The world was ours – well, at least the grant was. We were on the moon! After coming back down to Earth, however, reality was there to greet us. We had zero experience building a business from the ground up. What setbacks should we anticipate? What financial arrangements did we need to make? And scariest of all, what if our on-paper ideas simply didn’t translate to the real world?
Our growing concerns sent us scrambling for answers – and with the help of South Carolina’s Small Business Development Center, answers we found! The SBDC’s mission is to advance South Carolina’s economic development by helping entrepreneurs grow successful businesses, and with the help of Clemson University, they operate 21 centers across the state in both urban and rural areas.
Greenville’s SBDC doesn’t usually get urban farms knocking at their door, but that didn’t hinder Business Consultant Rance Bryan, who also consulted Greenville’s beloved Swamp Rabbit Cafe & Grocery in their early days. Rance helped us clarify our goals and decide what type of business we needed to register as (an LLC). But wait, we haven’t shared the best part – this service was completely FREE. If you’re an entrepreneur (although we prefer ecopreneur), you cannot afford to overlook this resource!
Liability Insurance
Thanks to the SBDC, we knew what we needed to do next: Hire a Tax Accountant and purchase liability insurance. Karen Winters, an Enrolled Agent of Winters-Smith Associates, LLC, specialized in small businesses and didn’t waste any time getting down to business. She gave sound suggestions on record keeping, opening bank accounts, and introduced us to a number of helpful tools.
After countless hours of research and analyzing quotes, our partners over at Project Host (Gardening For Good) recommended we speak to Jennifer Hincapie, the Vice President of Furman Insurance. Unlike other insurance companies we reached out to, Jennifer invited us to her office to discuss our project goals. After taking the time to understand our unique needs, the quote she gave us was the cherry on top!
With business taken care of, we were able to get back to our veggies – this time with peace of mind. If you’re interested in starting your own business, take advantage of the resources we have here in the Upstate.