How Vancouver is winning over small businesses
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Dozens of small businesses now line Vancouver's new redeveloped waterfront. Photo: Courtesy of the city of Vancouver
Vancouver is courting small businesses with incentives and support as its recent population boom and multimillion-dollar redevelopment projects reshape the city.
Why it matters: Clark County has led the region in job growth every year since the pandemic, outpacing much larger counties like Multnomah and Washington.
- It's seen a 38% increase in new business starts since 2021 and today small businesses account for 96% of all establishments.
Driving the news: Those figures are likely higher in Vancouver, economic development leaders told Axios. That's thanks to the city's new, robust ecosystem of technical support, startup resources and public-private partnerships.
- Plus: The city and state's beneficial tax structure can be very enticing, according to Victor Saldanha, Vancouver's economic development program manager.
State of play: Vancouver adopted its first five-year economic development strategy last year, prioritizing small businesses, entrepreneurship and neighborhood commercial districts.
- A product-to-market program launching this summer is designed to help consumer startups get their products onto store shelves.
- Its revolving loan fund, which uses federal grant dollars, is for businesses that may not qualify for traditional financing. The city can also connect entrepreneurs with local banks and credit unions to secure other funding.
- City staff can help businesses find space, too. They'll walk prospective tenants through available locations and outline all of the permitting and development requirements before signing a commercial lease.
Meanwhile, Vancouver's partnerships with nonprofits like Columbia River Economic Development Council (CREDC) and the Hispanic Metropolitan Chamber can take an idea and turn it into a full-scale operation.
- Those organizations help businesses by navigating permits and regulations, lining up grants and government contracts and tapping into the local workforce so they can grow in place rather than relocate.
"At the end of the day, our job is really about employment," Jordan Boldt, CREDC's president, told Axios. "How can we encourage good jobs to stay in our community?"
- Boldt pointed to Portland-based Panthalassa, a wave energy startup, which established a new manufacturing hub in Vancouver. CREDC is now working on a grant for them to add 50 more research and development employees.
Stunning stat: Smaller minority-run businesses in Vancouver are also seeing rapid growth.
- Out of the roughly 600 businesses the Hispanic Metro Chamber supports across the region, nearly half are now based in Vancouver, executive director Nicole Leon told Axios — prompting them to add three new employees to focus solely on the city.
- Leon said Vancouver's focus on setting small businesses up for success — coupled with a culture where business owners can quickly get city staff on the phone when they hit a roadblock — has made it attractive to first-time entrepreneurs.
- "That alignment is really impactful and powerful," Leon said.
The bottom line: While Vancouver is building a reputation as an entrepreneur-friendly city, it doesn't come at Portland's expense. Saldanha said it only strengthens the regional economy.
- "Portland and Vancouver grow and succeed together," Saldanha said.