CHARLOTTE, N.C. : Established small-business owners in Charlotte have until Oct. 2 to apply for Road to Resilience, a free four-week online training program offered by the City of Charlotte in partnership with Charlotte-based Asfalis Advisors.
The first cohort begins Oct. 26 and is limited to 25 participants. The program is intended for independently owned businesses that have operated in Charlotte for at least roughly three and a half years, employ at least one full-time team member beyond the owner and are dealing with changes that could affect their operations.
Those changes may include rising costs, revenue pressure, shifting customer patterns, development, mobility work, a change in location or market conditions, or a transition involving an owner or key employee.
The program comes as Charlotte’s commercial corridors face competing pressures. New investment and infrastructure work can create opportunities, but it can also change traffic patterns, raise operating costs and make it harder for established businesses to retain customers.
For Black-, Latino-, immigrant- and other minority-owned businesses, those pressures can intersect with long-standing barriers to capital, procurement opportunities, affordable commercial space and business growth. Road to Resilience does not claim to resolve those issues. Its practical question is narrower: Can established owners build a clearer plan for responding to conditions that are already affecting their businesses?
What participants will receive
According to the program materials, participants will take part in four weekly online Learning Circles. The sessions are designed to combine peer discussion, practical exercises and business-planning work.
Participants are expected to leave with:
- A written Resilience Action Plan
- Practical tools and templates for business planning
- Strategies for managing rising costs, cash flow and capacity
- A framework for deciding what to change and when
- Approaches to retaining current customers and reaching new ones
- A peer network of Charlotte business owners facing similar conditions
The training is not presented as a grant, loan or direct financial award. The City of Charlotte is promoting the program in partnership with Asfalis Advisors, but applicants should confirm any questions about funding, selection or program administration directly with the city or Asfalis.
The program materials identify Vanessa Mathews as the founder and Chief Resilience Officer of Asfalis Advisors. The firm is delivering the training with the city.
The city and Asfalis held a virtual information session on Sept. 9. That session has already passed, but the application remains open through Oct. 2, according to the program information provided to The Metro Record Charlotte.
Who can apply
Applicants should review the current requirements before submitting an application. The stated criteria include the following:
- The business must be independently owned.
- The business must be located within the City of Charlotte.
- The business must have operated for approximately three and a half years or more.
- The business must have at least one full-time team member beyond the owner.
- The business must demonstrate at least one qualifying condition affecting its next steps.
Qualifying conditions may include:
- Rising costs or pressure on revenue
- Changes in growth, location or market conditions
- A pending ownership or key-employee transition
- A current need to make operational changes
- Readiness to act on a business challenge now
Meeting the baseline requirements does not necessarily guarantee selection. The inaugural cohort is limited to 25 businesses, and the available materials do not provide a public scoring system or a detailed explanation of how applications will be ranked.
That gap matters for a program aimed at businesses operating under uneven conditions. Many Charlotte minority businesses have developed in neighborhoods where owners have had to navigate limited access to capital, rising commercial rents, changing customer bases and unequal access to large contracts. A fair selection process should make clear how those realities will be considered without reducing applicants to demographic categories.
Why the program matters for Charlotte corridors
Charlotte’s growth is changing the business environment beyond the central city. Development projects, mobility improvements, construction activity and shifting residential patterns can alter how customers reach a storefront or where they spend money.
For some owners, growth may bring new customers. For others, a construction project, rent increase or change in nearby development can disrupt a customer base built over many years.
That tension is central to the city’s broader community-development questions. Public investment can improve access and strengthen a corridor, but the benefits are not automatic. Established businesses need practical support before conditions change, not only after revenue has declined or a storefront has closed.
The Road to Resilience model focuses on planning rather than emergency intervention. Its value will depend in part on whether the tools are specific enough to help owners make decisions about staffing, pricing, customer retention, marketing, location and cash flow.
It will also depend on access. A fully online format may reduce transportation barriers and make participation easier for some owners. It may create difficulties for owners who lack reliable broadband, flexible work hours or staff coverage. The program materials state that English and Spanish resources are available, but applicants should verify the language options and participation requirements before applying.
Questions the city should answer
The program presents a limited opportunity: 25 businesses will receive structured training and peer support. That makes accountability important.
The city and Asfalis should consider publishing basic information about the program’s reach and results, including:
-
How were the 25 businesses selected?
Applicants should know whether selection is based on years in operation, urgency of need, location, industry, mobility impacts, readiness to participate or another measure. -
Will participant demographics be published?
Reporting aggregate information about race, ethnicity, business ownership, industry and geography could show whether the program is reaching the communities most affected by capital and development pressures. Any reporting should protect individual privacy. -
How will success be measured?
A completed plan is one immediate outcome. Longer-term measures could include revenue stability, jobs retained, new customers, contracts secured, improved cash-flow management or continued business operation. The city has not publicly established, in the materials reviewed, which measures will determine the program’s success. -
Will there be future cohorts?
A 25-business cohort cannot meet the needs of every eligible owner. If the pilot produces useful results, the city should explain whether additional cohorts will be offered and how owners who are not selected can access similar support. -
What support follows the training?
A written plan is more useful when participants can revisit it with an adviser, lender, procurement specialist or city program. The application materials should clarify whether follow-up assistance is included.
These questions are not arguments against the training. They are necessary to determine whether the program becomes a meaningful part of Charlotte’s small-business support system or remains a limited one-time offering.
Road to Resilience application details
Application deadline: Oct. 2, 2026
Cohort start date: Oct. 26, 2026
Format: Four weekly online Learning Circles
Cohort size: 25 selected businesses
Cost: Free for selected participants
Application: Asfalis Advisors Road to Resilience application
Spanish-language application: Solicitud en español
Applicants should verify current eligibility requirements, schedule, language availability and selection details directly with Asfalis Advisors or the City of Charlotte before applying.
For Charlotte’s small-business community, the immediate opportunity is clear. The broader test will be whether the program reaches owners who are most exposed to changing corridors and whether the city can show, in measurable terms, what the training helps them retain, change or build.
Sources
- Asfalis Advisors: Road to Resilience
- City of Charlotte: City Launches Training Program to Help Small-Business Owners Develop Resilience Strategies
- Road to Resilience program flyer provided to The Metro Record Charlotte
- The Metro Record Charlotte community coverage
