Upcoming event: Developing Your Exit Strategy

Anyone launching a startup, should be considering their exit strategy from day one, says Terry Cox, president of BIG Innovation, a Charlotte-based advocacy group for entrepreneurs. 

That's why BIG is partnering with UNC Charlotte's Belk College of Business to host a "Developing Your Exit Strategy" event May 20 at UNCC's Center City Building. 

A series of panel discussions will highlight what to do to prepare for a strategic exit, as well as succession planning for a family-owned business. 

Topics include: 

• What's happening in the merger and acquisition market.
• What keeps deals from happening and how to get your house in order. 
• Common mistakes entrepreneurs make when selling their business.
• The sales process and determining a realistic valuation.

When: 1:15-5:30 p.m., followed by a networking reception at  Dixie's Tavern. 

Where: UNCC's City Building, second-floor auditorium, 320 E. 9th St.  

Cost: Free for BIG members; $65 for guests in advance; $75 at door; $30 for students. 

Details: RSVP to terry@bigcouncil.com or register at www.bigcouncil.com. Parking directions will be sent with registration confirmation email. 

        

Small-business owner confidence rose in April

After a drop in small-business confidence last month, the April Index of Small Business Optimism rose 2.6 points to 92.1, just above the recovery average of 90.7, according to a report from the National Federation of Independent Business released Tuesday. 

And yet, far more of the business owners surveyed still said they expect conditions to be worse in six months. 

“Small-business confidence saw an uptick this last month, but it was a ho hum, yawn, at-least-it-didn’t-go-down reading," said NFIB chief economist Bill Dunkelberg in a statement. "The sub-par recovery persists for the small business sector.” 

Corporate profits, on the other hand, are at record levels and the stock market hit new highs, Dunkelberg said.

Courtesy of the NFIB

The 1,873 business owners (all NFIB members) who responded to the survey in April were asked to identify their top business problem: 23 percent cited taxes, 21 percent cited regulations and red tape and 16 percent cited weak sales. 

Only 2 percent said financing was their top business problem. A quarterly break-out of top business problems by sector will be released next week. 

Here's a summary of business responses in various areas: 

• Job creation: Positive, but lackluster. Small employers reported increasing employment in April by an average of 0.14 workers per firm -- a bit lower than March's reading. Six percent of respondents said they plan to increase total employment. 

• Hard-to-fill job openings: Forty-nine percent of owners surveyed said they hired or tried to hire in the last three months. Of those trying to hire, 38 percent said there were few or no qualified applicants for their open positions. 

• Sales: There are still more firms reporting declines in the first quarter of 2013 than those reporting gains. But the net percent of all owners is smaller than it was in March (-4 percent in April, versus -7 percent in March.)

• Earnings and wages: Only 19 percent of small employers reported raising compensation. Three percent made reductions in worker compensation. 

• Credit markets: Of the respondents, 31 percent said all their credit needs were met. Fifty percent said they did not want a loan. Only six percent reported that their credit needs were not met, only two points above the record low.

• Capital outlays: The frequency of reported capital outlays over the last six months fell 1 point to 56 percent, after rising steadily in small increments since January. Twenty-three percent have capital outlays planned for the next three to six months, a decrease of two points. 

• Question of expansion: Only four percent of respondents said the current period was a good time to expand -- a historically very weak number, unchanged from last month. Of those who said it was not a good time to expand, 62 percent cited economic conditions and 24 percent cited the political climate. 

• Inflation: Twenty percent reported price increases (up two points) and 15 percent reported reducing their average selling prices in the past three months (down two points). Looking at the next few months, 21 percent plan to raise average prices and three percent plan reductions -- both unchanged from March's report.

Download the complete report here. 

Local startups project more jobs, nearly $1 billion in revenue

The results from the second annual Charlotte-area Entrepreneurial Growth Index came out Tuesday morning, and the numbers are encouraging, says Terry Cox, president and CEO of Business Innovation & Growth Council (BIG), which conducted the study. 

The index is a measure of the health of the region's entrepreneurial companies, and this year's findings are based on the responses of 120 local startup companies. 

Here are some key findings: 

• Projected revenue for 2013 is $960 million, an 18 percent increase over 2012 revenue of $817 million  and a three-year average growth rate of 37 percent. 

• a 24 percent three-year average growth rate in employment, including full-time, part-time and contract positions, with a projected 928 employees. Forty-two percent of those are contractors. 

• The average headcount per company is now 49 employees, with an average weighted salary of $54,000. In 2012, the average headcount was 30 employees per company with an average salary of $55,000. 

• Funding sources for businesses surveyed:
• 56 percent: self-funded. 
• 19 percent: angel investments. 
• 13 percent: bank financing. 
• 5 percent: private equity.  
• 2 percent: grants. 

• Twenty percent of the companies were founded in the past two years. Fifty-two percent are less than 5 years old. 

• Of the respondents, 84 percent are located in Charlotte, while 16 percent are in the outlying cities and towns. 

• The breakdown by sector: 
• 47 percent: technology.
• 11 percent: business services.
• 8 percent: technology-based education.
• 7 percent: health care.
• 5 percent: retail.
• 5 percent: marketing.
• 4 percent: transportation and distribution.
• 14 percent: other. 

Baker Furniture Co. going out of business

Baker Furniture Co., a large retailer of furniture, bedding and accessories in Gaston County, will soon close its doors after 64 years. 

According to a press release, the current owners, Sandra Baker VanPelt and her husband, Jim, are retiring. 

Floyd “Red” Baker started the business in a garage in 1949. Located about 14 miles west of uptown Charlotte, the store now occupies a 40,000-square-foot brick building at 225 Market St. in downtown Cramerton. 

The store carried wares for the living room, dining room, home office and bedroom. Everything in the store is on sale.

The store owners could not be reached by phone, but a store employee said the Baker Furniture doors won't close until all furniture is sold. 

Sandra and Jim have shared the day-to-day operations with their grown children, Greg VanPelt and Holly Hite. 

The Van Pelts and Bakers are lifetime residents of Gaston County. 

From gang member to multimillionaire entrepreneur: a Q&A with Ryan Blair

Ryan Blair, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller "Nothing to Lose, Everything to Gain: How I Went From Gang memer to Multimillionaire Entrepreneur," will be in town at noon today at the Concord Mills Books-A-Million, 8301 Concord Mills Boulevard, for a book-signing. 

His book chronicles his unlikely path to entrepreneurial success. He grew up in an L.A. gang, lived with a meth-addicted father, went to jail, dropped out of high school and yet, thanks to the help a mentor-turned-stepfather, Blair was able to transform his life. 

Blair, 35, is the co-founder and CEO of ViSalus, a lifestyle and health company that just announced a total of $1 billion in revenue. Even at ViSalus, he experienced big mistakes and great gains. 

ShopTalk spoke with Blair about his former life on the streets and his new life as an entrepreneur. 

Q: Tell me about your life as a gang member on the streets of L.A. 

A gang is simply a group of illegal entrepreneurs. They don't have the formalized training, but generally the way it works is there are individuals at the top of the economic tree, determining how the gang profits and where it focuses its time. 

I was young when I was involved. I was forced in when I was 13 years old. Eventually I went to a continuation high school, essentially a school for kids that get kicked out of school. I'd hang out with the gang members, try not to get arrested. I ditched school, started to get arrested, was put on probation and was forced to start modifying my behavior. 

Ryan Blair 

It was really when I wrote a letter to a judge begging for leniency and the judge told me I should be writing in college, not in jail. I'd had no career counselor, no probation office, police officer, anyone who said "Ryan, you could go to college." And no one had told me I could write. I'd always journaled, but never shared them with anyone. That was the seed of an idea that I could one day be a writer, one day go to college. And as a result of my mentor, I ended up getting my high school diploma through a GED program and I went to community college. 

Q: What did you journal about? 

I still have a lot of those journals. I wrote fantasy stories about living a different life, about being wealthy, rescue stories. When I was in juvy, I would write letters to my mom and grandma. Writing was my favorite thing to do. My only outlet. It still is. 

Q: There's one part in the book where you mention having to fire your friend Michael because the venture capitalists financing your company told you to. What is it like walking that tight rope between running a company and being beholden to the people writing the checks?  

One of the chapters I I wrote about was on raising money, and I share all the provisions and little compromises I said yes to that I shouldn't have. If you don't have money, you need it, so you have to do your best to get it. But you have to be extremely smart. You can't trust anyone. Trust your gut, your instincts. And the best way to keep the sharks at bay is to perform well. I learned the hard way. That's why I was so transparent in my book about the bad deals, the million-dollar mistakes. I was swimming with the sharks and was so green. 

Q: In your book, you chronicle a number of difficult business decisions you've had to make. How do you make them? 

It's a skill you have to build. You have to assess your own decision-making tendencies, the cost and consequences of each. You have to put a price tag on the decision you're making. You have to take your time with it. I'll often go away for a couple of days just to think and analyze every different variable of the equation: Is this best for our brand? Is this best for our employees? For our promoters in the field? For our customers? 

Q: Do you speak to at-risk youth who deal with similar issues you dealt with when you were young? 

I speak to kids all over the place. Thursday I was in Orlando at a juvenile detention center. It felt like a flashback. The guards were telling the kids to pay attention, and I'm seeing kids just like me, scrawny little kids who have made dumb decisions, sitting there on lock-down in a bad environment. I was marveling yesterday as I was signing books for them and taking questions because I was that kid. 

Q: What kind of questions did they ask you? 

If you're a kid in "juvy" you're most likely money-motivated. So they were asking me how much money I had, what celebrities I know, what cars I drive, do I live in a mansion -- those are the questions a lot of people have but never ask. I answered their questions because I'd rather show them something entrepreneurial, rather than them watching rap videos and following the instructions of common rap songs that say you can get (rich) through criminal activity. I was showing them that you can have exactly what the rappers have with legal entrepreneurship. 

I have a son now, an 11-year-old boy. I was at that juvy thinking, "I do not want my son to turn into this." I wanted to grab these kids without fathers with bad attitudes and bad role models. They're one mentor away from potential success but they don't have them in their homes. 

Q: Your son has autism. How do you handle that stress?

I have to make sure I'm constantly learning about autism. I'm able to invest in his life. I can't say I'm a pro at it yet, but I will help my son take his disadvantages and turn them into his advantages. I'll help him find the gifts he has as a result of it. 

Q: What's your day-to-day life look like now? 

Well, right now I'm on day 80 of my book tour, so my day-to-day routine is quite dynamic. I get on a jet, go to a city, a charity event, a book-signing and various events in the evening. It's almost like I'm running for president. 

Q: So all the proceeds of your book go to charity. Which one? 

A bunch of different charities: Big Brothers, Big Sisters, churches, Urban Born (an L.A.-based education nonprofit devoting to making a paradigm shift in urban communities nationwide). We specifically funnel all proceeds to charities that focus on at-risk kids. I've added a charity event on each of the book-tour stops. 

Q: You say your best advice for entrepreneurs is to find a mentor. How should they do that? 

That's the key to the success I've had. They're all around us. It's easier to create a relationship now than ever before. Leverage social media. Connect with people on Facebook, Twitter and a variety of social outlets. There are hundreds of potential mentors out there who want to help people. I reach out to people all the time on social media. 

For example, I'm studying martial arts and I've created relationships with some of the greatest online. Now they're teaching me a thing or two. 

Q: There's a chapter in your book when you talk about a dream-come-true, when you were invited to speak at a church in Detroit, at the same pulpit where Martin Luther King Jr., President Barack Obama, and President Bill Clinton had stood before. What was that moment like? What did you talk about? 

I shared my testimony, my path to getting where I am. Praying. I share specific stories about how we can make an impact in the community. My grandmother was a Christian and she gave me a lot of lessons. I didn't start applying them until later on, after I got on my feet, and I realized the adversity I'd been gifted with was a blessing, not a curse. 

Jeweler Ernest Perry gets national award

Ernest Perry, president and owner of Perry's Fine, Antique and Estate Jewelry, recently received a national 2013 Communitas Leadership Award that recognized him for "changing the how (he) does business to benefit (his) community."

For more than 30 years, Perry has been an auctioneer for charitable events, helping raise more than  $30 million for local nonprofits, according to a company press release. He averages about $50,000 raised per event.

The release says that in 2012, more than $115,000 worth of Perry’s jewelry was donated and sold at auctions for various local and national charities, such as Make A Wish Foundation, Second Harvest Foodbank of Metrolina, Allegro Foundation, Fight Night for Kids, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Dress for Success and more.

Alexander Michael's snags "2013 Settler's Award"

Uptown mainstay Alexander Michael's Restaurant & Tavern received the "2013 Settler's Award" by Charlotte Center City Partners during the 2013 Vision Awards Thursday evening. 

The Settler's Award "honors the pioneering and entrepreneurial spirit of Center City businesses, institutions or retailers who have been key contributors to Center City's quality of life," the award description says.

The award coincides with Alexander Michael's 30th anniversary next week. 

"I'm grateful to my staff, to the Fourth Ward community for being great neighbors and good customers, and to everyone who walks in our door every day from all over," said owner Steve Casner, who bought the restaurant in 2005 but has run it since it opened in 1983. 

Alexander Copeland III and A. Michael Troiano Jr. (hence "Alexander Michael's") opened the store in 1983 in the newly revitalized Fourth Ward neighborhood. The building is the former Crowley-Berryhill Store that originally opened in 1897. 

NFIB: Small-business confidence headed in wrong direction

National Federation of Independent Business says small-business confidence is "heading in the wrong direction."

Results of the group's latest Index of Small Business Optimism, released Tuesday, show that after three months of sustained growth, small business confidence declined in March.

Since the beginning of the recovery in July 2009, there have been 44 months of economic expansion, and index has averaged 90.7 points. The March reading decreased by 1.3 points.

The greatest declines were in labor market indicators, inventory investment plans and sales expectations.

More than 75 percent of business owners said they expect business conditions in six months to remain the same or worsen.

Though state-specific data isn't available, Gregg Thompson, the North Carolina director of NFIB says small business owners here share many of the same struggles as owners in other states.

"The fact that small businesses aren't hiring, aren't borrowing and aren't expanding, tells us that what's really hurting the economy right now is uncertainty about where things are headed," Thompson said, in a statement.

A near-record-low percentage of small-business owners said credit is their top business problem (three percent). Almost a quarter of respondents said taxes and regulations were their greatest concerns, and 21 percent cited red tape.



Other highlights from today's report:

• Job creation. Job creation in the small-business sector was practically the only bright spot in the March report. In the fourth consecutive month of positive job growth, owners reported increasing employment an average of 0.19 workers per firm in the month of March. This is the best reading NFIB has recorded in a year, although NFIB economists don't expect the trend to continue. 

• Hard-to-fill job openings. For the 47 percent of owners who hired or tried to hire in the last three months, 36 percent (77 percent of those trying to hire or hiring) reported few or no qualified applicants for open positions.

• Sales. The net percent of all owners (seasonally adjusted) reporting higher nominal sales over the past three months was negative 7 percent, an improvement of 2 points and the best reading in eight months. However, firms are still reporting more declines than gains. Seventeen percent of small employers cite weak sales as their top business problem, a one point improvement over February.

• Earnings and wages. Though positive earnings trends improved three points in the last month, they're still at a negative 23 percent, "a very poor reading," according to the NFIB. However, a seasonally adjusted net 16 percent of owners reported higher employee compensation (up 2 points from last month). 

• Credit markets. Credit demands stayed weak in March. Forty-nine percent of small business owners said they did not want a loan.

• Capital outlays. Owners are still in “maintenance mode” when it comes to business investment. The frequency of reported capital outlays over the past six months rose 1 point to 57 percent, rising steadily since January, though by very small amounts. The percent of owners planning capital outlays in the next three to six months was unchanged at 25 percent.

• Expansion. Only four percent of owners surveyed said the current period was a good time to expand facilities (down 1 point), historically a very weak number. The net percent of owners expecting better business conditions in six months was a net negative 28 percent, unchanged from February, one of the lowest readings in the 40-year history of the NFIB survey. 

• Inventories: A net negative 6 percent of all owners reported growth in inventories - 3 points better than in February - but there are still more owners reducing stocks than adding to them. 

• Inflation: There are few opportunities for small-business owners to raise prices. Seventeen percent of the NFIB owners reported reducing their average selling prices in the past three months (up 1 point), and 18 percent reported price increases (down 3 points).

The March report is based on the responses of 759 randomly sampled NFIB member small businesses. Download the complete study here.

Charlotte's gender gap: $3.1 billion in income

A new study, released for "Equal Pay Day" April 9, shows that women who work full-time jobs in the Charlotte area are paid 76 cents for every dollar paid to men, amounting to an annual gap in wages of $11,906.

That translates to more than $3.1 billion in lost income for local women every year, according to the nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy group National Partnership for Women & Families, which conducted the analysis based on U.S. Census Bureau data. 

If the Charlotte-area gap were eliminated, the analysis says, each full-time working woman could afford to: pay for food for two more years, buy more than 3,200 more gallons of gas, pay mortgage and utilities for nine more months or pay rent for 15 more months. 

The Charlotte-area average of 76 cents for every dollar paid to men is lower than the North Carolina average (80 cents) and the national average (77 cents). 

The Paycheck Fairness Act, reintroduced in Congress in January and supported by the National Partnership, is designed to fight against wage discrimination and establish stronger workplace protections for men. 

More key stats from the study:  

• African American women and Latinas fare worse. African American women are paid 64 cents for every dollar paid to men, and Latinas are paid 55 cents for every dollar paid to white, non-Hispanic men. 

• Since the Equal Pay Act in 1963, the wage gap has been closing at a rate of less than one-half a cent per year. given that rate, the study says, women will not reach equal pay for more than 40 years. 

• More than 92,000 Charlotte-area households are headed by women. More than 31,200 of those women-headed households are below the poverty line. 

See the full Charlotte report here. 

The analysis spans all 50 states and country's 50-largest metropolitan areas. Check other city and state rankings here. 

City contractors, hopefuls: Attend this forum

If you're a small business owner who currently does work with the City of Charlotte - or one who hopes to in the future - consider attending the Contractor's Forum 8 a.m to 4 p.m. April 18 at the Street Maintenance Administration Building, 4411 Northpointe Industrial Blvd. 

The forum, put on by the Charlotte Engineering and Property Management Department, will highlight upcoming projects and new policies and procedures. 

Other discussion topics include: a Blue Line Extension update, revised City of Charlotte Small Business Opportunity Program, city and county environmental update and the city's construction process.  There also will be a Q&A session. 

Cost is free and lunch is provided. 

For details, contact Edward Mobley, the city's contract specialist, at jmobley@charlottenc.gov or 704-336-6739. 

Click here for more information on bids and contracts with the city. 

Women-owned businesses nearly double in N.C.

The number of woman-owned businesses has nearly doubled in North Carolina over the last 16 years, says a report released Thursday, commissioned by American Express OPEN. 

The "State of Women-Owned Business" report, which relied on data from the U.S. Census Bureau, also shows that North Carolina ranks third in the nation for its growth in number of women-owned firms - 90.9 percent - since 1997. 

Nationally, the number of women-owned businesses has increased 59 percent since 1997.

North Carolina state has an estimated 267,000 women-owned firms, employing 268,100, and the firms are expected to generate $35.8 billion in revenue this year. 

The report includes data across industry, revenue and employment size at the national and state levels. 

Access the full report here.

A smartphone breathalyzer? Just one of the new class of local tech start-ups

It's time to meet some of startup hub Packard Place's newest all-stars. 

Members of Packard Place's second class of RevTech Labs -- a free, three-month program to help tech startups launch -- are currently in the throes of building business models and their products. 

Startups in RevTech Labs are early-stage mobile, software and web companies. During the program, they share 4,000 square feet of free work space at Packard Place, and are mentored by local, regional and national tech talent. On "Demo Day" in April, companies will pitch to investors and the business community. 

So here they are, the newest additions to Charlotte's growing tech scene:

• Alcohoot is a smartphone breathalyzer. The small device connects to your smartphone and, together with the Alcohoot mobile app, let's you to test your blood alcohol level quickly and accurately. Leaders: Ben Biron, Jonathan Ofir, Max Koeppel

• eCampus will deliver the products, services and experiences that students look for throughout their college career. The company currently operates Roomsurf, a social network that helps students find compatible roommates. Leaders: Justin Gaither, Dan Thibodeau

• Womadz engages customers in the process of producing, selecting and promoting originals ads for brands -- for serious cash. For those not interested in producing ads, Womadz offers an environment full of entertaining videos, and let's users earn money by helping select and share the best of the videos. Leaders: Diek Minkhorst, Sam Reitman

• MyLearningID was formed by two business partners that share a passion for education and security. Through facial, voice recognition and additional digital signatures, an individual can maintain the integrity of their identity online while schools to maintain the academic integrity of their distance education programs. Leaders: Velvet Nelson, Mike Murphy

• Podanize is an innovative website and mobile app that offers moms an efficient, fun way to keep their kids’ ongoing group activities organized. The activity leader brings the group online by forming a “Pod” where the parents have free-flowing discussions, schedule recurring events, set up task lists, and easily reference the group’s information in one central location. Leaders: Nikki Sacks, Steven Sacks

• Reward Summit  is a mobile- and web-based platform that demystifies rewards programs, helping consumers pick the right cards and get their full value.  Leaders: John Espey, Chris Hart

• InspireInYou is internet radio for messages centered on self-help, religious and non-religious inspiration. Gauging user preferences, the service then matches with audio messages arranged into customized channels for each user. Content contributors include: churches, certified counselors, motivational speakers and certified life coaches. Leader: Shaun Andrews

• Web based start-up ShomoLive, Inc. is developing a social media platform for people interested in playing, booking or listening to live music.  The website streamlines the process of booking promoting gigs for local musicians and venues. Leaders: Scott Jermyn, Tony Verrioli, Tim Beidear

• Campus Carriers makes the campus moving process easy and economical for university students. It uses technology to fine-tune customer management and logistics, and also offers an e-commerce website. Leaders: Daniel Burdi, Justin Burdi

• Plate Share is a smartphone app that allows diners to round their restaurant bills up to the nearest dollar and donate the change to feed the hungry. The non-profit organization's micro-giving transaction platform makes charitable giving easy, accessible, affordable, and attractive. Leader: Katie Levans

Chamber competition puts $25,000 on the line

The Charlotte Chamber touted the launch of the 2013 Power Up Entrepreneurship Challenge at a luncheon Tuesday, detailing the competition that recognizes promising entrepreneurs and small businesses in the chamber.

The winner of the challenge gets a $25,000 grant from Duke Energy as well as a package of business services valued at more than $200,000, said Brett Carter, the Charlotte Chamber's Duke Energy Chair.

"This is a big deal for us," said Carter. "We believe this is a huge part of keeping our small businesses and entrepreneurs engaged in Charlotte."

Last year's winner was InfoSense, a company that uses patent-pending technology developed at UNC Charlotte to detect blockages in pipelines. The technology is now being used in 30 states around the U.S.

Applicants will compete within their regional chamber chapters, and the winner from each chapter will compete at the grand finale will be Nov. 14.

The winner will get: a $25,000 business grant from Duke Energy, a marketing support package from Boone Oakley, a legal support package, and a mentor from the chamber's board of directors.

Finalists will also get a package of business services.

Click here for the application and a calendar of upcoming Power Up events.

To participate in the challenge, companies must: 

• be a Charlotte Chamber member in good standing. 
• be a for-profit company. 
• have $1 million or less in total revenue for most recent fiscal year. 
• have a principal location in the 16-county Charlotte region.
• not be a franchise. 
• have a primary business focus in one or more of the following: energy, information technology/big data, health care, financial services, life sciences/medical devices, transportation/logistics, manufacturing, professional services, tourism/sports or creative.

Millionaires show tough love to heirs

A recent study shows American millionaires are giving their heirs a dose of tough love.

New data shows that 82 percent of American millionaires feel each generation should be responsible for creating its own wealth -- up significantly from the 65 percent who said that in 2007, according to studies commissioned by PNC Wealth Management.

And raising successful and hard-working children was priority No. 1 for 84 percent of respondents, up from 75 percent in 2007.

"It's human to want your children to have a better life than you have had, but too much financial support...might have negative longer term consequences," said Steve Pappaterri, senior PNC's managing director of wealth planning, in a statement.

"Ultimately, parents want their children to make their own way in life."

Some more interesting findings from the study:

• Post-recession sentiments: One-third of millionaires anticipate a decline in the wealth they expect to pass on to the next generation, according to PNC's Wealth and Values Survey. But nearly half of respondents said they expect to pass on at least $500,000 of wealth to their heirs.

• Financial legacies: Millionaires expect their finances will be a significant part of their personal legacies. And 86 percent intend to leave something for the next generation, be it passing on property, family heirlooms or ownership/participation in a business. Nearly 50 percent of millionaires expect to pass on assets via trust fund. 

• Transfer of wealth: Most wealthy households have at least some plans in place for transfer of wealth: 82 percent have wills, 52 percent have trusts and 52 percent have estate managers. Among wealthy business owners, however, only 15 percent have a formal succession plan in place. 

• Childhood financials: Seventy-five percent said their financial situation growing up was average, 12 percent said they grew up poor, and another 12 percent said they grew up wealthy. 

• Generational assistance: Sixty-seven percent of millionaires said they got help from their parents, and 91 percent of them plan to do more for their children. With rising education costs, 84 percent said they have or expect to financially support their children's higher education. Many millionaire parents said they strongly support purchases such as a car (61 percent) and down payments on homes (45 percent).

Conducted in August and September 2012, the study included more than 1,100 interviews nationwide, including 560 people with assets of $1 million or more. 

Bank of America lent $8.7 billion to small businesses in 2012

Bank of America announced Wednesday that it extended nearly $8.7 billion in new credit to small businesses in 2012, an increase of 28 percent over 2011. The bank also reached its goal of hiring more than 1,000 small business bankers nationally – part of a pledge Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan made to the White House in late 2010 to increase lending to small businesses. 

Both efforts are part of the Charlotte bank's broader push to increase services and lending for small businesses. 

Though small business lending is still a relatively small piece of the bank, Bank of America reports its combined new and renewal small business lending totaled nearly $20 billion. 

According to Bank of America's recent Small Business Owner Report, 69 percent of small business owners are reaching out to financial experts for help. 

The bank has met with more than 300,000 small business owners since the beginning of 2011, says Anna Colton, small business banker national sales executive for Bank of America, in a statement. 

Upcoming workshop: Networking for women

The Charlotte chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners will host a networking workshop at its meeting Feb. 5, designed to help women business owners build relationships with other entrepreneurs and community organizations.

Sybil Melton, the area director consultant for Business Network International, will lead the workshop, teaching business owners to mix 21st-century networking with the tried-and-true methods, and craft an engaging intro that shows just what their business has to offer.

Melton, who now lives in Sherrills Ford, has owned and operated three companies.

NAWBO is a professional organization created to offer resources for the 42,000 women-owned businesses in the greater Charlotte area.

Event details:

Who: Open to the public.
When: 11:30 a.m.-1:15 p.m. Feb. 5.
Where: Byron's South End, 101 West Worthington Ave., #110.
Cost is:
-Members: $30 until Jan. 30; then price goes to $40.
-Non-members: Cost is $40 until Jan. 30; then the price goes to $50.

Make reservations here. For details: 704-367-3454.

Franchising industry continues to grow

The franchise industry is still on the rise, according a recent study by the International Franchise Association.

The study shows that in 2012, the number of franchise establishments in the U.S. increased by 1.5 percent. The IFA predicts the number will increase by another 1.4 percent in 2013 -- from 746,828 to 757,055 (an increase of 10,227).

The number of jobs in franchises also are estimated to increase in 2013, from 8.1 million to nearly 8.3 million, a 2 percent increase.

Here's the IFA's explanation:  Because unemployment and under-employment (taking lower pay and lower-level jobs) are still a reality for many Americans, some professionals look to a form of entrepreneurship with a proven track record. 

We've covered a couple of local franchisees in ShopTalk:

Brian Sacco, 38, spent 15 years of his career working for major corporations, such as Family Dollar and Food Lion, before he and his wife, Sally, opened Charlotte's only ShelfGenie franchise. The business offers custom glide-out shelving for kitchens, bathrooms and pantries. 

Sacco said connecting with the greater ShelfGenie community was critical while he and Sally learned the manage their schedule, finances and business structure. Learn more about the Sacco's journey here. 

Martin Snell, another new franchisee to the area, opened a Hand & Stone Massage Spa, located in the Village at SouthPark, on Black Friday last year. He connected with the city's other Hand & Stone Massage Spa, located in Ballantyne, for advice, and the owners decided to split advertising costs.  Read more about Snell's journey here. 

Here are some other 2013 franchising projections from the IFA: 

• The gross domestic product (GDP) of the franchise sector is projected to increase 4.1 percent in 2013, from $454 billion to $472 billion -- about 3.4 percent of U.S. GDP in nominal dollars. 
• The output of franchise establishments (in nominal dollars) for 2013 is projected to increase 4.3 percent or $33 billion (from $769 billion to $802 billion). 

What small businesses want from Washington

Calling all small business owners and entrepreneurs: What do you want from Washington?

We know the financial situation of the new year is keeping many of you awake at night, worried about higher taxes, provisions in the health care law, the ongoing struggle of access to capital and a myriad of other issues.

So tell us what your concerns are for 2013, and what you'd like President Obama and Congress to do about it. Email yours to cmcmillan@charlotteobserver.com.

We'll be featuring them in print and online.
Here's what you'll need to include:

• Name
• Business name
• Telephone number (won't be shared)
• Letter: any length. Begin with "Dear Washington." 

We look forward to reading them. 

NFIB: Small business owner confidence still shaky

After months of fiscal-cliff melee, small business owners' confidence has yet to rebound, according to the latest data from the National Federation of Independent Business. 

Results of the NFIB's Small Business Optimism Index, released Tuesday, showed that while owner optimism in December improved 0.5 points from November's historically low report,  the 88-point reading was still the second-lowest since March 2010, the survey said. 

 December’s poor report resulted largely from a "deterioriating" job market, and the percentage of owners who still expect business conditions to worsen in the next six months, the NFIB report says.

Courtesy of NFIB

 The Index is at a recession-level reading as pessimism prevails, and December’s reading is "certainly not typical during a recovery," the NFIB says. 

The December survey is based on the responses of 648 randomly sampled small businesses that are part of the NFIB.

Other findings from the survey: 

Read more here: http://shoptalkclt.blogspot.com/2012/12/nfib-small-business-owners-confidence.html#storylink=cpy

-Seventy percent of owners said the current period was a bad time to expand, one in four citing political uncertainty as the top reason. 

-The top business problems are: taxes (23 percent), regulations (21 percent)and poor sales (19 percent).

-Job creation in December was essentially zero, improving infinitesimally from the November report. The average change in employment per firm increased to 0.03, up from -0.04 workers. Seventy-six percent of owners made no net change in employment. 

"Congress played chicken right up to the end of the year, leaving small-business owners with no new information about the economy's future," said NFIB chief economist Bill Dunkelberg, in an emailed statement. "The eleventh hour 'deal' has brought marginal certainty about tax rates and extenders and will provide some relief to owners, but it certainly doesn't guarantee a more positive forecast for the economy." 

Download the complete survey here.