The State of Small Business in Virginia, Georgia, and Washington, DC

A Strategic Briefing by Honorable Management Group (HMG)

Published: 9/25/2025 By : Malikah Karim

National Backdrop: The Small Business Climate in 2025

According to the U.S Small Business Administration, national trends show a mixed picture. Business births remain strong, with proprietors’ income continuing to rise, but closures are accelerating. Small business employment declined in mid-2024, the first sustained drop since the pandemic disruptions of 2020. Job creation has slowed, and more firms report flat or falling sales compared to previous quarters (FOOTNOTE 1). Financing challenges remain: demand for loans is increasing, yet credit standards are tight and interest rates remain elevated (FOOTNOTE 1).

This climate underscores the importance of resilience, operational excellence, and capital readiness for small firms nationwide.

Washington, DC: A Hub of Service-Driven Entrepreneurship

Quick overview of the data points:

• 82,666 small businesses, employing 49% of DC’s workforce (Footnote 2).
  

• Strength: Professional, scientific, and technical services are the largest share of small businesses, alongside arts and real estate.

• Weakness: High churn, with more establishments contracting (7,518) than expanding (7,106) between March 2023–20242.

Job dynamics (2023–24):

• Establishments: 6,348 opened, 5,177 closed (net +1,171).

• Jobs: +1,075 overall; small firms contributed a net +2,678 jobs.
  

Loans (2023):

• $153.3M in loans to firms with revenues ≤ $1M.

• $512.4M in loans ≤ $1M size.

• $235.1M in microloans ≤ $100k.

Exports (2023): 392 small exporters (75% of total), worth $670M (95.8% of exports).

Ownership demographics: Women own 50% of businesses; Black-owned firms represent ~29,471 businesses (35%)

Key Strategies for DC Entrepreneurs

1. Policy Alignment – Maximize access to federal and local contracting opportunities where small businesses already excel.
   
   

2. Diversification of Revenue – Balance government and nonprofit contracts with private-sector clients to mitigate dependency risk.
   
   

3. Capital Readiness – Position for microloans and other capital; in 2023, $235 million in loans under $100k were issued to DC firms (FOOTNOTE 2).
   
   

Virginia: A Growing but Competitive Landscape

• 880,366 small businesses, employing 46% of Virginia’s workforce (FOOTNOTE 3).

• Strength: Steady job creation — small firms contributed 34,814 net jobs in 2023–24, nearly 80% of state growth (FOOTNOTE 3).

• Weakness: Export reliance — although small firms make up 84% of exporters, they accounted for only 38% of export value in 2023 (FOOTNOTE 3).

Job dynamics (2023–24)

• Establishments: 33,983 opened, 30,684 closed (net +3,299).

• Jobs: +43,972 overall; small firms contributed +34,814 (79.2%).
  
  

Loans (2023):

• $1.9B in loans to firms with revenues ≤ $1M.

• $5.1B in loans ≤ $1M size.

• $2.3B in microloans ≤ $100k.

Exports (2023): 5,980 small exporters (84.1% of total), worth $8.2B (38% of export value).

Ownership demographics: Women own 45.4% of firms; Black-owned firms number ~148,805 (17%)

Key Strategies for Virginia Entrepreneurs

1. Invest in Workforce Development – Strengthen retention and upskilling in high-growth sectors like health care, tech, and construction.
   
   

2. Leverage Export Support – Tap SBA and state programs to scale exports and improve global competitiveness.
   
   

3. Operational Efficiency – Compete more effectively in crowded markets through automation, lean practices, and digital tools.
   

Georgia: Fast Growth with Strong Export Capacity

• 1.4 million small businesses, employing 42.5% of Georgia’s workforce4.

• Strength: Explosive job creation — small firms added nearly 46,000 net jobs in 2023–24 (footnote 4).

• Weakness: Sustainability concerns — closures (34,762) nearly matched new openings (38,952), pointing to survival struggles (footnote 4).

Job dynamics (2023–24):

• Establishments: 41,761 opened, 37,392 closed (net +4,369).

• Jobs: +39,195 overall; small firms contributed +45,950 jobs.
  

Loans (2023):

• $2.8B in loans to firms with revenues ≤ $1M.

• $8.1B in loans ≤ $1M size.

• $3.7B in microloans ≤ $100k.

Exports (2023): 12,604 small exporters (87.4% of total), worth $13.7B (29% of export value).

Ownership demographics: Women own 48.4% of firms; Black-owned firms number ~473,973 (34.5%)

Key Strategies for Georgia Entrepreneurs

1. Scale Exports – Small firms made up 87% of exporters but only 29% of total export value in 2023, revealing untapped global opportunity (footnote 4).
   
   

2. Access to Capital – $2.8 billion in loans were issued in 2023 to small firms with under $1M in revenue; entrepreneurs must be loan-ready (footnote 4).
   
   

3. Rural-Urban Connectivity – With one-quarter of small firms located in rural Georgia, connecting local supply to urban demand is key.
   

   I dive deeper into the data, market comparisons, and business plan insights in our FULL STATE OF SMALL BUSIESS REPORT
   

How Operational Optimization helps?

Operational leaders like Honorable Management Group are more than a consultancy — we are strategic operators with experience that most small businesses can bring on full time due to cost barriers. However, these same owners can certainly leverage fractional executive leadership to solve complex issues, and remediate risk. Our key advisors at HMG partner with small business leaders in Virginia, Georgia, and DC to:

• Navigate high-churn environments (like DC).

• Unlock underutilized opportunities (like exports in Virginia and Georgia).

• Build resilient systems using automation, governance, and sustainable financial strategies and profitability.

With these key expertise at their disposal more businesses thrive, and our collective economy grows. One of the ways we intend to help is with a data first approach. Share this survey with a small business you know so we can study the barriers and buy-in that currently exist, and understand what is blocking small businesses from accessing the business management services they need. We are already coordinating with state and local partners to help us create solutions.

SHARE Small Business SURVEY TODAY !

Footnote References

1. U.S. Small Business Administration, Economic Bulletin, First Quarter 2025 (Washington, DC: SBA Office of Advocacy, 2025). ↩ ↩2
   

2. U.S. Small Business Administration, 2025 Small Business Profile: District of Columbia (Washington, DC: SBA Office of Advocacy, 2025). ↩ ↩2 ↩3
   

3. U.S. Small Business Administration, 2025 Small Business Profile: Virginia (Washington, DC: SBA Office of Advocacy, 2025). ↩ ↩2 ↩3
   

4. U.S. Small Business Administration, 2025 Small Business Profile: Georgia (Washington, DC: SBA Office of Advocacy, 2025). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5