Myrtle Beach Entrepreneur Featured by Forbes

Chalk up a huge score for Coastal Carolina University’s Small Business Development Center (SBDC). One of its local “success stories” just hit the big time.

Myrtle Beach-based Meditlantic Importers, LLC is featured on Forbes.com in an article released Nov. 28, “How to Make Money Off Your Homeland.” The Forbes piece details how Hala Amer, who moved to the Grand Strand from Egypt six years ago, transformed a simple idea into a business concept that now enables local hoteliers to share a taste of Egyptian luxury with its guests.

The brainchild? Egyptian cotton. Its unique blend of softness and durability makes it ideal upholstery for mattresses. What better market, Amer reasoned, than the country’s most popular family beach destination to showcase them?

Amer’s entrepreneurial spirit has thus far landed her company contracts with two local hotels for some 240 mattresses, and she hopes the momentum will translate into more clients and an eventual profit by the end of next year.

Coastal’s SBDC promotes the growth and development of small business like Amer’s by providing management and technical assistance. Her testimonial on the SBDC’s Web page explains the inspiration behind her vision:

“Last year my husband had a serious pain in his back, the doctor advised us to purchase a good, firm mattress. I was so confused about what to do, especially since we had tried the best and most expensive mattresses in the past. Then I remembered the mattress we had in Egypt. It was of such high quality, uniquely comfortable, durable and not at all expensive.

“This was the starting idea that came to me, ‘import this high quality bedding together with the finest Egyptian cotton linen and bed spreads to make this luxury affordable to everybody in the U.S.’”