Lowcountry entrepreneur named SBA 2024 Minority Small Businessperson of the Year

By Mike Switzer

Published June 21, 2024 at 6:30 AM EDT

Courtney Scipio, president of IBA Event Rentals in Charleston, S.C.

Several weeks ago the South Carolina office of the US Small Business Administration held their annual awards banquet and since then, we’ve been busy interviewing the winners. Today, we are talking to a Lowcountry entrepreneur who was named the SBA’s 2024 Minority Small Businessperson of the Year. Mike Switzer interviews Courtney Scipio, president of IBA Event Rentals in Charleston, S.C.

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Mike Switzer

After almost 20 years, Mike Switzer retired from Wells Fargo Securities in 2001 as Senior Vice President/Investment Officer and Certified Portfolio Manager. In 1999, he and his wife, Maggie, purchased and operated for eight years the Baskin Robbins ice cream store on Forest Drive in Columbia. They grew the store from a bottom-tier operation in the Baskin Robbins franchise system to one in the top 5% nationwide within three years, tripling sales along the way. While operating the ice cream store, Mike and Maggie received patents for a portable ice cream sink and fold-down sneezeguard they invented and in 2002 started Magnolia Carts, an ice cream cart manufacturing company, which they sold in 2013.

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