Business owners frustrated with difficulty finding resources during string of closures [Video]

A recent string of businesses said goodbye to the communities they serve. The alarming rate of closures across Birmingham has customers and business owners concerned.Most recently, Post Offices Pies closed its Avondale location, but six others closed in January alone. Cornell Wesley, director of the city’s Office of Innovation and Economic Development, tells WVTM 13 there are three main reasons possibly contributing to the closures. Entrepreneurs signing agreements that don’t benefit them, the owner’s lack of business knowledge and changing conditions of the marketplace are all to blame.“Anytime you see a business closing in your community, it strikes at your emotions and your heartstrings,” Wesley said. “We never want to see a business close.”The city hopes to fix that with its RISE grants. The program’s goal is to retain and offer incentives to local businesses to expand and keep their doors open, but some business owners feel accessing those resources …