James Chapman, owner of the onsite oil change company "Change 'N' Go," shows off his oil change van. Chapman started the business, which brings oil changes to a customer's workplace.Like most small businesses, mine started with an idea. People are at work for hours, every day. Their car sits in a parking lot for hours, every day. Wouldn't it be convenient if those people did not have to spend precious weekend time getting their oil changed or if businesses no longer had to dedicate staff time to get their oil changes for their company vehicles or fleet?
Chattanooga didn't have a mobile oil change service so I thought, how can I make this happen, and how can I do it better than it's been done anywhere else?
From questions of finance and marketing to developing a business plan and staying on budget, being a small business owner is incredibly difficult. The statistics are not reassuring. Only 40 percent of small businesses are profitable while 30 percent break even and 30 percent continually lose money. Small business owners who succeed have some things in common: they start small (I started with an investment of $30,000 and a staff of two), they research their market, provide a quality service, listen to their customers, and stay focused. But, just like large companies, small businesses need some help.
I hear all the time about how incentives are being offered to large, global companies to create jobs in our city and in our country. I know it's important for big corporations like Volkswagen to be in Chattanooga, but I also know our local economy thrives on small businesses. For us to be a successful community, we must have opportunities for people to realize their dreams.
The city of Chattanooga is about to be one of the only cities in Tennessee providing an incentive program to help small businesses hire more employees.
Through Mayor Andy Berke's Growing Small Business incentive, the city is saying it values the small businesses as much as the giant businesses.
Here's how it works: If a local company (100 or fewer employees) adds five or more employees to its payroll in a 12-month period, the company can receive $500, per employee hired.
While it might not sound like much, if you have ever sat at your kitchen table at night, pencil in hand, and crunched the numbers to see if you could grow your business by one or two employees, you understand the difference this could make.
Since my business opened its doors, Change-N-Go has grown to now four employees. I'm proud to say we have performed oil change services for a number of business vehicles, people who work, and people who live in Chattanooga. Personally, I have met with people across the city, had lunch with the mayor and told him about my startup, and was recently named the new Causeway Entrepreneur-in-Residence.
I have plans to expand my business to cities beyond Chattanooga. And because of the city's new focus on small businesses, I can now consider my options to expand in Chattanooga, too.
I can't put into words just how proud I am of my hometown and all of its success over the last few decades. And with initiatives like the Growing Small Business Incentive, I know my hometown is proud of me and wants my small business to succeed. What more can I ask for?
James Chapman is the owner of Change-N-Go and a Causeway Entrepreneur-in-Residence.