Alexander Michael's snags "2013 Settler's Award"

Uptown mainstay Alexander Michael's Restaurant & Tavern received the "2013 Settler's Award" by Charlotte Center City Partners during the 2013 Vision Awards Thursday evening. 

The Settler's Award "honors the pioneering and entrepreneurial spirit of Center City businesses, institutions or retailers who have been key contributors to Center City's quality of life," the award description says.

The award coincides with Alexander Michael's 30th anniversary next week. 

"I'm grateful to my staff, to the Fourth Ward community for being great neighbors and good customers, and to everyone who walks in our door every day from all over," said owner Steve Casner, who bought the restaurant in 2005 but has run it since it opened in 1983. 

Alexander Copeland III and A. Michael Troiano Jr. (hence "Alexander Michael's") opened the store in 1983 in the newly revitalized Fourth Ward neighborhood. The building is the former Crowley-Berryhill Store that originally opened in 1897. 

NFIB: Small-business confidence headed in wrong direction

National Federation of Independent Business says small-business confidence is "heading in the wrong direction."

Results of the group's latest Index of Small Business Optimism, released Tuesday, show that after three months of sustained growth, small business confidence declined in March.

Since the beginning of the recovery in July 2009, there have been 44 months of economic expansion, and index has averaged 90.7 points. The March reading decreased by 1.3 points.

The greatest declines were in labor market indicators, inventory investment plans and sales expectations.

More than 75 percent of business owners said they expect business conditions in six months to remain the same or worsen.

Though state-specific data isn't available, Gregg Thompson, the North Carolina director of NFIB says small business owners here share many of the same struggles as owners in other states.

"The fact that small businesses aren't hiring, aren't borrowing and aren't expanding, tells us that what's really hurting the economy right now is uncertainty about where things are headed," Thompson said, in a statement.

A near-record-low percentage of small-business owners said credit is their top business problem (three percent). Almost a quarter of respondents said taxes and regulations were their greatest concerns, and 21 percent cited red tape.



Other highlights from today's report:

• Job creation. Job creation in the small-business sector was practically the only bright spot in the March report. In the fourth consecutive month of positive job growth, owners reported increasing employment an average of 0.19 workers per firm in the month of March. This is the best reading NFIB has recorded in a year, although NFIB economists don't expect the trend to continue. 

• Hard-to-fill job openings. For the 47 percent of owners who hired or tried to hire in the last three months, 36 percent (77 percent of those trying to hire or hiring) reported few or no qualified applicants for open positions.

• Sales. The net percent of all owners (seasonally adjusted) reporting higher nominal sales over the past three months was negative 7 percent, an improvement of 2 points and the best reading in eight months. However, firms are still reporting more declines than gains. Seventeen percent of small employers cite weak sales as their top business problem, a one point improvement over February.

• Earnings and wages. Though positive earnings trends improved three points in the last month, they're still at a negative 23 percent, "a very poor reading," according to the NFIB. However, a seasonally adjusted net 16 percent of owners reported higher employee compensation (up 2 points from last month). 

• Credit markets. Credit demands stayed weak in March. Forty-nine percent of small business owners said they did not want a loan.

• Capital outlays. Owners are still in “maintenance mode” when it comes to business investment. The frequency of reported capital outlays over the past six months rose 1 point to 57 percent, rising steadily since January, though by very small amounts. The percent of owners planning capital outlays in the next three to six months was unchanged at 25 percent.

• Expansion. Only four percent of owners surveyed said the current period was a good time to expand facilities (down 1 point), historically a very weak number. The net percent of owners expecting better business conditions in six months was a net negative 28 percent, unchanged from February, one of the lowest readings in the 40-year history of the NFIB survey. 

• Inventories: A net negative 6 percent of all owners reported growth in inventories - 3 points better than in February - but there are still more owners reducing stocks than adding to them. 

• Inflation: There are few opportunities for small-business owners to raise prices. Seventeen percent of the NFIB owners reported reducing their average selling prices in the past three months (up 1 point), and 18 percent reported price increases (down 3 points).

The March report is based on the responses of 759 randomly sampled NFIB member small businesses. Download the complete study here.

Charlotte's gender gap: $3.1 billion in income

A new study, released for "Equal Pay Day" April 9, shows that women who work full-time jobs in the Charlotte area are paid 76 cents for every dollar paid to men, amounting to an annual gap in wages of $11,906.

That translates to more than $3.1 billion in lost income for local women every year, according to the nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy group National Partnership for Women & Families, which conducted the analysis based on U.S. Census Bureau data. 

If the Charlotte-area gap were eliminated, the analysis says, each full-time working woman could afford to: pay for food for two more years, buy more than 3,200 more gallons of gas, pay mortgage and utilities for nine more months or pay rent for 15 more months. 

The Charlotte-area average of 76 cents for every dollar paid to men is lower than the North Carolina average (80 cents) and the national average (77 cents). 

The Paycheck Fairness Act, reintroduced in Congress in January and supported by the National Partnership, is designed to fight against wage discrimination and establish stronger workplace protections for men. 

More key stats from the study:  

• African American women and Latinas fare worse. African American women are paid 64 cents for every dollar paid to men, and Latinas are paid 55 cents for every dollar paid to white, non-Hispanic men. 

• Since the Equal Pay Act in 1963, the wage gap has been closing at a rate of less than one-half a cent per year. given that rate, the study says, women will not reach equal pay for more than 40 years. 

• More than 92,000 Charlotte-area households are headed by women. More than 31,200 of those women-headed households are below the poverty line. 

See the full Charlotte report here. 

The analysis spans all 50 states and country's 50-largest metropolitan areas. Check other city and state rankings here. 

City contractors, hopefuls: Attend this forum

If you're a small business owner who currently does work with the City of Charlotte - or one who hopes to in the future - consider attending the Contractor's Forum 8 a.m to 4 p.m. April 18 at the Street Maintenance Administration Building, 4411 Northpointe Industrial Blvd. 

The forum, put on by the Charlotte Engineering and Property Management Department, will highlight upcoming projects and new policies and procedures. 

Other discussion topics include: a Blue Line Extension update, revised City of Charlotte Small Business Opportunity Program, city and county environmental update and the city's construction process.  There also will be a Q&A session. 

Cost is free and lunch is provided. 

For details, contact Edward Mobley, the city's contract specialist, at jmobley@charlottenc.gov or 704-336-6739. 

Click here for more information on bids and contracts with the city. 

Women-owned businesses nearly double in N.C.

The number of woman-owned businesses has nearly doubled in North Carolina over the last 16 years, says a report released Thursday, commissioned by American Express OPEN. 

The "State of Women-Owned Business" report, which relied on data from the U.S. Census Bureau, also shows that North Carolina ranks third in the nation for its growth in number of women-owned firms - 90.9 percent - since 1997. 

Nationally, the number of women-owned businesses has increased 59 percent since 1997.

North Carolina state has an estimated 267,000 women-owned firms, employing 268,100, and the firms are expected to generate $35.8 billion in revenue this year. 

The report includes data across industry, revenue and employment size at the national and state levels. 

Access the full report here.

A smartphone breathalyzer? Just one of the new class of local tech start-ups

It's time to meet some of startup hub Packard Place's newest all-stars. 

Members of Packard Place's second class of RevTech Labs -- a free, three-month program to help tech startups launch -- are currently in the throes of building business models and their products. 

Startups in RevTech Labs are early-stage mobile, software and web companies. During the program, they share 4,000 square feet of free work space at Packard Place, and are mentored by local, regional and national tech talent. On "Demo Day" in April, companies will pitch to investors and the business community. 

So here they are, the newest additions to Charlotte's growing tech scene:

• Alcohoot is a smartphone breathalyzer. The small device connects to your smartphone and, together with the Alcohoot mobile app, let's you to test your blood alcohol level quickly and accurately. Leaders: Ben Biron, Jonathan Ofir, Max Koeppel

• eCampus will deliver the products, services and experiences that students look for throughout their college career. The company currently operates Roomsurf, a social network that helps students find compatible roommates. Leaders: Justin Gaither, Dan Thibodeau

• Womadz engages customers in the process of producing, selecting and promoting originals ads for brands -- for serious cash. For those not interested in producing ads, Womadz offers an environment full of entertaining videos, and let's users earn money by helping select and share the best of the videos. Leaders: Diek Minkhorst, Sam Reitman

• MyLearningID was formed by two business partners that share a passion for education and security. Through facial, voice recognition and additional digital signatures, an individual can maintain the integrity of their identity online while schools to maintain the academic integrity of their distance education programs. Leaders: Velvet Nelson, Mike Murphy

• Podanize is an innovative website and mobile app that offers moms an efficient, fun way to keep their kids’ ongoing group activities organized. The activity leader brings the group online by forming a “Pod” where the parents have free-flowing discussions, schedule recurring events, set up task lists, and easily reference the group’s information in one central location. Leaders: Nikki Sacks, Steven Sacks

• Reward Summit  is a mobile- and web-based platform that demystifies rewards programs, helping consumers pick the right cards and get their full value.  Leaders: John Espey, Chris Hart

• InspireInYou is internet radio for messages centered on self-help, religious and non-religious inspiration. Gauging user preferences, the service then matches with audio messages arranged into customized channels for each user. Content contributors include: churches, certified counselors, motivational speakers and certified life coaches. Leader: Shaun Andrews

• Web based start-up ShomoLive, Inc. is developing a social media platform for people interested in playing, booking or listening to live music.  The website streamlines the process of booking promoting gigs for local musicians and venues. Leaders: Scott Jermyn, Tony Verrioli, Tim Beidear

• Campus Carriers makes the campus moving process easy and economical for university students. It uses technology to fine-tune customer management and logistics, and also offers an e-commerce website. Leaders: Daniel Burdi, Justin Burdi

• Plate Share is a smartphone app that allows diners to round their restaurant bills up to the nearest dollar and donate the change to feed the hungry. The non-profit organization's micro-giving transaction platform makes charitable giving easy, accessible, affordable, and attractive. Leader: Katie Levans

Chamber competition puts $25,000 on the line

The Charlotte Chamber touted the launch of the 2013 Power Up Entrepreneurship Challenge at a luncheon Tuesday, detailing the competition that recognizes promising entrepreneurs and small businesses in the chamber.

The winner of the challenge gets a $25,000 grant from Duke Energy as well as a package of business services valued at more than $200,000, said Brett Carter, the Charlotte Chamber's Duke Energy Chair.

"This is a big deal for us," said Carter. "We believe this is a huge part of keeping our small businesses and entrepreneurs engaged in Charlotte."

Last year's winner was InfoSense, a company that uses patent-pending technology developed at UNC Charlotte to detect blockages in pipelines. The technology is now being used in 30 states around the U.S.

Applicants will compete within their regional chamber chapters, and the winner from each chapter will compete at the grand finale will be Nov. 14.

The winner will get: a $25,000 business grant from Duke Energy, a marketing support package from Boone Oakley, a legal support package, and a mentor from the chamber's board of directors.

Finalists will also get a package of business services.

Click here for the application and a calendar of upcoming Power Up events.

To participate in the challenge, companies must: 

• be a Charlotte Chamber member in good standing. 
• be a for-profit company. 
• have $1 million or less in total revenue for most recent fiscal year. 
• have a principal location in the 16-county Charlotte region.
• not be a franchise. 
• have a primary business focus in one or more of the following: energy, information technology/big data, health care, financial services, life sciences/medical devices, transportation/logistics, manufacturing, professional services, tourism/sports or creative.