.,.The State Port Pilot___
BUSINESS
New business
enterprises are
seminar topic
The best small businesses to start
in the 90s in North Carolina include
service companies that fill out insur
ance forms, day care centers and
specialized food businesses.
Trends such as an increasingly
older population, the improvement
of highways and other infrastructure
and more two-income or single
parent families will boost the suc
cess rate of small business owners.
This is just a sampling of the in
formation that will be presented
from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Thursday,
December 10, when the Small Busi
ness Center at Brunswick Com
munity College presents a seminar
entitled "The Best Small Businesses
to Start in North Carolina in the
90s". The program will be held in
the administration building on the
BCC Supply campus.
The program will focus on 35
types of businesses that have a high
probability of success as both full
time and second-income businesses.
Each type of business will be ex
plained and specific concerns, op
portunities and requirements will be
covered.
The winners in the small business
race will be entrepreneurs who have
the kriowledge, energy and adequate
financial backing to start and stay in
business until they gain a solid
foothold, it has been noted. It will be
important for budding entrepreneurs
to understand how to create ideas.
The program will offer an easy-to
use method of looking at the various
trends of today and targeting areas
in which a small business might be
successful.
The basics of starting and running
a small business will be covered.
Topics such as finding start-up
funds, marketing the business,
hiring employees and, if needed,
getting^ out of the business will be
discussed.
The seminar will be conducted by
Mike Collins, president of Business
Research Communications of
Chapel Hill. He frequendy presents
seminars for the N. C. Department
of Community College’s small busi
ness centers. He is also the author of
I ■
North Carolina Job-Handler's
Handbook and writes about entre
preneurship and business for a vari
ety of regional business magazines.
There is no charge for the seminar
but pre-registration is required and
can be done by calling 457-6329
from the Southport-Oak Island area,
754-6900, 343-0203 or fax 754
7805.
SMART MONEY
Most unemployed workers don’t interview
often enough during job search
Many people who are looking for work prolong their job search by
not interviewing as much as they can.
EMPLOYEE
AND LABOR
RELATIONS
Ups to help in a job search during tough times
■ Interview more often. Most job seekers
visit six employers in a month, when they
should try to see at least two potential
employers a day.
i ■ Actively search for work at least five
hours per day. Be persistent, without
becoming obnoxious. Network — 80 percent
of all job openings are not advertised.
■ Remember, always be honest. Lies and
distortions can come back to haunt you.
Keep resumes simple and responsible-feeling.
Don’t do things to distract from your message.
SOURCE: Family Circle magazine
Copley News Service/Ken Marshall
The chamber report
By Karen S. Hope
Executive Vice-President
(This is a report on the activities
of the Southport-Oak Island Cham
ber of Commerce that appears
weekly in The State Port Pilot.)
We hope everyone had a chance to
thaw out from last weekend. The
Christenbury
awarded trip
to convention
As top producer with Red Carpet
Dorothy Essey & Associates for
1992, Sandra Christenbury was
awarded an expense-paid trip to the
National Association of Realtors’
annual convention November 11-17
in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Over 30,000 realtors from the U.
S. and several foreign countries
were in attendance. Top instruc
tional and motivational speakers
highlighted the seminars at the con
vention, and hundreds of exhibitors
displayed the latest trends and tech
nical advances in the real estate in
dustry.
"It was a very valuable experi
ence," Christenbury stated. "To gain
the knowledge of buying and selling
programs that are working well in
other states, and see the potential for
this area, is very exciting."

PAVING
CONTRACTORS
we specialize in ...
•Tennis Courts
•Parking Lots & Streets
•Grading ‘Storm Drainage
•Curb & Gutter »Paving
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754-7177
weather was definitely brought in by
Santa to get us in the holiday mood.
The Chrislmas-By-the-Sea Festi
val continues this week on Thurs
day, December 10, with Trim-A
Trcc/Opcn House at the chamber of
fice on Beach Road from 5:30 to
7:30 p.m. The Christmas-By-the-Sca
Festival lias adopted several needy
families for the Christmas season.
Chamber members and area resi
dents have been collecting food and
gifts for the families and are en
couraged to bring these items to
Trim-A-Trcc on Thursday evening.
The Best-Decorated Business and
Best-Decorated Home contests will
climax this weekend. Judging of the
entered homes and businesses will
take place unannounced Friday, De
cember 11, to Sunday, December
13, between the hours of 7 and 9:30
p.m. To enter the home contest, fill
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Our policy of tech support and
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Christmas Special
Multi Media System $1895
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(919) 457-0222 • (800) 382-7867
out an entry form and drop the form
and your $5 donation to needy
families at the chamber office on
Beach Road, Southport.
Two more weekly drawings are
left in the Shop-At-Homc campaign.
A list of participating merchants is
in this week’s Slate Port Pilot.
Other events this weekend include
Southport’s 200th Christmas
celebration sponsored by the
Bicentennial Committee and South
port 2000, Inc. Events include a
waterfront home tour, holiday
market and entertainment, and a
Christmas gift-making workshop for
children.
Also, Brunswick Town will hold
its Christmas Open House on Sun
day, December 13, from 1 to 5 p.m.
There will be entertainment, and co
lonial food will be served.
r
BUSINESS BRIEFS
Realtors at state conference
Brunswick County Board of Realtors officers and leaders Dorothy Essey,
Cora Walling, Sherri Marshall, Wyatt Gordon, Rosetta Short, Margaret
Rudd and Madeleine Gordon recently attended the 1993 Leadership Skills
Workshop and Board Officers Leadership Conference sponsored by the
North Carolina Association of Realtors.
The two-day event was held December 1-2 in Greensboro. Billy Benton
of Charleston, S. C., led seminars on leadership skills and agency rela
tionships.
The NCAR, Inc., chartered in 1921, is North Carolina’s largest trade as
sociation. NCAR is headquartered in Greensboro with a membership of
nearly 16,000 realtors and affiliate members.
First Citizens ATM upgrade
First Citizens Bank will perform a computer system upgrade that will af
fect all First Citizens automated teller machines (ATMs) statewide on Sat
urday and Sunday, December 12-13, causing a temporary interruption of
service.
The maintenance is scheduled to occur between 10 p.m. on Saturday and
4:30 p.m. on Sunday. The upgrade is designed to expand the capabilities
of the system by increasing the central computer’s ability to process trans
actions. Customers will not be able to use their ATM cards at First Citizens
machines during those hours. Regular service is slated to resume after 4:30
p.m. on Sunday.
First Citizens operates an ATM at its Yaupon Beach location.
County loans made by SBA
During fiscal year 1992 two loans were approved in Brunswick County,
totaling $705,000, according to Gary A. Keel, director of the Charlotte dis
trict office of the U. S. Small Business Administration.
In North Carolina, a record-setting 390 loans were approved for
$87,974,000 from October 1, 1991, to September 30, 1992, compared to
261 for $57,303,(XX) in fiscal year 1991.
This represents a 53-percent increase in the number of loans approved in
North Carolina, Keel noted. Loan approvals increased 32 percent in the
Southeast and 35 percent nationwide.
"It is estimated that the businesses receiving these 390 loans in North
Carolina will create or retain 3,563 jobs over the next two years," said
Keel.
SBA loans arc primarily made by private lenders, usually banks, guaran
teed up to 90 percent by SBA.
BUSINESS LOANS
Existing or new businesses. Commercial,
industrial and farming. Minimum $25,000.
Maximum over $1,000,000.
William E. Davis, Loan Broker
(919) 392-8008, Wilmington, N.C.
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