A Letter to North Carolina's Small Business Owners: You Made It

Dear North Carolina Small Business Owners and Entrepreneurs,

You made it through 2025, a year that kept finding new ways to test you.

Full Stop. 

Take a moment to reflect and enjoy.

Photo by Colin Rowley on Unsplash

2025 started with western North Carolina just starting to recover from Hurricane Helene. Then came July, when Tropical Storm Chantal hit central North Carolina with up to 12 inches of rain, flooding Durham, Orange, and surrounding counties. Six people died. Businesses along the Eno and Haw Rivers watched floodwaters wash away buildings, inventory, equipment, and years of work.

Weather was just one challenge. Immigration enforcement operations across the state created immediate workforce disruptions in construction, restaurants, agriculture, and hospitality. Employees stayed home for their own safety across many industries.   Whether you agreed with the policy or not, the economic impact was real—small businesses losing thousands of dollars a day in revenue because workers and customers stayed home.

Inflation started climbing again. The cost of everything—supplies, insurance, utilities—kept squeezing your margins. A government shutdown threatened federal funding and created uncertainty about contracts and disaster relief. The many federal employees in our area tightened their belts.  Supply chain issues kept surprising you with delays and price spikes.

And through all of it, you still had to make payroll. Serve customers. Navigate new regulations. Figure out health insurance. Deal with the thousand daily decisions that keep a business running. You carried all of that, and you're still standing.

What You Actually Accomplished

Let me tell you what I saw this year as your attorney:

• I saw business owners navigating with remarkable resilience. You figured out SBA disaster loans, FEMA applications, and insurance claims while simultaneously running your businesses and caring for your employees.

  
  

• I watched entrepreneurs adapt to sudden workforce disruptions with creativity and grace. You didn't just panic—you problem-solved. Some of you adjusted hours. Others restructured operations. You found ways to keep going even when the uncertainty felt overwhelming.

  
  

• I saw you absorb cost increases that would have broken businesses in less determined hands. You made hard choices to protect your employees and maintain quality for your customers. When supply chains failed you again, you found alternative vendors, adjusted timelines, and kept your promises to clients.

That's not just "getting by." That's extraordinary leadership under sustained pressure.

And here's something important: If your business struggled this year—if you had to lay people off, close a location, pivot your entire business model, or just barely keep the lights on—you still accomplished something significant. You showed up every day knowing it was hard. You made difficult decisions with integrity. You took care of people as best you could. That counts.

Why This Matters for 2026

North Carolina was just named the #1 state for business by CNBC for the third time in four years. That recognition belongs to you—the 934,000 small businesses that make up 99.6% of all businesses in this state. You employ 1.7 million people. You create two-thirds of the net new jobs. You are literally the backbone of North Carolina's economy.

When national media talks about North Carolina's "business-friendly environment" and "resilient economy," they're talking about your grit, your innovation, and your refusal to give up when things got hard.

That strength doesn't disappear because the calendar flips to January. You're taking it with you into 2026.

Looking Forward

You didn't start your business because it was easy. You started it because you saw an opportunity to serve customers, create jobs, and build something meaningful in your community. That vision doesn't change just because the journey is hard.

As we head into 2026, I want you to know: I'm honored to work with North Carolina's small business owners and entrepreneurs. Your resilience inspires me. Your determination to serve your communities well, even in difficult circumstances, reminds me why I chose to practice business law in this state.

Whatever 2026 brings, you've already proven you can handle it.

Here's to the year ahead.

Donna Ray Berkelhammer