PA6E20
Thumbtack
From page 3
business is doing a couple hun
dred thousand a year, a couple
thousand dollars gets lost in
that.”
Seymour previously
lived and worked in Charlotte,'
which received a B- on the
survey. This difference in score
may be a matter of perception,
because different businesses are
attracted to different cities, said
Seymour.
“If you’re founding a
brick-and-mortar business that
you expect to grow fairly quick
ly over time, you’ll make a large
upfront investment, then Char
lotte’s easier. If you’re talking
about a shoestring business that
you’re going to start with a small
investment and live off of the
income from, Asheville’s easier,”
Seymour said. “We walk down
the street in Asheville or even
downtown Henderson and we
don’t expect to see businesses
with a chain name, in Charlotte
people expect the chains.”
Although Charlotte is
larger than Asheville, Seymour
says Asheville has a more di
verse consumer base that makes
it hard for a small business to
have mass appeal. A business
that appeals to the traditional
agricultural base, or an artsy
base, might struggle to draw
customers from another base.
Graphic designer Da
vid Lynch worked in Asheville
for nearly 18 years. He said he
thought Asheville’s diversity is
part of what gives the city its
character. He said it recently
seems to be trending towards
higher-end customers and tour
ism. He said he recommends
pushing against the state gov
ernment.
According to the
Asheville government website,
the city is no longer able to levy
the privilege license tax, or the
tax on business licenses. This
went into effect July 1, and the
only exception is beer and wine
taxes. Lynch said he does not
like the loss of revenue for the
city.
“They are neutering the pow
er of municipal government
■ and that’s the sort of power that
keeps Asheville local. I’m seeing
that change,” Lynch said,- “and
I’m afraid Asheville is going to
lose its local flavor and become
another stain on the map on
the United States of Generica if
we’re nof careful.”
Lynch recommends that, in
order to maintain the small
business atmosphere in Ashe
ville, businesses need to do re
search, get connected, find local
resources and networking op
portunities. Asheville received a
B grade on the Thumbtack sur
vey for its training and network
ing opportunities.
. Ridgely said she used Moun
tain Bizworks and Business
Networking International.
These organizations exist to
help coach and grow small busi
nesses. Seymour recommends
resources and job training pro
vided by Goodwill and SCORE,
the Service Corps of Retired Ex
ecutives. He said he is planning
to partner with Bill Gilliland
of ActionCOACH to provide
coaching for small businesses
and wishes there were an easier
way for Asheville business own
ers to find this information.
“You look through meet-ups
and you find a few of those, you
do Google searches and you
find a few of those, but unless
someone shows what’s available
most businesses have no way to
compare them,” Seymour said.
“In my ideal world I would be
able to type in ‘business net
working meeting in Asheville’
and get a listing that would have
some re'views and some descrip
tion. That kind of layout would
help small business owners find
those groups.”
Ridgely said she would like to
see more services to help find
and hire qualified employees.
“There’s Craigslist and Head
hunters, but it all costs a lot of
money and is not affordable
for a small business. They want
$1,000 for an employee and I
can’t afford to do that. I tried
the unemployment office and
that was really no great help at
all. They wouldn’t even post my
ad,” Ridgely said. “If there was a
system to find employees who
matched with me that would be'
phenomenal. There’s equipment
you’ve got to know and the right
cleaners for the right job and
you have to be detailed.”
Lieber said the survey found
that cities with good network
ing and training often receive a
higher score, whereas cities with
many regulations receive lower
scores. The survey’s goal is to
find what is most important
to small business and improve
their local environments.
“Entrepreneurship is an im
portant outlet not just because
all fast growing businesses are
the ones creating those jobs
and providing promise for the
future, but because the kind of
micro-entrepreneurship that
happens on Thumbtack really
gives people alternatives. It gives
them the, chance to be indepen
dent, to work for themselves, to
build a business on their own
and to serve their community
by sharing their skill.”
Despite Asheville’s below-av-
erage score, Ridgely said she
finds the city to be no less
friendly than other places she
lived.
“People are saying ‘it’s hard,
it’s hard.’ I’m not that kind of
person. Don’t just sit around
worrying and crying. You have
to want to do it, you have to
have drive,” Ridgely said. “If I
work for someone else the lev
els of skill and creativity I have
doesn’t get utilized. I can say I’m
not scared sometimes, but I let
the adrenaline of the fear push
me forward rather than get me
down.”
September 16, 201 5.1 Issue 4, Volume 63 I thebluebanner.net
NEWWEBDESIGNONTHEBLUEBANNER.NET
Police
From page 3
systems in the building,” Todd
said.
Todd said the renovated fa
cility includes a new equipment
room, locker room, break room,
officer workspace, dispatcher
break room, handicap bath
room and telecommunications
office. The renovations costed
around $380,000.
“We gave it what we would
call kind of a facelift,” Todd said.
According to Boyce, Weizen-
blatt is a huge improvement
compared to 'Yance Hail. He
said it allowed them to almost
double in square footage.
“We’ve received positive re
actions from the community,”
Boyce said. “We’re excited to be
here.”
Four divisions now work
from Weizenblatt, including the
university police, environmen
tal health and safety, parking
and transportation and emer
gency services, Boyce said.
“This move has enabled us
to work out of the same office
space,” Boyce said.
The unoccupied, Vance Hall
building will undergo some mi
nor renovations in the summer,
Todd said. Renovations include
new carpet and paint and may
include relocating a couple of
walls.
“Anytime we do a renovation
like this, we work with the de
partment and help them pro
gram the space, which is kinda
deciding how you’re gonna use
the space, what your different
needs and uses are and then we
handle all the contracting and
financial aspects of the project,”
Todd Slid.
IT services will occupy Vance
Hall upon completion of reno
vations in August 2016, Todd
said.
Until renovations start,
mechatronics students plan to
use Vance Hall this semester
and next as a project workspace,
Todd said.
According to Todd, the move
had many benefits and was a
good thing for campus police.
It also allowed Health Services
and alumni development to ex
pand and opened more space
for IT.
“I definitely think it’s been
an improvement because now
with that location being there
they have their own designated
parking lot area. It’s also a little
bit more secluded,” said Anna
Emslie, a sophomore political
science student from Carrboro.
Emslie works on campus as a
resident assistant and said she is
glad to have the police on cam
pus.
“One of my residents came
back really late and she was able
to call and get someone to es
cort her back to campus,” Ems
lie said. “Little things like that
really can make a difference for
someone and make them feel a
lot safer.”
Drug use
From page 5
why students may be exposed
to drug use is the sense of
camaraderie it maintains. Flan
nery Jones, a junior anthro
pology student, said there is a
sense of community generated
through drug use. This stems
from people using because it
in groups because it is safer
and because they are scared of
using by themselves.
Opioid usage could prove to
be the Altamont that taints the
Woodstock-ian image Ashe
ville strives to create. Derek
Plumb, former community
director at UNCA, said he be
lieves taking this image at face
value could come at a price for
students in particular.
“One question I ask students
is, ‘Why UNCA? Why here?’
and most students say things
like, ‘Well, it’s Asheville,’"
Plumb said. “There’s this
loaded element about what
Asheville brings. I try to get on
that level and ask, ‘What is it?
Is it the art, the food, the beer?’
And they say, ‘Aw, no, it’s
Asheville. You gotta be here.’”