Come In, We’re Awesome Written by: Top of Virginia Regional Chamber
While many small businesses were forced to close their doors at this time last year, we are glad to see many Open signs dangling from small boutiques and vibrant businesses in the Top of Virginia. We would all like to move on from a year that brought movement to a standstill for many Chamber member businesses that employ area residents while supporting other local businesses through the collaboration of goods and services. According to the Small Business Administration, small businesses generate 44 percent of U.S. economic output and account for two-thirds of new hiring. Unfortunately, roughly 20 percent of these small businesses closed in 2020. It took a decade for small businesses to recover from the 2008 recession, only for the cycle to collapse again amidst fear and shutdown. A backlog in grant funding
throughout Virginia has impacted these businesses the most, and hiring has been difficult nationwide. Winchester, Virginia ranked ninth overall in the 2019 Forbes Best Small Places for Business and Careers. Now that many owners have reopened their doors to welcome shoppers into their stores, diners into their restaurants, and volunteers into non-profit organizations, business is prepared to thrive again, and area residents are eager to get back to work. As a result, area employment has grown 1.7 percent since April of 2021. Our favorite stat that we found was from Red Egg Marketing. They determined 83 percent of consumers support local over corporate and 84 percent of those consumers are willing to pay a little more to support their local market.
