Tapping into Chattanooga’s small business network
From planning a business to finding a funder, local resources abound
By William Newlin
Small business resources are abundant in Chattanooga. And business owners are using them.
The Tennessee Small Business Development Center’s local office served more than 900 regional clients in 2023. Executive Director Lynn Chesnutt said it was a slight decline from their pandemic high, when an alphabet soup of assistance programs from the federal government left owners in need of extra guidance.
But many have stuck around since then, giving TSBDC a chance to engage them deeper.
“You got your PPP, you got your EIDL — now, what are we going to do? Let's talk about strategies moving forward,” Chesnutt. “All of a sudden we become a much more known quantity in Chattanooga and in our service area.”
Hosted by Chattanooga State, UTC, and the Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce, TSBDC’s no-cost support extends through the life of a small business (defined as any organization with fewer than 500 employees), from drafting business plans to providing legal advice to improving accounting practices.
While TSBDC is still keen to assist startups, Chesnutt said the organization has focused recently on keeping current businesses resilient. Another lesson from the pandemic: When capital is tight during a downturn, maintaining the economy trumps growth.
Darian Scott, the Chamber’s director of talent and economic inclusion, is active in business development, too. He highlighted an annual training program he founded to help owners find funding sources, market themselves, and better articulate what they do. The Chamber also provides cheap office and manufacturing space in North Chattanooga through the INCubator.
“When I say small business, I mean people that are very talented, may be very good at their crafts, but may not really get it when it comes to the back office support,” Scott said.
Combining passion for a product with sound business strategies — that’s the secret sauce to keeping the doors open. And sound strategies are multi-faceted.
One key, and perhaps obvious, tip from Chesnutt is to find out before investing in a project whether people will buy what’s on offer. Is the market already saturated? How does the business stand out? Which ages, incomes, and types of people are most interested?
Since businesses can earn up to $3,000 without a license, it’s helpful to do some trial runs, like a weekend at the Chattanooga market, Chesnutt said.
Whether it’s a home-spun startup or an out-of-state export, businesses continue cropping up across Chattanooga, which both Scott and Chesnutt described as a city primed to foster commercial growth.
“Chattanooga is really a fantastic place to be a business owner because there are — other than us — we have so many great collaborating partners,” Chesnutt said. “The resources are vast.”
Dr. Kelly. Mueller and her fiancee/business partner Dr. John Fee, who co-operate the physical therapy and chiropractic center Key to Change Wellness in Chattanooga.
The keys to Key to Change
Physical therapist Dr. Kelly Mueller tapped into TSBDC’s resources right away when she opened her Chattanooga practice in 2022.
It was a COVID-informed decision to move from Wisconsin — note the Green Bay Packers jersey glistening green and gold on her website’s “About” page — as physical therapy clients became wary of in-person visits, and cabin fever pushed her toward a change.
But the clinic manager job Mueller found here was more of the same: a revolving door of patients whose care was subject to the medical opinions of insurance companies.
“I couldn't treat like I wanted to treat,” Mueller said. “And also it was like, ‘Oh, this is not sustainable for like any sort of lifestyle outside of the clinics.’ I was just exhausted and was feeling burnt out.”
Two years later, Mueller said her self-practice Key to Change Wellness has revolutionized her relationship with work, giving her more hands-on time with patients and more free time for herself.
Sustainability hasn’t come easy for the business. It took local guidance, a helpful connection or two, and a ride-the-rollercoaster mentality to get there. And TSBDC assisted along the way.
At first, legal advice quelled Mueller’s concerns that “everything you do is like illegal or wrong,” she said, such as finding clients under a non-solicitation agreement with her former employer.
Business counseling, marketing tips, budgeting software setup — those lessons laid the foundation for Mueller’s practice, which breaks from health care orthodoxy to provide cash-only, price-transparent services. (Patients, rather than Mueller’s office, submit bills to their insurers to get reimbursed).
“Willingness to invest in services without insurance probably has been more of my hurdle and continues to be an ongoing conversation,” Mueller said.
Mueller’s path to entrepreneurship, like her business model, wasn’t standard. She self-financed, and given her professional experience as both practitioner and manager, she didn’t field test Key to Change Wellness before getting started.
In most cases, Chesnutt with TSBDC highly recommends outside funding and a proven market for fledgling businesses.
But a nose to the networking grindstone and a part-time job helped Mueller’s tiny business survive a treacherous startup period. Cheap rental space, and a commitment to frugality were other necessities.
Chattanooga has panned out for Mueller, offering loyal clientele and professional connections. And while it’s difficult to settle into a niche here, she said, to make a business known and develop return customers — that’s where perseverance comes in.
“If I were to say, you know, one characteristic of somebody that would start a business, it would be that ability to like pick yourself back up out of the doom and gloom times of feeling like nothing's working and just trust the process,” Mueller said. “Some of my best months were followed by some of my worst.”
Other resources
Check out our companion piece, which highlights Chattanooga Entrepreneur Week and offers a comprehensive guide to local low- and no-cost business assistance.