Residents of Spartanburg, S.C. often joke about the city’s lacklusterness by ironically coining the name “Sparkle City.” Part of this irony points to what qualities Spartanburg does not have in comparison to those around it. What might these differences be?
The Spartanburg Area Chamber of Commerce, named OneSpartanburg, Inc., supports the growth and development of the local economy. A few years ago, they worked with an economic consultant from Chicago to assess their economic state.
It may be no surprise to find that Spartanburg booms with large corporations and commercial businesses. Where Spartanburg seems to lose its sparkle, however, is in its support for local businesses.
Spartanburg showed less than half of the state’s average for small business growth and development. This was an extremely alarming statistic for the city, as 90% of funds are fueled by local organizations.
Jay Jenkins, the director of small and minority business development at Power Up Spartanburg, was given the role to help bridge the gap. Over the past two and a half years, he and his team have worked to create opportunities for small business owners in Spartanburg.
They have received over 6.2 million dollars of federal funding issued by the Spartanburg City Council to fund grants, loans and other resources such as classes offered by Spartanburg Community College and USC Upstate for these up-and-coming business owners.
“We basically have two objectives. We want to break down barriers for small businesses and, secondly, help them grow and become sustainable,” Jenkins said.
Jenkins is passionate about providing greater opportunities to the members of the Spartanburg community to empower. Jenkins and his team have engaged in over 2,200 out of the estimated 6,000 small businesses across the county.
Jenkins shares the importance for students to care about their community and get involved. Power Up Spartanburg has two Wofford interns, Sara Geis ‘28 and Jaime Bustos ‘25, that they teach and work with to better understand the roles small businesses have in the community.
“It’s very important that our college students and our community understand how important small businesses are to our economic development and sustainability,” Jenkins said.
Power Up Spartanburg helps business owners truly realize their aspirations through progress like product developments and establishing storefronts.
“My greatest joy is to see someone who comes in with the idea of starting a business and then over months, that dream come to fruition,” Jenkins said.
This is a hopeful and inspiring initiative for Wofford’s very own community, and it is important more than ever to get out of the bubble and support local.
Wofford has their very own pool of successful small business owners. Emma Rohaley ‘27 has a small art and jewelry business called EHS that she has been able to grow right here on campus.
“Wofford has helped my business grow immensely. I am so grateful for all of the support I have received from the Wofford Community,” Rohaley said.
Through pop up shops and painting classes, she has grown and created a greater community on campus.
Rohaley feels she owes so much of her growth to the Wofford community and emphasizes the importance of supporting small businesses like hers. She expresses the uniqueness and personalized products small businesses can offer over large corporations as well as the benefits to the community.
“My favorite part of owning a small business is how excited I get when something I created sparks joy in others,” Rohaley said.
Supporting small business owners like Rohaley on campus or even choosing Little River Roasting Co. over Starbucks are just a couple of simple ways to offer support. Support local, support Spartanburg.
