My Business Starts Here

Virginia’s number one employer is small business. Historically, more than 73% of Chesterfield County’s businesses employ ten or fewer employees. Recognizing that the growth of small business is imperative to economic expansion in the nation, Virginia, and the region, Chesterfield County is committed to counseling, assisting, and protecting the interests of small business concerns.

Most owners of start-up businesses already possess a strong vision for their companies, but may require additional operational means, management assistance and networking opportunities with which to help put their vision into action. Access to technical assistance, business counseling and training services are critical to the long-term success of these businesses. These businesses, in turn, provide increased job opportunities and capital investment to the community, as well as offering valuable goods and services.

According to the Kauffman Foundation study entitled The Entrepreneur Next Door, one of the major obstacles to self-employment is the difficulty in gathering accurate and specific information to facilitate the process of starting a business. Potential entrepreneurs are immediately faced with not only the requirements of business operation, but also a myriad of local, state and federal forms, requirements, rules and regulations that can become overwhelming. A recent survey sponsored by Kauffman Foundation also found that approximately 43 percent of Americans, at one time in their lives, contemplate beginning their own business. Almost 38 percent of these individuals never follow through to the next steps, including contacting their local economic development authority or procuring proper documents, because the process is too complicated.

My Chesterfield Business Starts Here is designed to be an interactive tool to assist and support individuals starting and operating a business in Chesterfield County.