City sees increase in revenue from entrepreneurs

Despite a sluggish economy that continues to pose difficulties for entrepreneurs, thousands – although fewer in each of the past several years – still take out new business licenses in Virginia Beach.

That included 4,243 in 2010, according to the Commissioner of the Revenue’s office, down 22 percent from four years earlier.

Despite the decrease, revenue from licenses – based on the financial performances of the companies – is up, other than a dip last year.

Phil Kellam, the city’s commissioner of revenue, said the number of new business licenses issued is starting to bounce back, though not at the same pace as before the recession.

“There is a healthy new business environment,” Kellam said.

“While new business growth is not as robust as five years ago, revenue is up, and it appears the new businesses with stronger business plans have survived.”

Jennifer La Londe Schumacher is owner of one of those businesses.

In January, La Londe Schumacher opened The Bridal Dish, a wedding planning studio on Birdneck Road. Before moving from Nevada a few years ago, she owned an event-planning business that provided full-service bridal planning. That was in 2007 when the economy was stronger.

By the time she moved to Virginia Beach in 2008, the economy had slowed, and customers here could not afford her full-scale services.

So in August she began tweaking her business plan and opened The Bridal Dish in January. It caters to brides who don’t have the budget for a full-service planner but still need assistance.

“It was very interesting for me how this came full circle,” La Londe Schu­macher said.

Some brides, she said, only need help with pricing photographers, lining up florists or selecting bridal invitations – a few critical details, and that’s what her new business focuses on.

“It’s much more of a consultation role geared to service the do-it-yourself bride,” she said. “I make suggestions for them within their price range and budget. They’re able to make an educated decision.”

“The economy called on me to kind of create this service niche,” she added. “So I had to reinvent myself to a degree to meet the needs and the financial position that my clients were in. And in the end, it’s been a very unique opportunity for me because I find I have a whole new level of population I’m able to serve now. Now I’m able to service a broader spectrum of clients.”

Kellam said the past few years have been a weeding-out period for city businesses with some succumbing to the slow economy. He compares the current financial slump to other similar periods, such as during the first Gulf War in the early 1990s, and in the late 1990s and 2000 when the dot-com bubble burst.

“It’s not an extraordinary expansion,” he said of the current number of business applications, “but it’s not like we slid off the cliff.”

Some segments of the local business sector remain slow – Kellam said construction contractors licenses are down – while others have managed to withstand the slow economy. The key, he said, is a strong business plan.

“There’s a lot of nuance in why a business would come and go,” Kellam said. “But Virginia Beach has a very healthy and diverse business environment.”

In fact, the city’s business-license tax – based on the estimated total revenue reported by local businesses – already reflects a $1.7 million increase in 2011 over 2010.

“We’re through two-thirds of the year and we’re 4 percent up,” Kellam said.

Another local business that saw opportunity in a new plan is Charles Barker Automotive. In February, it opened a dealership on Virginia Beach Boulevard – Charles Barker Pre-owned Outlet – that sells only used vehicles.

“It was a unique opportunity to retail our cars that we would normally take to auction,” said Nathan Drory, Barker’s president. “We’ve seen the emergence of companies like Carmax, and we wanted to put our own spin on it.”

In fact, the Charles Barker Pre-owned Outlet website offers to beat any written Carmax offer.

So far, Drory said, the dealership’s Pre-owned Outlet has met financial expectations.

“It’s a good business model for us,” Drory said.

If local businesses are to remain successful in the current economic climate, Kellam said, it all comes back to the business plan. We are seeing fewer businesses, he added, but for those remaining, revenues are up.

“And there’s zero reason,” Kellam added, “to believe more businesses won’t be back as the economy stabilizes.”

Rita Frankenberry, 222-5102, rita.frankenberry@pilotonline.com