North Carolina has been ranked one of the best states in the country for women to start a small business, according to a report from the National Council of Business Women.
The report ranked North Carolina second in the nation for providing women business owners with access to the resources, tax incentives, mentorship, capital, networking and training opportunities they need to succeed as entrepreneurs.
“This is part of a broader trend in the Carolinas, where women-led businesses are driving economic development and transforming local communities,” said Anni Mollett, director of centralized commercial credit management at TD Bank. “We are committed to supporting the success of these pioneers with the guidance of our dedicated relationship management team members, who work hard to first understand their clients’ needs before recommending customized financial solutions.”
Promoting the entrepreneurial spirit
TD Bank hosted two networking events in the fall to bring together women business owners in Charlotte stores to celebrate National Women’s Small Business Month. The former also celebrated National Hispanic Heritage Month.
“On both occasions, we wanted to bring together women entrepreneurs in a way that they could showcase their businesses while also helping them foster connections in their markets,” Anni said.
Jay Johnson, TD Bank senior vice president and manager of the Midlands/Charlotte retail market, helped organize the events.
“As the Charlotte metropolitan area’s Hispanic population continues to outpace our region’s overall population growth, we see this reflected in our expanding customer base,” he said. “Likewise, in recent years we have welcomed more and more women-led businesses to our family of TD Bank customers.”
Uniting the community
Both events welcomed women business owners and leaders representing a wide range of industries. Jay gave a keynote speech, welcoming them and sharing his thoughts on why TD Bank values the community and economic contributions of local businesses owned by women and people with Hispanic roots.
“At TD Bank, our goal is to provide options and solutions to help both consumers and business owners thrive,” he said. “This builds trust in our communities and allows us to help them reach their full potential.”
TD Bank small business and commercial lending representatives also explained how business owners can take advantage of the various credit and loan programs available to them. These include federal programs, such as those offered by the Small Business Administration (SBA), for which TD Bank is a preferred lender.
“This means we can simplify and expedite the paperwork needed to obtain an SBA loan, as well as advise them on how to best qualify for loans,” Jay said.
After the presentations, guests had plenty of networking opportunities to get to know each other, what they do, and how they positively impact the Charlotte community. Some discussed partnership opportunities.
“The events were so successful that many of the guests asked us to host more in the coming months, where we will focus on other community topics, especially around financial education,” Jay said. “It was great to hear that because financial education is one of the pillars of TD Bank. After all, the more our customers know about the many options available to them, the better they can take advantage of them to gain more operational flexibility and expand their businesses.”