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HATTIE: Hi. I'm
Hattie Bryant. In a culture where celebrity is often confused with heroism, we
believe that the real heroes are in our midst, as close as the store owner next
door, the architect across the street, or the Realtor around the corner.
Every week since
1994, we have told the stories of small business heroes on public television
stations everywhere. PBS also has a special feed of this show to all the
colleges and universities in the USA. To find the right small business owners
to study, we turn to many organizations to help us. And the federal agency, the
United States Small Business Administration, the SBA, is one we've turned to
because each year, they recognize the small business person of the year from
every state in the country.
(Voiceover) And we
have told many of their stories, like Heliodoro Valadez from Texas; Linda
Brunini and John Zucchi from Rhode Island; Jerry Shapiro from Missouri; Darby
McQuade from New Mexico; Darlene Jeter from Massachusetts; RuthEllen and Jack
Miller from Delaware; Judi Jacobsen from Washington; Joe Dannis from
California; Lorraine Miller from Utah; and Cindy McEntee from Oregon.
(Voiceover) Now
meet some of our newest discoveries. The small business owners of the year from
each state are hosted by the Small Business Administration during its annual
Small Business Week in Washington, DC. Hector Barreto, Administrator of the
SBA, leads the celebration.
HECTOR BARRETO
(Administrator, SBA): Good afternoon, everyone. Congratulations, again, on
being selected as the top small business person from millions of small
businesses in America. I know that the people who work for you, especially we
in Washington who work for you, are very, very proud of your accomplishments. I
want to thank you for everything that you do for small business every day. It
is an honor to serve you.
 HATTIE: (Voiceover) Here, he announces the
national winners. Third runner-up is Mildred Council from North Carolina,
founder of the restaurant Mama Dip's.
MILDRED COUNCIL
(Mama Dip's): I started out with 18 seats, and so my influences were my
customers. The first customer to come in on that Sunday morning, they were my
influences because they came back on Monday.
HATTIE: (Voiceover)
On a Sunday morning in November of 1976, Mildred "Mama Dip" Council opened her
restaurant with only $64 in cash and a reputation as a good cook. At the end of
the day, she had a profit of $134 and she was in business. Now Mama Dip's is a
Chapel Hill institution.
MILDRED: But with
18 seats, I always had a line standing, and I guess my customers started
banging on me about why don't I expand, why I don't look for another place. And
so I did get 80 more seats added by asking my neighbor if could he move and let
me have that side. So he did that, and so this side -- it filled up.
HECTOR: Now along
the way, what did you do when you needed assistance or help?
MILDRED: Well, the
Small Business Administration is in Charlotte, North Carolina.
HECTOR: Yes.
MILDRED: And so I
called Charlotte and they sent me information about what to do; you know, the
package to go to the bank. And then the bank helped me to let me know whether
they can loan me any money. So that's how it happened.
HECTOR: I'm really
glad you got the help. And we need to let other small businesses know that they
can do the same thing.
MILDRED: Yeah.
HECTOR: So one day they could be as successful as you are, Mama.
MILDRED: Yeah,
yeah.
HATTIE: (Voiceover)
Success for Mama Dip now comes through multiple revenue streams. She has sold
over 100,000 cookbooks and there are speciality items for the do-it-yourself
cook.
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