Why I Built My Business in Elizabeth City, NC

A resident details what makes this harbor town the ideal place to set up shop.

By Rebecca Treon on April 13, 2024

Danielle Rand

Brian and Danielle Rand visited Elizabeth City, NC, on a weekend getaway and decided it was someplace they’d actually like to stay. The couple, originally from Boston and New Hampshire, had been living in Northern Virginia for about 10 years at the time. Brian was a firefighter, and Danielle worked in criminal justice. Looking for an escape from their high-stress jobs, they hoped to make Elizabeth City a place for frequent vacations. 

When they visited, though, the couple decided to do a complete 180, selling their home in Virginia, quitting their jobs and relocating to Elizabeth City, where they started a paint-your-own pottery studio, Lily Pad Pottery, and a leather working studio, Lavoro Leather. 

The his-and-her boutiques are conjoined with a door between them in a historic building the couple helped rehab on Water Street, the downtown hub of Elizabeth City that’s seeing an exciting revival. 

The Rands came to Elizabeth City five years ago and are just getting started. Read on to learn what they love about doing business in Elizabeth City. 

Why did you choose Elizabeth City as a place to open your businesses? 
Danielle: My mom and I both love painting pottery together, we’re both typically high-stress individuals, and we found that when we painted pottery together, it completely lowered our stress levels. We sat there and laughed and enjoyed life in the moment. 

That’s really the experience we wanted to bring to our new community through Lily Pad Pottery and Lavoro Leather. My husband is a retired firefighter and has a lot of aches and pains from his work over the years, and he has found leatherwork to be not only something he could do physically but something that was really soothing mentally for him. So we just decided to put these two together and make our businesses and live. We adore this community, so we just wanted to put ourselves into the community more.

Why was moving to Elizabeth City a good decision for you? 
Danielle: Elizabeth City has become our home, and we absolutely love it here. One aspect is affordability compared to New England and even in Virginia where we were living. Elizabeth City is just so much more affordable. You can live here. You can afford to buy a home. You can afford to feed a family here. And you can afford to do things because you have the ability to save. 

As an example, in New Hampshire, there’s no sales tax on most things, but that is put on property owners instead. Here, we have a pretty average property tax rate, even business tax is lower, and obviously if you have other benefits, like being a veteran, there are circumstances that can help people be able to afford to open a business. We love North Carolina but especially this area, because it’s a hidden gem, I think.

What local resources were you able to take advantage of? 
Danielle: One of the first things we did when we decided to open our two businesses is to sign up for an Elizabeth City Area Chamber of Commerce event, which was a small networking get-together. I met some local women, and it was absolutely wonderful, and the rest is history. That was in June 2022, and we purchased the property and opened Lavoro in August. 

We made new friends through the chamber and were able to also use them for so much – like I had some paperwork I needed to file that I found very confusing, and I called one of the owners of the Waterworks Building for some help. The response she gave me was unbelievable. She dropped everything she was doing to help me fill everything out because she’s navigated it before.

What’s amazing is that we have another new company that’s coming to downtown. They’re a Coast Guard family, and she’s been running a business on the side and is now getting a brick and mortar. She’s going through the same process I went through several months ago, and I was able to give her all my resources that I was able to get from the woman at the Waterworks Building.

Elizabeth City is just such a nice little community because if you need help, people will help you. Our motto is that if we do well, everyone will do well because if I help you, you’ll help someone else. To have macro change, we have to start on a micro level. I really believe that if we can start in one place, it will manifest in other places.

What is one thing you love about Elizabeth City?
Danielle: A few years ago, this boom started downtown where people came in and just started their businesses. It’s really taken off, and we are all just such a strong community. I promote other people’s businesses, and they promote mine. We all collaborate and support each other.

A few weeks ago, Ghost Harbor Brewing Company had a fall fest. It was amazing! The response of the community was incredible. They had music, several local businesses that participated, we painted pumpkins and had coloring sheets, people drank beer and had a great time. We met a family that is doing a worldwide boating trip for four years, and they came into Elizabeth City during the summer, and they came in and painted some pieces.

They said that Elizabeth City was their favorite place – the best place they’ve ever stayed – because when they came to dock, not only was it free for boats to stay, but they said as they came in, someone radioed to ask if they needed to go somewhere, if they needed a ride or groceries, or even local recommendations. They come to this little dot on the map and are so impressed with how courteous our community is and how things are handled – that is so special to me. It speaks a lot to what is going on here.

We want to make this community the best it can be, which is why we chose to move here and invest in a business here. I feel so supported by other business owners and community leaders, but the response from the community has been crazy. It’s only been getting better every day, and this was absolutely the best decision I’ve ever made in my life.