Opening a Small Business in a Small Town
Opening a small business on your own is hard enough, but opening one in a small town is even harder.
With students making up the dominant demographic of Blacksburg, it is hard to have a consumer market apart from students and still be successful.
Many individuals come back to Blacksburg after graduating to plant roots here, while others fall in love with the small southwest Virginia town and decide to never leave. Local individuals here tend to get jobs within the university, other establishments, or start their own business.
Opening a small business presents many challenges. Walden University’s business school said the top five challenges small business owners face are: lack of funds, lack of time, finding good employees, balancing growth and quality, and ineffective presence.
Not all small business owners start their business for the same reason or encounter the same challenges. Blacksburg is not a huge city, so it begs the question as to why one would want to open a business here?
There are different businesses that do better in certain areas. In small towns, and college towns, many businesses thrive due to the demographic and different demands. Some of the best businesses to start in college towns according to Profitable Venture are restaurants, coffee shops, bookstores, bars, and grocery stores.
Scott Sink, owner of Hethwood Market, graduated from Virginia Tech with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics in 1999, and then went on to get his master’s in agricultural economics in 2001. He decided to stay in Blacksburg after graduation because he had started farming while in graduate school and decided to pursue that route after graduation.
Hethwood Market opened in the fall of 2009 because the Sink family “needed an avenue to sell our produce on a larger scale and create a larger area for our family concession operations.”
Hethwood Market focuses on bringing local and fresh produce to Blacksburg by creating a farm-to-table atmosphere. They offer weekday home-cooked dinners for families to buy, as well as seasonal products and catering services. Sink said the challenges he faces running Hethwood Market are the same as running a business anywhere, mentioning issues with consumer knowledge and access to capital.
Sink says his favorite part about being a small business owner in a small town is, “being part of the local community, being able to provide opportunities for others, and having the flexibility to work and raise my family at the same time.”
Sink opened a business in Blacksburg because he started something in college and wanted to continue it. Ellen Woodall, manager of Blacksburg Books, moved to Blacksburg and got involved with another local woman, Laurie Kelly, owner of Blacksburg Books, and they created a business together due to their love of reading.
Woodall said the purpose of starting Blacksburg Books was simple, “every town needs a bookstore. Especially a college town. But we really wanted to give everyone in Blacksburg – students, townies, visitors – a place to gather and find cool new things to think about and talk about.”
Since opening in late summer 2021, they’ve created the environment they hoped they would, even flourishing in the summer of 2022 with the students out of town.
“We had, and still have, tremendous support from people,” Woodall said. “It’s been great watching customers come in for the first time, then again, then again, then become our regulars, and then become our friends. It’s such an open, welcoming community.”
Small businesses can thrive anywhere with the right staff, right customers, and right location – and Blacksburg is no exception.
