By Freda Freeman
Correspondent
RALEIGH – Many people dream of owning their own business. Yet, many who do often close shop within the first few years.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 20% of small businesses fail within their first year, 30% by the end of the second year, 50% by the fifth year, and 70% by the 10th year. The numbers are higher for Black-owned businesses. Although the number of Black-owned businesses is increasing, 8 of 10 fail within the first 18 months, according to The Network Journal, Black Professionals and Small Business Magazine. U.S. Census data shows 58% of Black business owners describe the health of their businesses as “at risk” or “distressed.”
Members of the North Carolina State University chapter of Consult Your Community, a nonprofit student-run organization, are working to change these numbers by helping small businesses, primarily women- and minority-owned, in the Raleigh area. The local chapter is part of the national CYC, which spans more than 30 colleges and universities across the country. Founded in 2016, the N.C. State chapter has helped over 80 businesses. “Our mission is to provide under-resourced and minority- and women-owned businesses with pro bono consulting services to help them reach that next stage of business growth. Small businesses and nonprofits are the fabric of our community, they play a vital role in our local economy, and we hope to provide value to help them reach that next level of growth and keep them going,” said Rucheer Dave, vice president of external affairs.
The students help with financial modeling automation, software development implementation, market research, supply chain management, organization restructuring, and marketing. Dave said the free services CYC offers are particularly helpful to new businesses.
“The Bureau of Labor Statistics shows about 20% of small businesses fail in their first year, and that percentage rises significantly as you get to that five-year mark. Many of the businesses and nonprofits we work with are fairly young, they’ve only been in operation about two to four years, and so a lot of our work is developing a strong foundation for our clients which they can continue to build upon and drive growth in the future. Our students go in and learn their pain points and transfer classroom knowledge into deliverables so small businesses can have sustained growth and get beyond that five-year mark and be successful,” he said.
Chrystal Austin, director of Real-Life Thrift, a nonprofit thrift store that employs adults with autism and intellectual developmental disabilities, said CYC helped set short- and long-term business goals and strategize marketing plans to boost sales and to build partnerships.
“They worked hard in coming up with deliverables and ideas and put them down on paper. Their main purpose is to work with businesses to obtain the goals that the business is working towards. For us, it was a discussion on ways to get more donors or to market to the community to support a good cause. And we also worked on obtaining other business partners to help promote and support each other in the community,” Austin said.
Dave said CYC members have a deeper sense of community pride when they see their work pay off firsthand. For example, CYC worked with Needle & Thread Co., which makes custom jackets, sweatshirts, and hats, to expand their business from their website to a pop-up storefront within six months.
CYC’s corporate partners – Deloitte, Ernst and Young, Siemens, and Bank of America – support the student members by providing mentorship and consulting, which they, in turn, apply to their work with local business owners. Community partners, such as Raleigh Founded and Live It Up! Hillsborough Street, help CYC identify and find local businesses that would benefit from its help. The city of Raleigh supports CYC by donating $5,000 to help with its Small Business Fair that spotlights local business owners. More than 20 businesses are expected to participate in this year’s business fair on March 28. There also will be food trucks, live music, and games.
