Economic Development News
a publication from the Charlottesville Office of Economic Development February 2010 |
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| RETAIL RELAY EXPANDS OPERATIONS IN THE CITY |
 Founded by entrepreneur Zach Buckner, Retail Relay opened its virtual doors in fall of 2008. The company makes shopping for groceries and household items more convenient and eco-friendly because buying from multiple merchants is done online through one site and pick up for all items is offered in a single location. In a nutshell, the Retail Relay concept is very simple - shop, click, and pick up. You place your order on the Retail Relay website, choosing from thousands of items from businesses such as Feast, Gearharts Fine Chocolates, Sammy Snacks, etc. and pick it up at a pick-up location. Pick up is free and available Monday through Friday from 3:00pm to 7:00pm at approximately 13 sites in the Charlottesville area including places such as Milano Café, Topeka Steakhouse, and Boar's Head Inn. Home delivery is also available to customers for a small fee. It's as simple as that!
In addition to being convenient for customers and environmentally sound, Retail Relay, which focuses primarily on local produce and foods, helps to support the Charlottesville community by keeping business in the hands of local stores, restaurants, and farms and money filtering throughout the area. The company truly offers a "direct connection between farm and customer," states Neal Halvorson-Taylor who handles business development at Retail Relay.
Formerly located in the Charlottesville Technology Incubator (CTI) that helps small, technology startups get their feet off the ground, the expanding company recently moved to its new location, a warehouse on River Road, which allows administration and operations to take place in the same space. Retail Relay now offers products from 25 local stores, with sorting of orders taking place in the warehouse, and staff are excited that company has itself become an incubator of sorts by serving as a marketplace where small businesses without a brick and mortar facility can sell their products to the community. For more information or to become a customer, visit Retail Relay online. | |
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| NEW C-VILLE BUSINESS HELPS CUSTOMERS BECOME BACKYARD LOCAVORES |
 C'ville Foodscapes, the first food-producing gardening business to open in the Charlottesville area, launches this spring with a mission to help Charlottesville-area residents grow healthy food in their own backyards using organic, sustainable methods. According to Angel Shockley, one of the six co-owners of C'ville Foodscapes, "So many people want to pick lettuce, tomatoes or peas from their gardens. But, they don't have the time or they've never gardened before or they've tried it and given up. C'ville Foodscapes provides every level of service - from just helping you get started to maintaining your vegetable garden all season long and everything in between."
A worker-owned cooperative, C'ville Foodscapes' six founding partners combine years of gardening and farming experience as well as training in organic, permaculture and biodynamic methods to help their customers create their own personalized "foodscape." The cooperative conducts its business according to three guiding principles: 1) Everyone deserves access to fresh and healthy food. 2) A secure local food system strengthens the community. 3) Growing at least some of your own food is fun and saves money.
C'ville Foodscapes offers a full range of services including: garden preparation (design consultation, soil testing, soil amendments, soil building, sod removal), garden installation (tilling, lawn transformation, in-ground bed creation, raised beds, container gardens), garden growing (planting and maintenance), and garden system additions (compost systems, rain barrels, drip irrigation, fencing). "We tailor each garden to the needs of the individual customer," claims Sam Pierceall, C'ville Foodscapes co-owner. "We're growing our own local and heirloom varieties, and we can advise you on what will work best in your yard."
C'ville Foodscapes strives to make a positive contribution to the community, operate in an environmentally responsible way, and contribute to the happiness and fulfillment of its workers and its customers. Committed to providing access to local, fresh, nutritious food to everyone, C'ville Foodscapes has established the Garden Grants Program for those unable to pay for its food-producing gardening services. C'ville Foodscapes allocates 1% of its monthly profit to the program.
C-ville Foodscapes will be holding an official launch party on Sunday, March 7th from 2:00pm to 5:00pm at Random Row Books in Charlottesville. Be sure to drop by and join everyone at the new gardening company for a seed swap (bring seeds to share), garden crafts, live music, yummy food, and a raffle! For more information, visit C'ville Foodscapes online. Or, call 434-806-6255. |
| VALET PROGRAM ACCEPTS CHARLOTTESVILLE AREA FIRM |
 Afton Scientific Corp was recently accepted into the Virginia Economic Development Partnership's (VEDP) Virginia Leaders in Export Trade (VALET) program. Launched in January 2002, the program assists exporters in the Commonwealth that have firmly established domestic operations and are committed to international sales growth.
Afton Scientific joins the program as part of the 17th class of VALET companies. To participate, each eligible business must meet several quantitative criteria and complete an application process. Participating firms are chosen based on their dedication to growth through export. Currently, more than 100 Virginia companies have been accepted to participate in the VALET program.
Afton Scientific provides cGMP contract sterile filling services of investigative new drugs, biologics and commercial injectable pharmaceuticals. Afton also prepares and ships pre-packaged sterile empty vials (Ready-to-Fill®) to companies worldwide for immediate use in cGMP filling operations. The company's customers include small biotechs, multinational pharmaceutical companies and major research institutions.
Congratulations to Afton Scientific! For more information, visit Afton Scientific online. |
| TOURISM MARKETING GRANTS AVAILABLE FOR LOCAL BUSINESSES |
The Charlottesville Albemarle Convention & Visitors Bureau (CACVB) recently announced the reopening of its Tourism Grant program. The program financially assists local tourism businesses with marketing initiatives that align with the bureau's mission to "increase visitation, expenditures and overnight stays." Such businesses include, but are not limited to: restaurants, retail shops, art galleries, hotels/motels, etc.
According to Executive Director, Kurt Burkhart, "Visitors don't know City and County lines. Our mission is to jointly promote, market, and sell the destination to increase the area's economic vitality. We are giving strong consideration to programs, such as the Brew Ridge Trail and the Monticello Wine Trail, in our awarding of these grants." Maximum grant amount per project is $500 and must be matched on a dollar-for-dollar cash basis in non-governmental cash funds. The deadline for applicants is 12:00pm on April 16th. The Visitors Bureau has set aside $8,500 in this year's budget for awards. Complete guidelines and an application can be found on the Visitors Bureau's website. |
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CHAMBER PARTNERS WITH PVCC TO OFFER BUSINESS SEMINARS |
The Chamber Business Academy was recently established by the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce as a leading member service for Chamber member enterprises - providing businesses technical assistance, as well as professional and personal development. This program is made up of a variety of classes, workshops, and seminars that serve to increase the leadership and work performance for owners, managers, and employees of businesses or other performance-based enterprises. Classes on topics such as communications, computer skills, customer service, human resource relations, and management skills are being taught in partnership with Piedmont Virginia Community College (PVCC) Workforce Services by credentialed, experienced professionals.
Class scheduling is very flexible and will be held at various times and dates over the course of the month. At this time, eight different courses are be offered, and those who are interested can apply by mail, fax, or online. A full list of courses is available online, but some include Customer Service: your Competitive Differentiator, The Essence of Negotiation, Linkedln Demystified, and Managing Employees for Increased Motivation and Productivity. The Academy will be beneficial to those currently in business, as well as those who are interested in pursuing a career in the field. Considering the competitiveness of today's job market, it is essential for individuals to make themselves stand out from a pool of applications when applying for jobs. The Academy provides participants with the essential skills that are necessary to be successful in this industry. For more information about the Academy and upcoming seminars, CLICK HERE.
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WAYFINDING INSTALLATION BEGINS ON THE DOWNTOWN MALL |
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 Installation has begun on Phase One of the City's new wayfinding system. The installation is initially occurring on and around the Downtown Mall area, but Phase Two will encompass new directional signage throughout the City. The new signs will replace the current red and blue "three presidents" motif signage with more durable and easy to read versions. Once completely installed, the new signage system will make it easier for visitors to navigate through the City and to find their destination. The planning and design work was completed by Merje from Philadelphia, PA, and the production and installation is being handled by Color-Ad from Manassas, VA. Phase One installation will wrap up in the next few weeks, and the entire project will be complete by late spring. |
| CHAMBER WOMEN'S CONFERENCE RESCHEDULED FOR MARCH 25TH |
 The Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce announces that its Business Women's Conference, Quadruplicity, has been rescheduled to March 25th. The conference was originally scheduled for Thursday, February 11th at the Omni Charlottesville. Conference Chairwoman, Ginger Germani of Virginia National Bank said, "Quadruplicity is meant to be a day that women can fully invest in their personal and professional goals. With school closings and delays, poor road conditions and power outages, we felt that it was our obligation to lead by example. Our attendees need to be able to focus on their families and careers this week as the weather has caused so much disruption for both. We have moved our conference to March 25th in an effort to relieve some of the demands on these women and to allow them to participate in this day when much of this will hopefully be behind us."
The Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce is dedicated to representing private enterprise, promoting business and enhancing the quality of life in our Greater Charlottesville communities. Founded in 1913, today the Chamber's 1,200 member enterprises employ more than 45,000 people in our community, generating a total payroll of more than $1.3 billion each year.
For more information or to register, contact Danielle Fitz-Hugh at the Chamber by calling 434-295-3141 or CLICK HERE.
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| VIRGINIA FESTIVAL OF THE BOOK RETURNS IN MARCH |
The sixteenth annual Virginia Festival of the Book will take place March 17th through the 21st. The Festival is the largest gathering of authors, writers, and readers in the Commonwealth, and indeed the Mid-Atlanta region, drawing over 23,000 attendees from 32 states and 7 foreign countries each year. This year's headliners are Michael Gelb, author of How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci, who will speak about creative thinking, accelerated learning, and innovative leadership, and Michael Malone, author of Four Corners of the Sky: A Novel and winner of ten Emmy Awards for his work as head writer in the 1990's for the daytime drama One Life to Live.  Other programs range from traditional author readings and book signings to a StoryFest day of children's authors and storybook characters, a workshop for those who are interested in publishing their own professional-quality book, a wine tasting combined with a poetry writing exercise, a discussion of the current financial crisis, and a discussion of the recent work of journalists in war-torn nations. All programs are open to the public and most are free of charge. Many Charlottesville merchants will offer special promotions during the Festival. Discounts require that attendees wear a 2010 Festival of the Book sticker. The Festival of The Book is presented, with help of many community partners, by the Virginia Foundation for Humanities in an effort to promote and celebrate books, reading, literacy, and literacy culture. For a more extensive listing of events, visit the Virginia Book Festival online. |
| C-VILLE BUSINESS INNOVATION COUNCIL SEEKS AWARD NOMINATIONS |
The Charlottesville Business Innovation Council (CBIC) invites nominations for its 12th Annual CBIC Awards. Individuals and organizations are urged to submit nominations before the March 5th deadline using the nominating form on the CBIC website. The award-selection process involves rigorous research by a panel of judges, who bring diverse expertise and a shared commitment to recognizing and advancing innovation in the Central Virginia region. Finalists in each category will be announced on or around March 10th, with award recipients to be honored at a gala dinner event at Farmington Country Club in May. Self nomination is encouraged, for individuals and organizations, and CBIC membership is neither required nor considered in the selection process. |
| UPCOMING EVENTS |
March 6 - SCORE: How to Write an Effective Business Plan - 9:30am-12:30pm This workshop will present a step-by-step analysis of a business plan for a typical small business. At the completion of this workshop, attendees should have learned how to begin constructing their own business plans. For more information, visit www.score-494.org or call 434-295-6712.
March 20 - SCORE: Starting Your Business - 9:30am-12:30pm
This workshop covers a wide range of topics related to how an aspiring entrepreneur should properly start a small business. At the completion of this workshop, attendees should have learned how to evaluate their business idea and how to properly start a business in Virginia. For more information, visit www.score-494.org or call 434-295-6712.
March 27 - SCORE: Marketing Your Business - 9:30am-12:30pm
This workshop concentrates on the heart of a business plan. At the completion of this workshop, attendees should have learned how to think analytically about these important issues and to use this knowledge to resolve their individual issues in their business plans. For more information, visit www.score-494.org or call 434-295-6712.
April 10 - SCORE: Financial Management of Your Business - 9:30am-12:30pm
This workshop analyzes the movement of money into and out of a small business and how to effectively manage these funds. At the completion of this workshop, attendees should have learned the basics of financial projections and financial statements and how these are used to manage a small business. For more information, visit www.score-494.org or call 434-295-6712.
April 17 - SCORE: How to Write an Effective Business Plan - 9:30am-12:30pm
This workshop will present a step-by-step analysis of a business plan for a typical small business. At the completion of this workshop, attendees should have learned how to begin constructing their own business plans. For more information, visit www.score-494.org or call 434-295-6712. |
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The Office of Economic Development is the City's primary vehicle for economic development services. Our mission is to serve as a catalyst for public and private initiatives that promote the long-term economic vitality of Charlottesville.
The Economic Development staff works to expand the tax base and to provide quality job opportunities for citizens through new business development, retention/expansion initiatives, and workforce training. The Office also coordinates and administers the functions of the Charlottesville Economic Development Authority (CEDA). The Authority issues revenue bonds and assists with front end capital for projects.
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