Bladen County, North Carolina

24 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 9, ISSUE 12 results has been to be the very best place we can be to start up and grow small manufacturing businesses. So now, we’re carrying that strategy into the small business, entrepreneur, and service sector, devising methods and programs to support the workforce, like daycare, plumbing, and electrical—those high-demand areas to help entrepreneurs startup in our community.” To that end, Bladen County created a charitable rural development organization—the adorably named Bladen’s Bloomin’ Agri-Industrial Inc.— which is headquartered in Elizabethtown and offers a revolving loan program to assist small businesses in the manufacturing and agricultural sectors with low-interest, fixed-rate loans. “When the Strategic Plan was written and the need for small business development was identified, the County commissioners allocated an additional $200,000 to be used in small business loans,” Heustess says. “We’re just starting that program up right now and we’re still looking for applicants.” BLADEN COUNTY , NC