RALEIGH -- Many North Carolinians are ready to see old man winter go away for a while, maybe no one more so than the many small business owners who have lost out of revenue during our extended winter weather.

Rhett Buttle, Vice President of External Affairs with Small Business Majority, says many North Carolina small businesses were forced to close during portions of the winter weather.

"More than four in ten, 44%, of North Carolina small business owners reported having to close their business or up to a week after an extreme weather event and some owners had to close for as long as fourteen to thirty days."

Buttle added that an estimated 25-percent of small businesses do not reopen after a major disaster.