Standard Practice

STANDARDIZED PROCESS

CHANGES COMING TO BUSINESS LICENSING

BY MARK E. LETT

Lowcountry business owners — large and small — are confronting an inescapable fact of life: simplification is complicated.

A wholesale change to how South Carolina manages business licensing and taxation is creating confusion, conversation and a stepped-up need for communication.

The so-called “Act 176” — approved by the state Legislature in September 2020 — will take effect Jan. 1, 2022. The measure is designed to standardize business licensing by putting all taxing jurisdictions on the same footing to classify and oversee business licensing.

All property owners — including those who rent condos and vacation homes — will be required to obtain a business license.

Through standardization, Act 176 is expected, ultimately, to make life easier for business operators and government agencies by removing differences among the state’s more than 250 municipal taxing authorities.

But getting there is proving a challenge. Municipal workers are scrambling to update software, reclassify businesses into state-mandated categories and spread the word about the ins and outs of the changes. Among the tactics for information sharing: social media, television interviews, mailings and direct contact with rental

agencies and employers.

It’s a complex choreography that will place all businesses and communities on a common tax licensing year to run from May 1 to April 30. The cost for a business license varies and generally is based upon the previous year’s overall revenues.

At the same time, putting businesses into uniformly recognized categories will mean “some will pay more, and some will pay less,” said Charlie Barrineau of the Municipal Association of South Carolina.

“We are getting calls,” he said, referring to the growing interest in the business community.

Local tax officials are revving up information campaigns, videos, mailings and meetings to spread the word and respond to inquiries. Because different communities have different existing policies, Act 176 impacts many differently.

April Akins, revenue services manager for Hilton Head, said the act will require all property owners who rent their property to obtain a business license. Currently, owners with only one Hilton Head rental property are not required to secure a license.

More than 7,000 business licenses are in effect in the town. That number of business licenses is expected to increase by the thousands when the one-exemption is eliminated.

Akins said more than 40 percent of the town’s businesses will be reclassified to comply with Act 176. The act also requires that taxing authorities “rebalance” business taxes so municipalities do not realize a “shortfall or a windfall” in tax revenues.

Rebalancing has proven a challenging exercise for some local governments.

“I’m busier than a one-armed paper hanger,” Akins said.

Natalie Majorkiewicz, treasury manager for Bluffton, said town employees have worked as a team to sweat the details for reviewing and classifying some 3,600 business licenses. Business licenses account for more than $2.2 million annually for Bluffton’s general operations, she said.

“We are here to serve the Bluffton business community,” Majorkiewicz said. “The Town’s Business License Division is available to answer any questions and walk any business owner through the process.”

Officials in Hilton Head and Bluffton continue to provide information and updates about Act 176. To inquire:

HILTON HEAD:

Revenue Services Department, 843-341-4677 rs@hiltonheadislandsc.gov hiltonheadislandsc.gov

BLUFFTON:

Treasury department: 843-706-4546 businesslicense@townofbluffton.com townofbluffton.sc.gov/

SMALL BUSINESSES

MAKE A HUGE IMPACT

LOCALLY-OWNED SHOPS HELP ENRICH THE COMMUNITY

BY BARRY KAUFMAN

Millions upon millions of small business owners each year invest in local youth sports leagues. They hire other local firms to help their business excel. They pump money into the local economy through the wages they paid their employees.

And they enrich our community in countless other ways.

Consider the following numbers, courtesy of the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce. Of the money you spend at a local business, 48 percent gets recirculated locally.

Every $100 you spend generates $45 of secondary local spending. And 91 percent of small business owners give back to their community, averaging $6,000 per year in donations, contributions and services.

Small businesses donate 250% more than large businesses to community causes, according to fundera.com, a small business marketplace.

Part of what makes patronizing a local business so beneficial is the way a local business goes out of its way to take a personal approach.

After all, you’re not just a customer, you’re a neighbor. Even with something like mortgage brokering, you’ll find a personal touch.

“With big banks, you’re going to get pawned off from one department to another and never speak to the same person twice,” said Will Savage, owner of

Support small businesses this month. Small Business Saturday is set for Nov. 27.

Bluffton’s PMC Mortgage Corporation. “My clients are going to be with me from start to finish. But then, Bluffton is very small-business focused.”

As an ambassador for the Greater Bluffton Chamber of Commerce, Savage points to the fact that Bluffton’s small businesses tend to multiply each dollar spent, turning around and investing in other small businesses.

One person who can certainly testify to that is Jordan Lemmon, owner of HH Wrap Company. Creators and installers of customized wraps for boats, cars and any vehicle you can imagine, the majority of his company’s clients are fellow small businesses.

“The industry I am a part of solely relies on the economy and growing businesses surrounding me,” he said. “Growing up in Hilton Head I have found a family of people who are successful business owners and are constantly helping each other grow. And I will do all I can to be a part of the success in my hometown.”

When you help one small business, you’re helping that small business lift up others. And sometimes you’re just helping a neighbor pursue their dream.

Shamequa Allen had served eight years in the

Xxxxx Army when she found herself working jobs that didn’t offer much by way of a future. As a young mom, she took it upon herself to chart her own destiny, opening Boomin’ Bounce, which rents out inflatables, activities and concessions for parties across the Lowcountry.

“I love kids, so I figured this would be the absolute best route,” she said.

For her, opening her own business was a way to spend time with her family.

“My daughter plays a lot of sports now, and I can be there for her.”

You can shop local as a way to help your neighbors achieve their dreams and to help create a healthy environment for other local businesses.

Whatever your reason, one way to support small businesses this month is Small Business Saturday, which is set for Nov. 27.

Locally and nationally, Small Business Saturday helps support local shops. According to a 2018 SBS Consumer Insights Survey, spending among consumers who said they shopped at independent retailers and restaurants on that day was approximately $17.8 billion. SBS spending has reached an estimated $103 billion since the day began in 2010.

COCOON

6 Promenade St, Bluffton, SC 29910 cocoonbluffton.com (843) 815-3315

JOHN BAYLEY CLOTHIER

1000 William Hilton Parkway Village at Wexford, Suite J4B, Hilton Head Island, SC 29928 (843) 715-0713

ISLAND CHILD

1000 William Hilton Pkwy, Hilton Head Island, SC 29928 (843) 686-5437

ISLAND GIRL

1 N Forest Beach Dr, Hilton Head Island, SC 29928 (843) 686-6000 islandgirlhhi.com

MAGGIE & ME

6 Bruin Rd, Bluffton, SC 29910 (843) 707-9083

S.M BRADFORD CO.

149D Lighthouse Rd, Hilton Head Island, SC 29928 smbradfordco.com

LILLY PULITZER SIGNATURE STORE

1000 Willm. Hilton Pkwy, Village at Wexford B-2, Hilton Head Island, SC 29928 smbradfordco.com

CAROLINA ME CRAZY

Tanger 1, Suite 310, 1256 Fording Island Rd. Bluffton, SC 29910 @CarolinaMeCrazy

STRUTTING THEIR

BY BARRY KAUFMAN | PHOTOS SUBMITTED

CARL & CARROL JENSEN REV UP FOR THIS YEAR’S CONCOURS D’ELEGANCE

To the moderate car enthusiast, the name Stutz may not resonate as well as Mercedes, Porsche or Ferrari.

With the last model rolling off an Indiana assembly line more than 85 years ago, and just 300 of its cars still in existence today, the nameplate just doesn’t have the kind of recognition as others might. (Despite a modestly successful revival of the name in the late 60s which saw the likes of Elvis Presley and Lucille Ball driving around in GM-produced, second wave Stutzes).

But to those in the know, the name Stutz carries with it a legacy of fine-tuned performance automotive art. Crafted in the mold of the turn-of-the-century beauties that launched America’s love affair with the automobile, a Stutz will show like a classic, with wide running boards, classic reflector headlamps and side-mounted spare. But open it up and you’ll find one of the first true muscle cars.

“They were outstanding for their time, but it wasn’t the mainstream,” said Carrol Jensen, who along with her husband Carl, is one of the organizers of the Grand Stutz at this year’s Hilton Head Island Concours d’Elegance & Motoring Festival (Nov. 5-7).

“Cars like this were so far ahead of technology in the teens,” Carl said. “The Bearcat was a car you could drive off the showroom floor and do 100 mph in a time when horses and buggies were still out on the road.”

The Stutz wasn’t a mainstream car to begin with, and history only made them harder to find. But that only makes the pursuit more enjoyable.

“One thing that happened were the metal drives during WWII… a lot of premium cars were scrapped,” said Carl. “Plus a lot of Stutzes were raced, so they met their demise that way.”

The Jensens are consummate car collectors, owners of an eclectic collection that runs the gamut but counts among its fleet a 1911 Stutz Bearcat and a 1930 Stutz Speedster. They met in college and immediately bonded over their love of classic cars.

“We’d ride with different people, and people would loan us their cars before we had the means to start our own collection,” said Carl.

Both have been involved heavily with various classic car groups — Carrol is president of The Classic Car Club of America — but their involvement with The Stutz Club, Inc., where Carl is VP of Publications, lets them do far more than simply show off these magnificent vehicles.

“Stutz people like to get together and drive their cars,” explains Carl. “It’s much more about driving the cars than showing the cars. One reason why we love the Grand Stutz event is it has two driving tours.”

Not just a show piece, the Jensens’ 1930 Speedster has done plenty of time on the road, with the couple driving it upward of 1,000 miles to events and even taking it out on the track on occasion. They’ve had to put a few new tires on it, which you can imagine comes with its own difficulties considering there are only 300 Stutzes in existence.

“One of the things the Stutz Club does very well is we have great communication around the world,” said Carl. “I can send out mass email, ‘Who has a similar part we could duplicate?’… We have some really good solutions, being a tight-knit community.”

During this year’s Hilton Head Island Concours, this tight-knit community will head to our island behind the wheel of cars that beg to be driven. And the Jensens, coming all the way from their home in Wisconsin, will be leading the charge.

“We love Hilton Head,” said Carrol. “How the cars are spread out, it never feels too crowded, the food is always great, the people are friendly, the weather is nice. It’s a really enjoyable time.”

“IT’S MUCH MORE ABOUT DRIVING THE CARS THAN SHOWING THE CARS.”

Carl Jensen

EXPECT TO

BY BECCA EDWARDS | PHOTOS SUBMITTED

CONCOURS D’ELEGANCE FLIGHTS & FANCY GALA OFFERS AN EVENING OF EXTRAVAGANT ENTERTAINMENT

Each year the Flights & Fancy Aeroport Gala places event goers in the driver’s seat to the Hilton Head Island Concours d’Elegance & Motoring Festival by previewing some of the most alluring automobiles and aircraft to date.

In conjunction with the Grand Motoring Film Festival (Nov. 4 at the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina) and Michael Anthony’s Tableside Wine Dinner (Nov. 4 at Michael Anthony’s Cucina Italiana), it kick starts the weekend-long car show.

Even though this Nov. 5 “not-to-miss VIP event” gets vroom-ier each year — more to come on this — a few integral components remain the same.

The juxtaposition between hardware and evening wear, avant-garde and classical, and the darkness of the evening sky and the beautiful uplighting by Sha Sha Harnik of Loluma drive many to attend year after year.

The event gives off a Great Gatsby-James Bond vibe that is equal parts seductive and entertaining.

“Guests can expect to be swooned with an atmosphere of vintage aircrafts and automobiles, new model displays, a showing of local cuisine, full bar and the ever-talented Synergy Twins, the electric violinist duo,” said Sawyer Strelcheck, Director of Operations for the Hilton Head Island Concours d’Elegance & Motoring Festival.

The main reason for the event, Strelcheck said, is to contribute to the Concours’ charitable fund, Driving Young America, by way of Silent Auction.

Items includes a one-day Driving School from BMW Performance Driving School, a behind-the-scene tour of the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum, hotel accommodations, “amazing” porcelain sculptures, she said.

There are two surprises this year, too.

“This event keeps evolving,” said Strelcheck. “Each year our sponsors want to come back bigger and bigger and it keeps building momentum. This year we have added Porsche taxiway rides and a wine tasting with Scott Pruett.”

“It’s not just about seeing the cars and aircraft, it’s about getting in for a ride,” Strelcheck said. “The Porsche taxiway rides will be offered from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. with professional instructors from the Porsche track experience at racing speeds up to 150 mph on the taxiway at the Hilton Head Island Airport.”

This offering is open to all ticket holders but on a first-come, first-served basis and space is limited. The wine tasting, hosted by Lexus, will be at the Lexus display from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. and features champion race car driver and Lexus brand ambassador Scott Pruett and his wife, Judy.

The Pruetts founded their vineyard in 2006 and, from its debut release, this “premier family-owned and operated estate distinguished itself as the most highly acclaimed and celebrated producer of the region.”

“Scott and Judy shifted from velocity to viticulture with the same passion and determination to bring forward their very best in everything they produce,” a news release said.

Strelcheck said you don’t have to be a car enthusiast to really enjoy the Concours d’Elegance Flights & Fancy Gala.

“I don’t even know how to pronounce many of the cars’ names but you look at these huge, beautiful machines and you think, how did someone in the 30s build this?” she said. “You don’t have to be a car person to also get your mind blown and want to learn more about the stories of each car. That’s what really gets them accepted into the show.”