Taking care of business

 

Cutting the ribbon at the Goochland Business Center. Sara Worley on the left, Casey Verberg second from right

Goochland is home to many commercial enterprises ranging in size from Capital One to small home-based operations. The county economic development team of Casey Verberg, who works to attract new enterprises to the county, and Sara Worley, charged with supporting existing businesses, have been busier than ever during the Covid disruption. Earlier this year, the Economic Development Department moved into the Goochland Business Center, sharing space with the Chamber of Commerce to provide “one stop shopping” for information on starting and growing business in the county.

If these women, who work with the County’s Economic Development Authority (EDA) have their way, current businesses will survive and thrive and attract newcomers to enhance the local economy, strengthen the tax base, and bring more jobs to Goochland. The goal is to have 30 percent of tax revenue generated by business the remainder from real estate tax.

At the December 9 EDA meeting, Verberg announced that Goochland was ranked 10^th nationally by the Economic Modeling Specialists International in the small county category for talent attraction. (https://www.economicmodeling.com/talent-attraction-scorecard-2020/?utm_medium=email&_hsmi=102212400&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8Y9r1I7JDpu6JODrWb2ax_KgkHF-9pYoYXpHwCCrpr2Al2bPdNu31P_3TVmi) The designation helps put Goochland “on the radar” of companies considering a move to Virginia.

Verberg is working with 13 active new business prospects. If all come to fruition, that could mean more that $600 million in new investment and more than three thousand new jobs for Goochland.

Worley said that she conducted business walks at some of the county’s industrial parks to connect with local companies. She learned that, of the 25 businesses she spoke with, most had not been negatively impacted by Covid. Those involved in construction, however, expressed concern about cancellation of public sector projects going forward.

Lack of signage for industrial parks, which is not allowed under current county zoning rules, was mentioned as a negative by several companies hoping to increase their visibility. Worley is investigating how neighboring counties handle this issue and perhaps pursue zoning amendments to permit signage.

Small businesses in Goochland were hammered by Covid. The county economic development department created a Back to Business program that distributed $150 thousand CARES Act funds to about 25 county businesses to help them recover some of the extraordinary expenses incurred to stay open during the pandemic. “Small” is defined as fewer than 99 employees.

Worley also worked with local businesses looking expand tourism opportunities and helped another, whose supply chain was disrupted by Covid, find a replacement vendor in central Virginia.

The Capital Region Small Business Development Center has officially, and virtually opened, said Worley. It will provide a wide range of services to help small businesses get started and operate successfully. These include business plan development; market research; financial management; strategic planning; and business management. Visit (https://capitalregionvasbdc.com/

Economic Development worked with the Goochland Chamber of Commerce, goochlandchamber.org, to help promote the shop local small business promotion.

Verberg and Worley are also keeping a close eye on Congress for additional Covid relief that could benefit Goochland.

Verberg and Worley are eager to work with new and existing companies in Goochland. Visit the economic development website at http://www.goochlandforbusiness.com/  for lots of good information about local enterprise or contact them at cverberg@goochlandva.us or sworley@goochlandva.us.