Start Here. Stay Here. Grow Here.
From permitting to procurement, Onslow Coastal Alliance is your concierge front door to the people, programs, and partnerships that help Onslow businesses thrive. We work shoulder to shoulder with you — building trust, cutting through fragmentation, and moving your project forward efficiently.
Permitting & Development Assistance
We help navigate site plans, utility coordination, zoning, and permitting with city, county, and state partners.
Existing Industry Directory
A growing directory of Onslow's manufacturers, contractors, and key employers — the backbone of our local economy.
Entrepreneurship & Small Business
Free counseling, the local capital ladder, licensing, and hiring help — mapped step by step below.
See the four-step pathDefense Contractor Support
Resources for prime and subcontractors serving Camp Lejeune, MCAS New River, and the broader DoD ecosystem.
Explore defense resourcesFour steps, and you don't take any of them alone
Every program below is free or subsidized for Onslow County businesses. If you're not sure which rung you're on, start with step one — that conversation costs nothing and usually saves months.
Talk to a counselor first — it's free
Before you spend a dollar, sit down with an advisor who does this every day. Coastal Carolina Community College's Small Business Center offers free one-on-one counseling and seminars for Onslow residents. BLNC gives you a state-verified licensing checklist for your exact business type.
Register, license, and get tax-ready
Form your entity with the Secretary of State, register for withholding and sales tax with the Department of Revenue, then clear local zoning and any privilege license with the City of Jacksonville or Onslow County depending on where you'll operate.
Find the right capital for your stage
Most Onslow founders don't start with a bank loan — they start with a microloan or an SBA-backed line and grow into real-estate financing. Work the ladder in order; each rung makes the next one cheaper.
Hire, train, and scale
When you're ready for your first employees, NCWorks screens and posts at no cost, ApprenticeshipNC helps you build a registered program, and Coastal Carolina CC can customize training around your production needs. Opportunities exist to engage transitioning service members through approved DoD SkillBridge programs, leverage Coastal Carolina Community College to identify workforce programs currently underway.
How Onslow businesses actually get funded
Financing isn't one decision — it's a sequence. Find your stage, then talk to us about which local lender and program fits before you apply.
Win federal work from Onslow County
Connect directly with the people who help primes and subcontractors navigate Camp Lejeune, MCAS New River, and the broader DoD ecosystem.
Talk to NCMBC Jacksonville
Dr. Sherry Gaylor — Camp Lejeune / MCI East
910-973-4520
CCCC Melton Skills Building, Room 119
Register on MatchForce
Free NC portal.
Matches your company to federal primes and sub work.
Contact Onslow Coastal Alliance (OCA)
Sites, buildings, SkillBridge intros, local teaming.
The best economic development project is the company already here
Most new jobs in Onslow County come from employers who are already operating here. Our retention and expansion work exists to keep those jobs — and to help them pay more.
Confidential existing-industry visits
We meet with Onslow employers on site, off the record, to hear what's working and what's in the way — labor, utilities, permitting, transportation, or space. What we learn drives our advocacy and the county's capital planning.
Expansion assistance & incentives
Adding a line, a shift, or a building? Existing companies qualify for the same state and local performance-based programs as new recruits — Job Development Investment Grants, building reuse grants, and negotiated local packages tied to wage and investment.
Workforce upskilling & retention
Customized training through Coastal Carolina CC, registered apprenticeships, incumbent-worker programs, and NCWorks recruitment support to keep your bench deep and your turnover low.
Barrier removal & advocacy
When a permit stalls, a utility upgrade lags, or a road access issue threatens a timeline, we convene the city, county, ONWASA, Duke, JOEMC, and NCDOT at one table and stay on it until it clears.
Already operating here? Let's sit down.
Tell us where the friction is — hiring, permitting, financing, utilities, building space, or suppliers — and we will bring the right people to the table. No cost, no obligation, and nothing you tell us becomes public.
Prefer to talk first? Call Melissa Brandt, CEO, at 910-330-6329 or email CEO@OCANC.com.
Every form, program,
and partner — in one place
Direct links to the applications and agencies our companies use most.
Not sure where to start?
We'll walk you through it.
State Programs & Forms
Start-up registration, incentive applications, and statewide business assistance.
- Business Link North Carolina (BLNC) — start a business
Free one-on-one start-up counseling and licensing checklist
- NC Department of Commerce
Incentive programs, labor market data, grants
- Economic Development Partnership of NC (EDPNC)
Recruitment, exporting, and expansion support
- NC Secretary of State — business registration
File your LLC, corporation, or annual report
- NC Department of Revenue — business tax registration
Form NC-BR withholding and sales tax registration
- NC Department of Transportation
Driveway permits, rail, and freight planning
Workforce & Training
Talent pipelines, customized training, and hiring assistance for higher-wage employers.
- DoD SkillBridge — become an industry partner
Hire transitioning service members at no wage cost during training
- Coastal Carolina CC Industry Training Center
Customized training built around your production needs
- NC Community College Customized Training Program
State-funded training for new and expanding employers
- NC Community Colleges — Apprenticeships
Earn-and-learn programs with tuition support for apprentices. Contact: apprenticeshipnc@nccommunitycolleges.edu
- NC Community Colleges — NCEdge
Fast, flexible training for new and expanding employers. Contact: ncedge@nccommunitycolleges.edu
- NCWorks Career Center — Onslow County
Recruitment, screening, and on-the-job training reimbursement
- NCWorks Online — post jobs & search resumes
State job board for employer postings and candidate searches
- Eastern Carolina Workforce Development Board
Regional WIOA programs, employer services, and youth workforce initiatives
- Eastern NC Regional Skills Center
Construction, automotive, welding, hospitality, applied sciences
- NC Apprenticeship (ApprenticeshipNC)
Build a registered apprenticeship program
Utilities & Infrastructure
Service providers to contact early when you're siting or expanding a facility.
- ONWASA — water & sewer
County-wide water and sewer authority
- City of Jacksonville Public Services
Water and sewer inside the city
- Duke Energy — economic development
Rate options and site readiness support
- Jones-Onslow EMC
Member-owned electric cooperative
- Piedmont Natural Gas
Natural gas distribution and service requests
- NC Broadband Infrastructure Office
Provider coverage and broadband grant programs
Permitting & Planning
Where to file site plans, zoning requests, and building permits.
- City of Jacksonville Planning & Zoning
Site plan review, rezoning, development permits
- Onslow County Planning & Development
County zoning, subdivision, and inspections
- Jacksonville Urban Area MPO (JUMPO)
Regional transportation planning and access review
- NC DEQ permits & applications
Air, stormwater, and wastewater permitting
Capital & Small Business
Financing, counseling, and grant programs for entrepreneurs and growing firms.
- SBA — apply for a loan
7(a), 504, and microloan programs
- SBTDC — request free counseling
Confidential advising for established businesses
- Coastal Carolina CC Small Business Center
Free seminars and one-on-one business counseling
- Golden LEAF Foundation grants
Rural economic development funding
- NC Rural Economic Development Division grants
Building reuse and infrastructure grants
- NC Commerce Shell Building & Site Funds
State funding to develop spec buildings and ready-to-build industrial sites
- NC Commerce Downtown Development Funds
Grants and loans for downtown revitalization, storefronts, and small-business growth
- SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loans — drought declaration (Onslow eligible)
Working capital up to $2M, rates as low as 4%, terms to 30 years. Filing deadline March 10, 2027
- SBA disaster assistance flyer (PDF)
Eligible counties, who can apply, and key loan details
- SBA EIDL fact sheet — NC Declaration 21725 (PDF)
Full eligibility, credit, and loan term details
Community Partners
The local organizations we work shoulder to shoulder with every day.
- City of Jacksonville
- Onslow County Government
- Jacksonville–Onslow Chamber of Commerce
- Greater Topsail Area Chamber of Commerce
- Onslow County Tourism — Only In Onslow
- Jacksonville–Onslow Sports Commission
- Coastal Carolina Community College
- City of Jacksonville Parks & Recreation — Events & Programs
- Onslow County Parks & Recreation
Workforce, water, energy, infrastructure?
Whatever's on your mind, we're here to advocate, connect, and move it forward. Let's talk.