New Small Business Success Network Takes Off is Charlotte Area

May 25, 2006; 06:10 AM

Charlotte - The Small Business Success Network (SBSN), a new organization designed to connect small businesses and help them be more successful, has been launched in the Charlotte area and already has 50 members.

“The Small Business Success Network is an outgrowth of a study we conducted last fall for the City of Charlotte Small Business Development Program, the Charlotte Chamber and Central Piedmont, exploring the needs of small businesses in Charlotte-Mecklenburg,” said SBSN founder Buck Lawrimore, president of Lawrimore Inc., a Charlotte marketing and consulting firm.

“Partnering with UNC Charlotte’s Urban Institute, we found that many small businesses have unmet needs in areas such as marketing, getting new customers, access to capital and managing people. Many of them also want low-cost networking opportunities. We are working to make SBSN as valuable and innovative as possible by allowing members to participate in developing its structure, programs, vision and code of ethics. We have about 50 members and more are joining on a steady basis through our website, www.SBSN.org.”

“We welcome this new opportunity for local small businesses to network and learn from each other,” said Tiffany Capers, director of the City of Charlotte’s Small Business Development Program.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg has over 25,000 businesses, and about 97 percent of them have fewer than 100 people. Half of those have one to four people, according to government statistics.

“For mutually beneficial networking, our group has decided to limit membership to bona fide business owners and presidents, and second-level vice presidents or other key small business decision-makers,” Lawrimore said. “These are popularly referred to as C-level executives, people who can commit resources if they determine it is in their best interest. This gives us a unique niche which members appreciate. SBSN is constantly evolving to meet members’ needs, and we hope to expand to other cities in the future.”

SBSN currently meets at 12 noon the first Tuesday of each month at a centrally located Charlotte restaurant. Details are available at www.sbsn.org.