CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Small businesses are continuing to struggle, and some of them have been forced to close their doors.
"It kind of gives you like a wake up call," Yazan Humaide, the owner of Sip City Market and Bottle Shop, said.
Humaide opened his business back in May, and he said finding the target audience has been a big challenge.
"The biggest fear was marketing and advertising for myself, the more I looked into it the more I got lost," Humaide said.
Humaide said increasing foot traffic is key to ensuring your business stays afloat, but that has been a challenge for some people, which makes new business owners like himself worry.
"I needed to slow down and revisit whether my strategy and marketing was working," Humaide said.
That's why organizations like SCORE Charlotte, a free resource for small businesses, step in to seek solutions.
The mentors said they know what it's like to be a small business owner, and they're using that knowledge to help others start and grow their own businesses.
"We help them create a plan because most of them don’t have a plan," Ednethia Thomas with SCORE Charlotte. "If we can help them to see on paper how to manage their business better then that’s when their able to make different decisions."
SCORE Charlotte said they're seeing an uptick in the number of applications and business owners in need of help, from businesses new and old alike.
"To prevent closing down those doors, they’re having to put their all into their business -- they're working 12 hour days," Thomas said.
The goal is to prevent small businesses from hitting rock bottom, equipping business owners with the tools and knowledge they need to succeed.
Humaide said it means the world.
"I feel like SCORE Charlotte helps tremendously," Humaide said. "I honestly don’t even know how to appreciate them."
He said having a mentor gives him peace in knowing his business is running smoothly, and allows him to meet a new customer and make a new friend.
"Most of my customers that come in here I know them by name, I know their kids, their families by now," Humaide said.
Business owners looking for a mentor for their business -- or those would like to volunteer to be a mentor themselves -- can find information on how to get started on SCORE Charlotte's website.
Contact Tradesha Woodard at twoodard1@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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