CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Some Charlotte businesses trying to make a go of it in the city’s corridors of opportunity are getting a unique lifeline with no strings attached. This money is a game-changer for these businesses operating in city neighborhoods where they have been historically hard-pressed to access capital.
One of those business owners is Saichelle McNeill, the owner of the Washroom Laundry Service. She turned her brick-and-mortar dry cleaning business into a mobile laundry service during the pandemic.
"As we continued to grow and scale the business, we realized we were spending a lot of money outsourcing the wash dry fold process," she said.
She was looking for ways to eliminate the middleman. Neill knew what to do with money from Beyond Open, a Wells Fargo-funded small business program supporting Charlotte's corridors of opportunity.
"We purchased the flex folding machine," she said.
This grant money meant they could handle all services internally without a middleman.
"This thing changes the game for us because it increases our output," she explained. "And now I can continue to support my community. Prior I was only hiring delivery drivers. Now we hire men and women to come in and process the laundry."
That’s exactly what the program is all about. Tracy Russ with the Foundation for the Carolinas helps distribute the money for Beyond Open.
"Our theory of change is if small business owners don’t have to repay this capital, it will enable them to keep growing, keep adding employees, keep adding revenue and that will help with overall economic mobility in the community," Russ said.
So far more than 300 business owners in Charlotte have received more than $10 million in grants. Another $5 million will be awarded in the next few months.
"It takes us from being a small business to a medium business, or maybe even a large business, considering who you’re talking to," McNeil said.
The Beyond Open program also developed a small business resource guide that anyone can access. It offers help locating funding and technical assistance. The Beyond Open small business resource is available on the website.
Contact Michelle Boudin at mboudin@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.