Ep7 - Business Licensing

Topics:

Business Licensing 

• What it is by state 
• GA – Occupational Tax – only on businesses with physical presence. 
• NC – Business registration – flat with max set by state 
• SC – Business License 

Revenue versus Regulation 
Top Questions 

• Insurance Agencies vs Brokers 
• Peddlers - Forest Acres Peddlers Ordinance
• Roadside Food (DHEC)

Entrepreneurial Options 

• Prepared Food/Popcorn/Coffee/Sno-cones (roadside food p.2) 
• Home-Based Food Production 
• Mowing/Raking/Lawn Aeration 
• Car Wash/Detailing 
• Lot Cleaning/Clearing 
• Knife Sharpening 
• Pressure Washing 
• Painting 

Economic Development 

• Mapping/Business Listing 
• Forecasting 
• Resiliency & Health 

Inter-Department Communication

Grants 

• HUD Continuum of Care (CoC) Supplemental / Special NOFOs (select rounds) — April 23, 2026 local competition deadlines. Municipalities often apply or partner for homelessness and housing initiatives. https://www.hud.gov/hud-partners/community-coc 
• National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) – Five Star and Urban Waters Restoration Grant Program — May 14, 2026. Funds urban greening, stormwater, and habitat restoration projects with strong municipal involvement. Grants seek to address water quality issues in priority watersheds, such as erosion due to unstable stream banks, pollution from stormwater runoff, and degraded shorelines caused by development.
  https://www.nfwf.org/programs/five-star-program?activeTab=tab-2 
• Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) – Area Development Grants (cycle deadlines vary by state) — many late April–early May 2026 submission cutoffs for local infrastructure and economic development. 
  https://www.arc.gov/grants-and-opportunities/area-development-program/
  https://scprt.widen.net/s/fvbgp66gtk/fy25-pard-guidelines_20241120 
  SC Contact: Barry Butler

Find Us:
Mark Partin is Chief of Staff for the City of Sumter (https://sumtersc,gov).  Subscribe and Find more of Mark's Local Government Leadership Thoughts at https://localleadershipinsights.substack.com/

Karl McCollester spent 20 year in strategic technology consulting for small municipalities in the Carolinas and George.  He is the CEO of GovPossible.

GovPossible (https://govpossible.com) is a Public Benefit Corporation that provides software to help small municipalities manage their operations including finance, budget, licensing, permitting, planning, codes enforcement, cemetery, meetings, and website. 

What is Mighty Municipalities?

Join us as we discuss ways for small towns be more impactful for their citizens. Mark Partin from the City of Sumter and Karl McCollester from GovPossible talk with municipalities across the country to discover how they become a little bit mightier.