Buckhannon City Council on Thursday approved a new initiative aimed at helping local entrepreneurs overcome the steep costs of starting a business.
At its Aug. 21 meeting, council voted to invest $25,000 in a new Small Business Start-up Support Grant, which will involve a collaboration between the City of Buckhannon, the Upshur County Development Authority, the Buckhannon-Upshur Chamber of Commerce, West Virginia Wesleyan College and the Small Business Development Center.
The program will provide up to $5,000 in “seed money” to five businesses that are less than a year old and located within Buckhannon city limits.
Mayor Robbie Skinner, who spearheaded the effort after learning about similar initiatives in Wheeling and Lewisburg through the West Virginia Municipal League, said the goal is to encourage entrepreneurship while filling empty storefronts downtown and strengthening the city’s economic vitality.
“Here’s the pitch: Our community seeks to provide necessary support to encourage the entrepreneurial spirit by fostering a healthy and attractive environment for small businesses to grow and thrive,” Skinner said. “The upfront financial burden of security deposits, leases, utility and insurance payments, marketing and inventory purchases happening all at once can be prohibitive and detrimental, both to the business in its infancy stages, as well as to its long-term success and sustainability.”
To qualify, applicants must operate a for-profit retail, restaurant or service-oriented business with a physical bricks-and-mortar location inside properly zoned city limits. Online-only or home-based businesses, nonprofits, banks, law firms, insurance agencies and financial advising firms are not eligible. Businesses must also be registered with both the West Virginia Secretary of State and the City of Buckhannon. Applicants will be required to submit a full business plan that includes financial projections, a copy of their lease contract, proof of insurance, receipts for expenditures and a narrative describing how the grant funds will be used.
Full details about how to apply for grant funds are available here.
Funds will be distributed on a dollar-for-dollar basis, capped at $5,000 per business, and can be applied toward lease or security deposit payments, marketing, the purchase of a point-of-sale system, inventory, furniture and equipment, Skinner said. Each grant recipient must provide a final report to the Upshur County Development Authority explaining how the funds supported their launch.
UCDA Executive Director Brandon Tenney will then deliver a comprehensive report back to city council detailing the city’s financial investment in each business.
Applications will be reviewed by a newly formed committee that includes Skinner, Tenney, the Chamber of Commerce’s executive director, a Small Business Development Center coach, a local business owner (Rob Zuliani), a West Virginia Wesleyan MBA student and a representative from a local bank. Skinner said the group’s mission is to ensure funds are distributed to entities with strong business plans that make sense for Buckhannon’s market.
“Just because someone has an idea doesn’t mean it’s going to fit the demographic that’s here,” he said. “We’ve got to find businesses that fit – that fit the needs of that demographic.”
Zuliani, who built his company Zul’s Frozen Lemonade with the help of community mentors, said he supports the program wholeheartedly.
“I was in a similar situation where people stepped up and helped me with both advice and monetarily, and I like the compilation of who’s going to be on the vetting committee,” he said. “There are enough key people who are going to be involved.”
Some city officials raised questions about whether $5,000 would be sufficient to make a difference for each business. Councilman David Thomas said he worried the amount was too little, but Skinner and City Recorder Randy Sanders emphasized that the first round of grants is intended to provide seed money, not full-scale financing.
“I think what we’re looking at is trying to attract new businesses; we have some openings – some empty buildings in town that aren’t being utilized,” Sanders said.
Skinner framed the initiative as an investment in Buckhannon’s long-term vitality, calling small businesses “the backbone of every community.” He added that the city hopes to become a supportive hub for entrepreneurs.
“The goal of this program is to establish Buckhannon as a small business incubation city where entrepreneurs are supported and new businesses can grow and thrive,” he said.
Council members voted unanimously to approve the $25,000 expenditure, clearing the way for applications to open in the near future.
