Ever thought about starting a small business or seeking help to shore up an existing one? One resource is the Central Virginia Small Business Development Business Center. The organization recently released its annual report for Fiscal Year 2025.
“We have offered encouragement and technical guidance to over 800 entrepreneurs seeking to grow and build generational wealth in our communities,” wrote CVSDBC Director Bo Grist in the introduction to the report.
That includes training clients to use so-called AI programs, how to create business plans, and how to approach investors.
The Central Virginia office is part of a wider network of organizations across the Commonwealth of Virginia in partnership with the U.S. Small Business Administration, George Mason University, and other groups.
“We belong to the communities we serve, taking direction from our regional advisory board,” reads page six of the report. “In Central Virginia, our core partners include the offices of economic development in the localities where we work and our host, Community Investment Collaborative (CIC).”
The organization covers Charlottesville as well as the counties of Albemarle, Culpeper, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa, Madison, Nelson, Orange, and Rappahannock.
The annual report profiles several different businesses such as Performance Medical Technologies, a new biotech company seeking new methods to slow Parkinson’s Disease. Founder Harper Thomas took advantage of CVSDBC to become acquainted with the Virginia SBDC’s Innovation Commercialization Assistance Program to help determine a focus.
There’s also Chime Studio, a design and photography company, that learned how to conduct business planning, QuickBooks training, and certification as a SWaM.
“A SWaM vendor is a business that has been certified by the Virginia Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity and is listed in the SWaM Vendor Directory,” reads a FAQ on the website of the Virginia Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity.
For more information about specific projects, take a look at the annual report.
Before you go: Paid subscribers cover the cost of conducting research for this article which was originally published in the December 2, 2025 edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement. You can either subscribe through Substack, make a monthly contribution through Patreon, or consider becoming a sponsor. The goal of Town Crier Productions is to increase awareness about what is happening at the local, regional, state, and federal government levels. Please share the work with others if you want people to know things.
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