New NC Businesses Top 31,000 in First Two Months
From Business North Carolina
New business creations in North Carolina are on a record pace through the first two months of 2024, according to Secretary of State Elaine Marshall’s office.
Through February, new business creations topped 31,000 for the first time for the first two months of the year at 31,046. The previous record for that same period was last year at 30,569. It compares with 16,973 in the 2020 pandemic year.
Marshall’s office created online wizards to guide customers through the business creation process. Document rejection rates for customer errors have been cut over two-thirds since the online wizards have been available, speeding the process.
“Innovation and the positive impact of small businesses on our state is alive and well,” says Marshall. She notes more than 2 million new businesses have been started in the state since 1997, the year she became the first female statewide elected official. She beat racing legend Richard Petty in the 1996 election.
Half of those 2 million new business starts have occurred in the past seven years.