Andria McClellan releases plan to support entrepreneurs, small business

Norfolk City Councilmember Andria McClellan has released a plan to support entrepreneurs and small businesses.

The devastating economic shocks of the COVID-19 pandemic have taken a toll on small business owners and entrepreneurs. As Virginia begins to emerge from the pandemic, ensuring that small businesses have the resources they need to fully recover will help the Commonwealth on the road to recovery. 

“Small businesses are the backbone of our communities, bringing goods and services but also accounting for nearly half of all employment in Virginia,” said McClellan, a candidate for the Democratic Party nomination for lieutenant governor. “Ensuring that Virginians, especially those owned by women, and people of color, and veterans, have opportunity and access to the resources to start or grow their businesses will be a priority for me as lieutenant governor.”

The McClellan plan:

• Reduce red tape. Small business owners face numerous obstacles stemming from a complex bureaucracy, information that is hard to find, and even harder to use. McClellan will work to improve the certification and recertification processes and increase government support services for the communities that need the most assistance.
• Foster local and regional small business ecosystems. Working with civic and business organizations such as the Small Business Development Centers, universities and chambers of commerce, McClellan will help connect small business owners to one another and resources, including access to mentorships, to improve their chances for success and tighter integration into their regional economies.
• Support Green and Blue jobs of the future. The move to clean, renewable energy sources and the need to address flooding and water quality will spawn new technologies that both save the planet and create thousands of new opportunities for entrepreneurs and small businesses to develop new technologies and methods, buy and sell the goods used, and create companies that install and service clean energy transitions.
• Support our “human capital” with workforce training. McClellan will support more funding for our community college system, trade schools and apprenticeship programs to ensure that our workforce has the needed skills and certifications to meet the demand of small businesses.
  

Learn more about McClellan’s plan on her website.