Small business Coverage

Business boom: Record numbers of people are starting up new small businesses

Record numbers of people are starting new businesses, and more and more of them are women and minorities, according to a new study.

By MAE ANDERSON, AP Business Writer

NC among few states requiring personal finance classes

Only nine states currently requirement students graduating in 2024 to take a standalone personal finance class, according to researchers. North Carolina is one of them.

Ali Ingersoll, WRAL Data Journalist

Family behind Black-owned bookstore blames threats for closure

Liberation Station Bookstore, North Carolina's first Black-owned children's bookstore, is moving out of downtown Raleigh less than a year after it opened.

Black-owned children's bookstore in Raleigh moving after threats, owner says

Liberation Station Bookstore, North Carolina's first Black-owned children's bookstore, is moving out of downtown Raleigh less than a year after it opened.

WRAL staff

Tar Heel Traveler: Piedmont Pennies

A young woman started a business while still in grad school, a cheese snack company in Charlotte that has now gone nationwide.

'Felt like home:' Generations of memories as Cary says goodbye to Ashworth's

Ashworth Drugs, the long-standing drug store in the heart of downtown Cary since 1957, is closing its doors.

Heather Leah, WRAL multiplatform producer

'No choice:' Cary's Ashworth Drugs closes after more than 65 years

Ashworth Drugs, the long-standing drug store in the heart of downtown Cary since 1957, is closing its doors.

Heather Leah, WRAL multiplatform producer

Guide to the best florists in the Triangle 💐

Explore the Triangle's top florists, from Raleigh's historic Fallon's Flowers to Durham's customer-focused Floral Dimensions and Chapel Hill's creative Purple Puddle. Discover the perfect blooms for any occasion!

Kaila Curry, Audience Engagement Producer

Umbrella Dry Bar offers non-alcoholic cocktails with a twist in downtown Raleigh🍸

Dry January doesn't have to end just because the month is over. Grab your friends and head over to Raleigh's first non-alcoholic bar!

Delaney Eyermann, WRAL multiplatform producer

Meet the winners: Werking Design and Décor tops WRAL Voters' Choice Awards

Werking Design and Décor won top honors in the 2023 WRAL Voters' Choice Awards, which recognizes the best in local businesses across more than 140 categories.

Meet the winners: Stick Boy Bread Co. tops WRAL Voters' Choice Awards

Stick Boy Bread Company in Fuquay-Varina won top honors in the 2023 WRAL Voters' Choice Awards, which recognizes the best in local businesses across more than 140 categories.

Meet the winners: Caitlin Register Photography tops WRAL Voters' Choice Awards

Caitlin Register Photography won top honors in the 2023 WRAL Voters' Choice Awards, which recognizes the best in local businesses across more than 140 categories.

How they voted: NC congressional votes for the week ending Jan. 11

A look at how North Carolina members of Congress voted during the previous week.

Targeted News Service

The chemist & the businesswoman: Meet the brains behind Durham Distillery, Conniption Gin

Meet Melissa and Lee Katrincic, the couple behind Durham Distillery and Conniption Gins.

Delaney Eyermann, WRAL multiplatform producer

Thrift store needs help to fund nonprofit, move to a new location

A nonprofit is trying to save one of its biggest sources of revenue. DejaVu Thrift Store, which is part of Hope Connection International, already needs to relocate to make way for new development in Cary.

Destinee Patterson, WRAL reporter

Honeygirl Meadery to open at American Tobacco Campus

Ment Beverage Co., which makes Honeygirl Mead, is opening a new location at American Tobacco Campus in Durham next year, the company announced this week.

How to support small businesses this holiday season

Are you ready for the holiday shopping season? You're not alone: More than 9 in 10 U.S. consumers plan to celebrate winter holidays and are collectively poised to spend around $960 billion, according to National Retail Federation data.

Paxtyn Merten

Retailers hope for big sales on Small Business Saturday

Many businesses in downtown Raleigh opened their doors for Small Business Saturday. One store opened his store to allow other businesses to sell their products.

Shoppers head out for Small Business Saturday

WRAL News spoke with one store owner that allows other small businesses to sell products from his store. The store owner added many local businesses look forward to the holiday shopping event.

Willie Daniely, WRAL reporter

Why Small Business Saturday is a hit with holiday shoppers

New York (CNN) -- While retail giants like Amazon and Walmart hope for big profits from Black Friday, the less-heralded Small Business Saturday is looking to continue its winning streak for the nearly 32 million small businesses riding a wave of enthusiastic consumer spending and robust government investment.

By Eva Rothenberg, CNN

How they voted: NC congressional votes for the week ending Oct. 19

A look at how North Carolina members of Congress voted during the previous week.

Targeted News Service

'The Persian Carpet' store look back at five decades of business

The owners of a successful Persian rug business in Durham are closing their retail store after almost 50 years.

Durham 'Persian Carpet' store owners now closing retail business and beginning wholesale operations

The successful owners of a Persian rug business in Durham are now closing their retail store after almost 50 years. Signs in front of "The Persian Carpet" store in Durham lets everyone know that "Everything must go!"

Rick Armstrong, WRAL enterprise multimedia journalist

Tin Roof Tea: 14 years of serving Raleigh with quality loose leaf tea

Tin Roof Tea is a locally owned and operated tea shop in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 2009 by Ryan Hinson, Tin Roof Tea has been serving the community with quality loose leaf teas for over 14 years.

Kaila Curry, WRAL audience engagement producer

Take a trip to the past at one of these NC antique shops

Antique stores are a treasure trove of history and culture. They are filled with artifacts from all over the world, each with its own unique story to tell.

Jelia Hepner, WRAL multiplatform producer