Bevel & Sloane helps Washington 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.
Washington small business at a glance
Washington has technology and cloud computing around Seattle, aerospace manufacturing, ports in Seattle and Tacoma, agriculture in the east, and a large healthcare sector. Its quits rate has been below the national average, but wages and hiring competition are high, so losing a trained employee costs more here than in most states.
| Measure | Washington | Source year |
|---|---|---|
| Small businesses (under 500 employees) | 695,695 | 2022 |
| Small employers with 1 to 19 employees | 144,820 | 2022 |
| Small employers with 20 to 499 employees | 17,194 | 2022 |
| Small business employees | 1,451,617 | 2022 |
| Share of private employees at small businesses | 48.7% (US 45.9%) | 2022 |
| Monthly quits rate, average Jul to Dec 2025 | 1.7% (US 2.0%) | 2025 |
The small business share of jobs is above the national 45.9% (SBA Office of Advocacy, 2025 Washington profile). From March 2023 to March 2024, small businesses there had a net increase of 27,671 jobs (BLS Business Employment Dynamics, in the same profile).
In Washington, the quits rate averaged 1.7% a month from July to December 2025, below the national rate of 2.0% (BLS State JOLTS, Table 4, released July 22, 2026). People tend to stay, which is good news, but it also means know how piles up with long tenured staff and is rarely written down.
Where small business jobs are in Washington
The industries with the most small business employees in Washington are healthcare (199,949), hospitality and food service (193,671) and construction and trades (184,579) (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 construction and trades.
Bottlenecks we expect in this mix
Healthcare
Small firms in Washington employ 199,949 people in healthcare, 44.0% 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 Washington employ 193,671 people in hospitality and food service, 67.8% 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, construction and trades, has its own patterns; see Roofing and construction.
How does a remote engagement work in Washington?
Most of Washington is on Pacific time, two hours behind 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 Washington. 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 Washington with their own page
We have metro pages with local data for:
- Seattle: about 389,000 small businesses in the metro, 43.9% of metro employees at small firms
Businesses anywhere else in Washington work with us the same way.
How much does an operations consultant cost in Washington?
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 Washington?
No. Bevel & Sloane is based in Chicago and has no office or address in Washington. 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 Washington?
The SBA Office of Advocacy counts 695,695 small businesses in Washington, using 2022 Census data. Most have no employees; 144,820 have 1 to 19 employees and 17,194 have 20 to 499.
Is employee turnover high in Washington?
The monthly quits rate averaged 1.7% from July to December 2025, below 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 Washington 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 Washington 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.
