Bevel & Sloane helps Iowa businesses of 10 to 250 people build training programs, onboarding academies, SOPs, manager training and KPIs, then trains an internal successor to run them. We work from Chicago, remote and on site by arrangement, on a fractional basis from $4,500 a month.
Iowa small business at a glance
Iowa's economy blends agriculture and food processing, advanced manufacturing, and an insurance and financial services cluster in Des Moines. Many small and mid size employers operate in towns with tight labor pools, so they cannot simply hire their way out of a problem; they have to train the people they have and keep them.
| Measure | Iowa | Source year |
|---|---|---|
| Small businesses (under 500 employees) | 289,962 | 2022 |
| Small employers with 1 to 19 employees | 54,310 | 2022 |
| Small employers with 20 to 499 employees | 7,519 | 2022 |
| Small business employees | 637,557 | 2022 |
| Share of private employees at small businesses | 46.0% (US 45.9%) | 2022 |
| Monthly quits rate, average Jul to Dec 2025 | 1.9% (US 2.0%) | 2025 |
The small business share of jobs is close to the national 45.9% (SBA Office of Advocacy, 2025 Iowa profile). From March 2023 to March 2024, small businesses there had a net increase of 12,573 jobs (BLS Business Employment Dynamics, in the same profile).
In Iowa, the quits rate averaged 1.9% a month from July to December 2025, close to the national rate of 2.0% (BLS State JOLTS, Table 4, released July 22, 2026). Turnover is about average, which still means a steady flow of new hires to onboard and a steady drain of know how.
Where small business jobs are in Iowa
The industries with the most small business employees in Iowa are healthcare (108,949), hospitality and food service (84,051) and manufacturing (63,955) (SBA, 2025 profile, 2022 data). Among firms with 20 to 499 employees, the size band closest to the teams we serve, the largest groups are hospitality and food service, healthcare and manufacturing.
Bottlenecks we expect in this mix
Healthcare
Small firms in Iowa employ 108,949 people in healthcare, 50.9% of the sector's jobs. Clinics, dental groups, therapy practices and home care agencies. The usual bottleneck is front desk and clinical support onboarding, plus patient intake that works differently at every site. Hiring is hard too: 74% of dentists recruiting hygienists call it extremely challenging, so keeping and ramping the people you have matters. See Dental groups.
Hospitality and food service
Small firms in Iowa employ 84,051 people in hospitality and food service, 70.3% of the sector's jobs. Restaurants, hotels and catering. The industry posts the highest quits rate in the BLS data, 3.5% in August 2026, which means the training program is running all year whether or not anyone designed it. Station checklists, a shift lead playbook and a short first week path keep standards steady. See Multi location restaurants.
The third largest, manufacturing, has its own patterns; see Inconsistent quality and rework.
How does a remote engagement work in Iowa?
Most of Iowa is on Central time, the same time zone as our Chicago base, so the weekly 60 minute calibration lands at a normal hour for your team. The rest runs in a shared Slack channel.
- Week 1. Free checkup and a discovery session by video.
- Weeks 1 to 2. Shadowing by video and screen recordings, plus interviews with the people who hold the know how.
- By Day 30. You name an internal successor who co-pilots every build.
- Months 2 to 6. SOPs, onboarding, manager training and KPIs piloted, then handed over.
We have no office in Iowa. Work is remote and on site by arrangement: if a kickoff or a shadowing day in person would help, we scope it in up front.
How much does an operations consultant cost in Iowa?
Pricing is published and the same in every market: retainers run from $4,500 to $7,500 a month by headcount and tier, and the two week Operational Diagnostic is $5,000, fully credited toward a 3 or 6 month engagement. See every package and price and how the six step method works.
Questions owners ask
Do you have an office in Iowa?
No. Bevel & Sloane is based in Chicago and has no office or address in Iowa. We work remotely, and on site by arrangement when a kickoff or workshop in person is worth the travel.
How many small businesses are in Iowa?
The SBA Office of Advocacy counts 289,962 small businesses in Iowa, using 2022 Census data. Most have no employees; 54,310 have 1 to 19 employees and 7,519 have 20 to 499.
Is employee turnover high in Iowa?
The monthly quits rate averaged 1.9% from July to December 2025, close to the US rate of 2.0%, based on BLS state JOLTS estimates. Your own industry and roles matter more than the state average.
What would a 50 person Iowa company pay?
Companies of 36 to 85 people usually start around $5,200 a month for The Prelude (3 months) or $5,800 for The Blueprint (6 months).
The Prelude
3 months, from $4,500 a month
Most Iowa engagements start with a free business checkup, then the two week diagnostic or The Prelude.
Not sure yet? Start with the 2 week Operational Diagnostic, $5,000 and fully credited if you continue.
