Office Hours

Ask Joel, Bill, or Patricia about:
Business Plan Development
Business Structure and Legal Considerations
Financial Planning and Projections
Funding and Capital Acquisition
Growth and Scaling Strategies

Ask Sheila about:
Management & Operations
Restaurant Industry KPIs
Marketing & Branding
Working with Local Food Systems
Understanding Profit & Loss Statements

Ask Lindsay about:
Lean Canvas Model
Customer Discovery
Entity Selection
Military Specific Resources
Business Plan Developmen

Lindsay Hinger is an entrepreneur, Air Force Veteran, and business counselor. She is a two-time small business owner, and works as a Business Launch Specialist with the SBTDC. Lindsay is also a Board member of NC Vet Biz, and is a mentor to veterans and military spouses through American Corporate Partners (ACP).

Bill Rollinson is a General Business Counselor with the SBTDC (Small Business Technology Development Center). Before moving to North Carolina in 2020, he spent most of his career in Silicon Valley as an entrepreneur and product manager. He helped to create some of the first software for the Apple Macintosh in 1984 and co-founded the first online retailer on the web, Internet Shopping Network in 1994. He’s been involved in numerous start-ups as an operating executive, founder, investor, and board member. He received a Design degree from UCLA.

Sheila Dalton is a General Business Counselor for the Small Business Technology & Development Center, a collaboration between the Small Business Administration and the UNC System. She is the co-founder and previous owner of Neal’s Deli in Carrboro. She has 25+ years in small business, with extensive experience in the Triangle’s local food system. Dalton is an avid trail runner, a YA fiction fan, a trained cook, and a certified nutrition coach with a private practice. She lives in Carrboro with her two kids, one cat, and a loving community of friends.

Joel Harper serves as regional director with the Small Business Development Technology Center, a no-cost, confidential small business counseling service​ affiliated with Kenan Flagler Business School and the Small Business Administration. Previously, Harper assisted small business owners as executive director of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce. Overall, he has been helping business owners launch, grow and prosper for 20+ years. In his spare time, Harper enjoys growing vegetables and Dutch oven cooking.

Patricia Breen joined the SBTDC in 2020 as a Business Resiliency Counselor, a temporary position funded by the CARES ACT during the COVID 19 pandemic and has returned to the SBTDC as a General Business Counselor, housed at North Carolina Central University. Before joining the SBTDC, Patricia built a successful consulting practice and has extensive experience guiding organizations and teams through systemic growth issues. She works across multiple functional areas and has lived and consulted in urban, rural and international markets. A few specialty areas of interest include: Assessment and planning, Marketing, branding and communications, technology and data management (CRM), Group facilitation and training and executive and leadership development