BCCC Center Helps Business Thrive | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Tena Hudson, an owner of Coastal Wood Products, recently pointed with pride to a map of the United States and southern Canada. The map, hanging on a wall in her office, is full of pins – all along the northeastern coast and as far away as southern California – showing the locations of the company's customers.

    "This recently expanded sales area is due, in large part, to Internet-based sales developed as a result of workshops and advice offered by the Small Business Center at Beaufort County Community College," Hudson said.

    Coastal Wood Products was established in 1992 by Hudson's parents, Lin and Carol Keech, in buildings repurposed from Keech's farm near Northside High School in eastern Beaufort County. The business specializes in outdoor furniture in cypress and oak.

    Hudson, a BCCC accounting graduate, worked about 30 years as an accountant while working part-time in the family business during busy times of the year.

    But after her mother died, Hudson and her brother, Terry, joined the business fulltime to help her father.

    "When I joined the business, I said I needed to bring something to the table to offer my dad," she said. "We needed to expand so that I could be of worth to the company."

    "We also wanted to develop products that we could easily sell online at our website at www.coastalwoodproductsinc.com," she said.

    From her time as a student at BCCC, Hudson was already familiar with the Division of Continuing Education and the Small Business Center, so in 2010, she contacted its director, Lentz Stowe, for help in expanding the business.

    As part of a statewide network of centers, the Small Business Center at BCCC helps the over 1,700 small businesses in Beaufort, Hyde, Tyrrell and Washington counties survive, prosper, and contribute to the economic well-being of the area, according to Stowe.

    Small Business Centers provide seminars and workshops, one-on-one counseling, a library of resources, and referrals to other sources to prospective and current owners and operators of small businesses at no cost to clients and attendees.

    Beaufort County Community College is a public comprehensive community college committed to accessible and affordable quality education, effective teaching, relevant training, and lifelong learning opportunities for the people served by the College.