Bevel & Sloane helps Virginia 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.
Virginia small business at a glance
Virginia combines government contractors and technology firms in Northern Virginia, the Port of Virginia and military presence in Hampton Roads, state government and financial services in Richmond, and manufacturing and agriculture across the rest of the state. Professional, scientific and technical firms employ more small business workers than any other industry here.
| Measure | Virginia | Source year |
|---|---|---|
| Small businesses (under 500 employees) | 880,366 | 2022 |
| Small employers with 1 to 19 employees | 138,373 | 2022 |
| Small employers with 20 to 499 employees | 19,431 | 2022 |
| Small business employees | 1,602,868 | 2022 |
| Share of private employees at small businesses | 45.9% (US 45.9%) | 2022 |
| Monthly quits rate, average Jul to Dec 2025 | 2.0% (US 2.0%) | 2025 |
The small business share of jobs is close to the national 45.9% (SBA Office of Advocacy, 2025 Virginia profile). From March 2023 to March 2024, small businesses there had a net increase of 34,814 jobs (BLS Business Employment Dynamics, in the same profile).
In Virginia, the quits rate averaged 2.0% 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 Virginia
The industries with the most small business employees in Virginia are professional services (258,843), healthcare (218,609) and hospitality and food service (208,748) (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, professional services and healthcare.
Bottlenecks we expect in this mix
Professional services
Small firms in Virginia employ 258,843 people in professional services, 47.8% of the sector's jobs. Firms that sell expertise: accounting, legal, engineering, IT, marketing and consulting. Partners become the help desk, and new hires wait weeks for real work. When 42% of institutional knowledge is unique to one person, a client intake standard and a role by role onboarding path are the first fixes. See Professional services.
Healthcare
Small firms in Virginia employ 218,609 people in healthcare, 46.2% 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.
The third largest, hospitality and food service, has its own patterns; see Multi location restaurants.
How does a remote engagement work in Virginia?
Most of Virginia is on Eastern time, one hour ahead of Chicago, 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 Virginia. 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.
Cities in Virginia with their own page
We have metro pages with local data for:
- Richmond: about 136,000 small businesses in the metro, 43.4% of metro employees at small firms
Businesses anywhere else in Virginia work with us the same way.
How much does an operations consultant cost in Virginia?
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 Virginia?
No. Bevel & Sloane is based in Chicago and has no office or address in Virginia. 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 Virginia?
The SBA Office of Advocacy counts 880,366 small businesses in Virginia, using 2022 Census data. Most have no employees; 138,373 have 1 to 19 employees and 19,431 have 20 to 499.
Is employee turnover high in Virginia?
The monthly quits rate averaged 2.0% 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 Virginia 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 Virginia 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.
