly Chamber partner to launch business counseling program

ALBEMARLE — As of this week, local Stanly County business owners dealing with the economic setbacks from COVID-19 have a new source of assistance. 

On July 13, Stanly Community College’s Small Business Center and the Stanly County Chamber of Commerce officially announced the launch of “Reboot, Recover and Rebuild,” a business counseling program designed to offer confidential counseling and resources free of charge. 

“We encourage small business owners to take full advantage of this program that ends on December 30, 2020,” Sandy Selvy-Mullis, president and CEO of the Stanly County Chamber of Commerce, said in Monday’s press release. “We are committed to doing everything we can to help Stanly County’s small businesses as our local economy weathers this pandemic storm.” 

The Small Business Center’s program, which is open to all qualifying Stanly County business owners, will provide one-on-one counseling meetings to construct an assessment of needs as well as a plan for recovery for each individual business.  

In addition, industry experts specializing in SBA Disaster Loan compliance, customer retention, marketing, sales and website support will be available for informational access. Counselor assistance will also be included in areas such as social media review, Google Adwords, search engine optimization and many other topics.  

“Many business owners in Stanly County have been struggling from the effects of COVID-19 and are unsure of what the future holds for them,” SCC President Dr. John Enamait said in the release. “The Reboot, Recover and Rebuild program was built to help small businesses not only survive the COVID-19 crisis, but recover quickly and establish future business strategies to grow and prosper.” 

Back in May, the Small Business Center Network of the North Carolina Community College System reported that new funding for counseling services would be available this year. Later that month, the State Board of Community Colleges agreed to allocate almost $3 million for Small Business Centers throughout the state with the help of the 2020 COVID-19 Recovery Act.  

Those seeking more information or wanting to apply for Reboot, Recover and Rebuild can contact Selvy-Mullis through email ([email protected]) or her phone line at 704-982-8116. More information is also available at www.stanlychamber.org and www.stanly.edu.