Down to Business

In 2016, GLORIA MONROE retired from IBM Corporation after being with the company for more than a decade. Soon after, she found herself helping others with business goals in her new home of Wilmington.

At IBM, she served in two roles over her career: program manager and innovation center manager. Some of her highlights with the company include launching IBM East Africa Innovation Center in Nairobi, Kenya, to increase the company’s presence in business and academic communities in East Africa and developing and implementing programs for more than 9,000 faculty at 3,400 universities worldwide.

When Monroe retired, she initially stayed home for a few months and intended to enjoy her retirement. That was until an enticing job opportunity came her way that she couldn’t refuse.

“Someone mentioned an opening for a general business counselor at the small business center at UNCW, and I thought, ‘OK, I can do that for a year or so, and then go back to retirement,’” recalls Monroe. “That was eight years ago. I started working at the center and became very, very impressed with the mission of the center, what we do in Southeastern North Carolina, and the contributions we make. My one year has extended into eight.”

Today, Monroe serves as UNCW regional center director at the Small Business and Technology Development Center.

Monroe started at the Small Business and Technology Development Center (SBDTC) at the University of North Carolina Wilmington in 2017 as a general business counselor. SBTDC is affiliated with the university and serves the Brunswick, Columbus, Duplin, Onslow, Pender, and New Hanover counties. Its services include helping small and mid-sized businesses make better, more informed decisions; access sources of capital and financing; evaluate and improve financial performance; explore new market opportunities; and improve leadership skills and employee performance.

In her role as general business counselor, Monroe was responsible for business counseling, strategy development, research, and training for business owners and those planning to start new businesses.

In June 2023, Monroe transitioned to the role of interim director of the SBTDC and was later named the center’s permanent director in May. As the director, Monroe is responsible for supervising and recruiting personnel, managing operations and strategic planning, as well as student engagement and community outreach.

Each day, the center looks different for Monroe, but what’s consistent is having new clients and entrepreneurs register with the SBTDC and seek support for their businesses.

According to a 2021 study by the North Carolina Department of Commerce, the state has more than 964,000 small businesses and 1.7 million small business employees in the state.

“We have a group of counselors who support both new clients as well as existing ones and provide overall business advisory services to them,” Monroe says. “They’re all personalized and confidential, no-charge services for the businesses, really to help them be successful. I like to tell businesses or anyone that comes into us that we’re their tax dollars at work. We assist them, and there’s no charge for what we deliver to them to really help them make their businesses better.”

Monroe and her staff work with a variety of businesses, including those that are thinking about starting a business to “ones that have been in existence for years and years and years.”

North Carolina saw nearly 172,000 new businesses created in 2023, compared to the roughly 100,000 new businesses created in 2019, according to the North Carolina Secretary of State’s Office.

“We have many clients who’ve been with us for a long time and others who come to us for assistance in getting their businesses started so it’s a variety,” Monroe says. “No two days are the same. We have a variety of businesses, and industries, all basically wanting to do the same thing – be successful in what they’re doing.”

As the director, Monroe has four goals for the center, her employees, and the businesses it serves.

“That’s a staffing and talent recruiting challenge that I keep for myself,” she says. “I really want to make sure that we have top-notch resources in our center, providing guidance to businesses that come to us for help.”

Monroe also aims to be a place where clients make their businesses better.

“In addition to a focus to making sure we have the best people, we want the best people helping our clients to make the best decision in their business and grow their business and make them more productive,” Monroe says.

Because the center is affiliated with UNCW and its business school, Monroe aims to connect closely with the overall objectives of the business school and support the university in its mission to provide outstanding student experiences and have a positive impact on society.

“We do that through both having student interns in our office and also student projects,” Monroe says. “We have a real focus on making student projects win-win situations.”

Along with that, Monroe aims to have her student interns graduate with as much experience as they can.

“We try to support that mission, and we have ongoing student projects all the time where teams of students working with their professors are supporting a project in real client situations,” she says.

As Monroe finishes out her eighth year at the center, she’s focusing on continued customer satisfaction and exceeding the needs of everyone who comes to the center for small business assistance.

“We will be there to assist wherever we can,” Monroe says. “I’d really like to continue to strengthen our presence in the community. We look forward to having more businesses come to us and ask for our resources. Many times people come to us and say, ‘You’re the best-kept secret in town.’”

To view more of photographer Terah Hoobler’s work, go to terahhoobler.com.

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