Sustainable Business Owner Wins 2011 Sequoyah Fund Business Plan Competition

2011 Sequoyah Fund Business Plan Competition Winner Dustin CornelisonInnovative small businesses in newer industries play a vital role in making Western North Carolina’s economy healthy and diverse, and that’s why Cherokee Preservation Foundation and the Sequoyah Fund are spearheading efforts to fuel entrepreneurship on the Qualla Boundary and in the seven westernmost counties of the state.  For the second year, the Sequoyah Fund has sponsored a business plan competition for area community college students with the Foundation’s support, and for the second time, a student with a great idea for a business based on the concept of sustainability has won.

The 2011 winner of the competition is Haywood Community College student Dustin Cornelison, who has drawn upon his experience as a sustainability technician for an environmental education center and his skills as a welder and blacksmith and launched a business called Sustainabillies.  What a great name, and the business concept is nifty, too.

Sustainabillies promotes living simply and sustainably through example, education and artistic recycling and retooling of scrap metals and used objects. Cornelison creates and sells a variety of custom garden tools and accessories, with the emphasis on using as much recycled materials as possible.

Some of the crafted items for sale are trellises, trellised planters, compost barrels, rain barrel stands, rain barrels, raised bed components, fire rings, decorative hand rails, fences and gates. Cornelison will also make artistic handmade benches and indoor and outdoor furniture, as well as in-home goods such as towel and pan racks. Tools such as knives, hoes and axes are part of the product line. He will also do commissioned specialty metal work and forging for clients based on their designs or needs.

As another component of Sustainabillies, Cornelison is planning a portable welding shop. “I will come directly to a client’s property to fix equipment on the spot,” he said.  “A person won’t have to worry about loading up heavy equipment and hauling it somewhere to get it fixed.”

By winning the Sequoyah Fund Community College Business Plan Competition, Cornelison received $10,000 to help him make his business a reality.  The Sequoyah Fund (www.sequoyahfund.org) encourages and financially assists students who aspire to start businesses in the seven westernmost counties of North Carolina and the Qualla Boundary.

Through the Haywood Community College Small Business Center, Cornelison received counseling on the preparation of a business plan and attended several Small Business Center seminars.

In the future, Sustainabillies will offer sustainable land use design services, including the design and implementation of native, rain and edible gardens. Cornelison and his wife Sara Martin have turned their own farm, Two Trees, into a model of sustainable practices. Details about what they have accomplished at Two Trees and the products and services Sustainabillies offers are available at www.sustainabillies.net.

“We want to demonstrate self-sufficiency to others and furnish people with the tools and knowledge to live off their own land,” Cornelison said.  “We want to show people that you can live a normal, comfortable lifestyle sustainably.”

Sustainabillies’ blacksmith and welding shop are open for business at Two Trees Farm, which is located in the Beaverdam community of Haywood County.  For more information, check the web site mentioned above or call 828/713-5972.

The owner of the first ever Sequoyah Fund Business Plan Competition in 2010 was David Nessler, who used his prize money to grow his then fledgling business, Tree of Life Woodworks (www.tolwoodworks.com).  Nessler, who builds furniture from wood harvested and milled locally— much of it reclaimed from old barns and houses in the area that have been torn down – invested his $10,000 in equipment that helped him increase production.

The annual business plan competition is open to students at Haywood, Southwestern and Tri-County Community Colleges.