Funding

TikTok ban leaves Bentonville business owner anxious [Video]
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Small Business Funding

TikTok ban leaves Bentonville business owner anxious [Video]

BUSINESS OWNER TODAY, WHO USES THE APP TO REACH HER CLIENTS. “this literally has ten grams of protein. So, once you find..” “I work with my clients to really show them one how they can eat in a calorie deficit or lose weight in a really sustainable way. And it really educates women on what their bodies need for nutrition and help them find, like sustainable methods to weight loss. And a lot of us have histories of restriction and yo-yo dieting. So when you escape from that, it’s just freedom.” WITH A NATIONWIDE BAN ON TIKTOK JUST HOURS AWAY – SOME BUSINESS OWNERS AND ENTREPRENEURS SAY THEY’RE STARTING TO FEEL ANXIOUS. “The overwhelming majority of us agree that this is a violation of our free speech, and it’s a violation of our creativity. It’s stripping 7 million small businesses across America of their main source of income.” KELLY STORY RUNS A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE AND FITNESS ACCOUNT ON TIKTOK. SHE SAYS THE PLATFORM HAS BEEN THE BEST WAY TO CONNECT WITH OTHER WOMEN AND POTENTIAL NEW CLIENTS. “because the algorithm is so specific, connects me with my audience on such a deeper level than any other platform that I have access to. Which means that people who want to work with me, I connect with my clients better. It’s a great form of lead generation that has brought in people who want to take part of my program.” STORY SAYS NOW THAT TIKTOK COULD BE GOING AWAY – IT’LL BE MORE DIFFICULT TO REACH THOSE CLIENTS. “It’s just hard because you feel like there’s nothing you can do about your future, just kind of like dangling in front of you, waiting for other people to make the decision on if you deserve to be able to, like, keep your job or not. // It feels like I mean, genuinely, this is the same thing as a company doing mass layoffs, right?” AND THOUGH IT’LL PROBABLY BE AN UPHILL BATTLE FROM HERE – STORY SAYS SHE’S REMAINED OPTIMISTIC. “we’ve created and cultivated an experience over there and built individual communities where we all feel so connected. // I definitely try to really, really have faith that God will provide for me. And I’ll be okay because he’s done that up until this point. But I don’t think that I would b

County cuts spending to cover budget shortfall [Video]
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Small Business Funding

County cuts spending to cover budget shortfall [Video]

Buncombe County is cutting its spending as it deals with a multimillion-dollar budget shortfall caused by the ongoing effects of Tropical Storm Helene.County officials said Thursday the county’s revenues could be under budget between $15.1 million and $25.7 million for this fiscal year, according to their projections.”We have known for the last few months that we were facing challenges,” said Amanda Edwards, the chair of the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners. “We knew property tax collections were going to be down, and we knew that visitors were not coming to visit us in droves like they normally do.”Officials said the county is looking to cut its spending by 4%.County management has implemented a hiring freeze with 89 current vacancies. Officials said the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office is freezing the hiring of non-certified employees.A full list of cuts can be found in the county’s presentation.County leaders said more than 9,200 homes were damaged due to Helene and new construction for single-family homes has dropped around 60% since the start of October.Unemployment in the county rose to more than 10% in October and dropped to more than 7% in November.”The biggest revenue line item for the county is our property tax collection, and we are way under collecting where we should be at this point,” Edwards said. Edwards said the trends the county is seeing with its property taxes are being felt across all of its revenues.”As I look at the challenges and the decisions that we have to make, we know that there are going to be an increased need for specific services in our county as a result of the storm,” Edwards said. A 4% cut in funding is also being proposed for both Buncombe County Schools and Asheville City Schools, totaling just under $4.7 million. “We’ve talked about since the storm arrived about cascading effects. Today is a cascading effect,” Buncombe County Schools Superintendent Rob Jackson said. “A significant cut to our budget potentially could significantly impact our ability to serve our students and families. We’re going to do everything we can to mitigate any potential cut.””The 4 percent is going to hit both districts incredibly hard, and there’s no way around it,” said Rebecca Strimer, the vice chair for Asheville City Schools’ Board of Education. “This is painful. This is an incredibly painful moment for our county, and now, it’s trickling down to our children.”District leaders said the cuts could prove difficult if they are approved. “Parents may not see a change in the classroom because we’re going to do everything we can to protect our classrooms,” Jackson said. “Where the change may be, particularly in the immediate future, is in the back side of our operations.””Budget cuts are something that we’re used to talking about,” Strimer said. “We’re used to thinking through, ‘How will we plan for a future with restricted resources?’ What we’re not accustomed to is losing them at the midpoint of the year.”Commissioners will meet on Tuesday to vote on whether or not the funding cuts to the school districts will happen.Edwards said the best thing that can happen to the county’s finances is for state and federal disaster relief to start coming in sooner. However, she said the impact of Helene on the county’s budget could be felt for years to come.