Small businesses are Virginia’s economic lifeblood

Dear Editor:

My name is Juan Pablo Segura and I’m honored to be running for Virginia’s 31st Senate District. I hope to earn your support.

Today I’m writing about some big economic problems and my approach to fixing them.

Kickstarting the Commonwealth’s economy is a team effort, and I recently hosted Virginia’s Secretary of Commerce and Trade, Caren Merrick, and other stakeholders at a roundtable for small business owners. 

That conversation made it clear that small business owners are dealing with 3 key problems: costs, bureaucracy, and taxes. 

CNBC recently released a report that shows that, while our economic situation is improving rapidly, Virginia hovers near the bottom of the 50 states when it comes to the cost of doing business and cost of living. These factors are particularly devastating for potential small business owners.

During my time serving on the board of the Virginia Innovation Partnership Authority, Virginia was awarded more than $170 million dollars to accelerate small business growth. 

This funding will be used to support Virginia-based technology start-ups and fuel entrepreneurship. Most of this funding will be going to minority-owned businesses, fueling the diverse economic growth that has been one of Virginia’s great strengths. 

Another problem: under the bureaucracy inherited from the last administration and supported by the sitting state senate, projects like a family restaurant or car wash are often tied up in endless miles of red tape.

One business owner said that getting a permit for a print shop took six months, while another had to wait three months to receive a response from the town permitting offices.

Unacceptable.

One simple idea to address this problem: creating “Customer Service” representatives at the county level with experience in small business ownership that can help business owners navigate local and state level requirements and regulations. 

Taxes also play a crucial role in small business growth, as one business owner who is thinking about an expansion shared at the roundtable. We must address this tax burden.

Small businesses are the lifeblood of our economy: Virginia is home to more than 795,000 small businesses, employing 1.6 million people and accounting for 99.5% of all businesses in the Commonwealth.

Under the previous administration, those small business owners felt that their voices and concerns weren’t understood by their public representatives for three key reasons: they were influenced by special interests, they cared more about larger businesses, and they didn’t take time to listen to or understand the views of business owners like them. 

I’m committed to actively listening to small business owners and working as a member of a team to advocate for their needs. That’s why I’m asking for your vote in November.

Juan Pablo Segura, Leesburg.
Segura is running for Senate District 31