Business & Economy

Challenges for Minority Small Business Owners

WUNC | By Gurnal Scott

Published April 5, 2012 at 5:00 PM EDT

Some minority owners of small businesses met with U.S. Senator Kay Hagan to chat about challenges they face and opportunities available to help them prosper. The North Carolina Democrat brought a member of the Small Business Administration to hear how owners are falling short in the marketplace. Leah Brown is president of medical research firm A10 Solutions in Cary. She says they try to compete for big-money contracts, but it is a challenge to find qualified workers

Leah Brown: The businesses that we're in that represent technology and health care and science, those type things, we need to re-tool the folks that are unemployed. We have to make sure that they're able to have the skill set to meet the demand of our businesses and the future.

The SBA says it is working to help businesses tap into federal resources including loans available through the federal Small Business Jobs Act.

Tags

Business & Economy Kay Hagan

Gurnal Scott

Gurnal Scott joined North Carolina Public Radio in March 2012 after several stops in radio and television. After graduating from the College of Charleston in his South Carolina hometown, he began his career in radio there. He started as a sports reporter at News/Talk Radio WTMA and won five Sportscaster of the Year awards. In 1997, Gurnal moved on to television as general assignment reporter and weekend anchor for WCSC-TV in Charleston. He anchored the market's top-rated weekend newscasts until leaving Charleston for Memphis, TN in 2002. Gurnal worked at WPTY-TV for two years before returning to his roots in radio. He joined the staff of Memphis' NewsRadio 600 WREC in 2004 eventually rising to News Director. In 2006, Raleigh news radio station WPTF came calling and he became the station's chief correspondent. Gurnal’s reporting has been honored by the South Carolina Broadcasters Association, the North Carolina Associated Press, and the Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas.

See stories by Gurnal Scott