March 1, 2009 - 7:21 pm
By Short Pump Mom

Richmond has traditionally been a stable town when it came to employment. While it has its fair share of small business and entrepreneurs, the major companies like Capital One, Circuit City, Phillip Morris, Genworth, S&K and others traditionally have provided employment for many Short Pump residents.

Now, with the implosion of many of our large employers, there has never been a time like this when so many of our neighbors and friends are out of jobs. I can honestly say in my entire adult career life I have never known so many people who were laid off at the same time. I know of at least four families in town where both the husband and wife have been laid off.

It is quite upsetting to see this happening, but I must say that I am seeing some positives. Many ex-employees are taking this opportunity to take more control of their lives by starting their own businesses.

Some are leveraging their expertise by starting up consulting businesses and reaching out to their network. Others are finding contractor opportunities and setting up companies to handle this new kind of business. I have a friend who decided she would start a wedding planning business, which she has wanted to do for over ten years! Another is launching an online business.

While the general economy is tough and with capital markets at a standstill, you might think entrepreneurship is not possible. But many great businesses today started off in trouble times.

The state of unemployment is a wake up call that even government jobs are not secure anymore. I have another close friend who is still employed but has started a part-time business to create a secondary income flow in the event she loses her job.

VirginiaBusinessFormation.com, a popular incorporation and LLC formation services provider based in Richmond, is forming more businesses for local budding entrepreneurs than ever in its history. I see this as a sign that we do not give up in troubled times.

We should also help out our local short pump business owners. Buying a gift from a local gift store owner versus Target or Kohl’s, or patronizing a locally owned and operated restaurant versus a corporate-owned restaurant makes a big difference to that business and to our community.

“Short Pump Mom” runs a local blog called Short Pump Richmond, where her and her husband, “Short Pump Dad,” write about day-to-day experiences of raising a family in Short Pump.