Doing Business in Vermont
Opportunity. Innovation. Excellence.Living in Vermont is about finding the right community to grow your business and social networks.
Vermonters don’t find themselves cordoned off in some drab development; instead they’re immersed in the working landscapes, scenic roads, and walkable downtowns that characterize our state.
Local, national, and international businesses thrive here with community and government support and collaboration among colleagues. Start-up, emerging, and innovative businesses succeed here because Vermont provides the human, social, and financial capital they require. Vermont is home to globally competitive businesses and many remarkable brands because we foster originality, respect quality, and bring out the best in people.
Some Vermont businesses look for help training their workers on new equipment in order to expand into new markets—the Vermont Training Program and the Vermont Employment Growth Incentive can help. Others see an opportunity for growth in an old historic mill or downtown building—downtown tax credits, sales tax reallocation, and tax increment financing can help make that happen. A one-person company may experience growth that requires them to hire more people—the Vermont Center for Enterprise & Technology can help with seed capital. What starts out as an idea on paper becomes the intellectual property of a small business that changes an entire sector—UVM Innovations can help obtain funding for tech commercialization.
Vermont’s incentive programs have been rated amongst the best. Our financial tools can help businesses adjust to changes in the market, assist businesses in certain geographic areas, and grow their workforce. Professionals at the Agency of Commerce & Community Development and our Regional Development Corporations are ready to help you identify the best source for your need and support you through eligibility and applications processes.
Why Choose Vermont?
Utilize State of Vermont programs to leverage training and workforce development, environmental mediation, restoring historic downtown buildings, building rural economies, and more to start up or expand.
Regional Development Corporations
Vermont’s RDCs can give you local intel, connect your business with potential sites, and assist in working with municipalities for site-related planning.
Online Business Service Center
Small business is a huge part of the Vermont economy. Of the 78,759 small businesses in the state (which the U.S. Small Business Administration defines as having fewer than 500 employees), 78% are independent contractors or nonemployer businesses, and 19.5% have 1-19 employees. In 2017, Vermont businesses with fewer than 20 employees had 67,711 employees.
Vt Small Business Development Center
Since 1992, the Vermont Small Business Development Center (VtSBDC) has provided no-cost professional expertise and guidance to hundreds of business owners. We combine one-on-one confidential advising with training programs to give our clients the tools and insight they need to reach their business goals.
Center for Women in Enterprise
For more than 25 years, the Center for Women in Enterprise have been helping aspiring women entrepreneurs and business owners to launch and grow their business by meeting them where they are and providing greater access to the resources, tools, and support they need to achieve business success.
Demographics and Workforce
Craftsmanship and a strong work ethic run deep in the Vermont culture and in our highly educated workforce. Vermont consistently ranks high for education quality and with 38,000 students attending the state’s 18 well-regarded colleges and universities each year, our employers have a steady stream of young talent on their doorsteps.
Location and Transportation
Over 80 million people live within five hours travel of Vermont. With a web of well maintained highways, multiple airports, and hundreds of miles of rail all close to the Canadian border, Vermont businesses have the speed to market and access to supply chains they need.
Triple Bottom Line
In 2010, Vermont became the second state in the country to enact Benefit Corporation legislation, allowing new companies to form, and existing companies to organize as benefit corporations. The legal framework of a benefit corporation gives businesses and investors the flexibility to consider mission and public benefit, in addition to profit, for all stakeholders, including shareholders, over the long term, even through exit transactions such as IPOs and acquisitions.
We Want You to Succeed in Vermont.
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