Danville-Boyle County, KY Chamber Offers Jump Start to New Businesses
Program helps owners with licenses, codes
Danville and Boyle County, Kentucky, leaders are offering new businesses a Jump Start.
That’s the name of a Danville-Boyle County Chamber of Commerce program that gives prospective business owners all the information they need for a quick and speedy launch of their company. Jump Start brings together representatives of every regulating agency in the city and county, who meet with the new business owner in a group setting.
Agencies represented at the one-hour session include Alcohol Beverage Control, Danville Architectural Heritage Board, Boyle County Building Inspector, Chamber of Commerce, City Engineer, Codes Enforcement, County Engineer, Economic Development Partnership, Fire Marshall, Health Department, Planning and Zoning, and the state plumbing and building inspector.
“The session can include a visit to the business owner’s future site to inform them about codes, licenses and other regulations to help them open their doors as soon as possible,” says Paula Fowler, Danville-Boyle County Chamber of Commerce executive director. “Jump Start simplifies the regulations process.”
Relieves Much of the Stress
Amy Hazlett, owner of Amy D. Hazlett Allstate Insurance Agency, recently participated in the Jump Start program before opening her business in the Kroger Plaza off Highway 150/127 Bypass in Danville. She says Jump Start helped relieve much of the stress associated with starting a business, and helped her avoid making what could have been a costly mistake.
“One important aspect I learned with Jump Start is that in the Kroger Plaza where I’m located, a state inspector had to look at my building before it became inhabitable,” she says. “I wanted to make upgrades, but the state inspector had to even approve certain types of woods and framing materials. The state has strict codes, and I probably would have been noncompliant if I didn’t learn about the state inspection requirements through Jump Start.”
Other recent Jump Start participants include Ann Clay Harris, who opened A & L Accessories, a purse, jewelry and clothing store on Main Street, and Lourdes De La Cruz, a recent Henry Clay High School graduate who opened an authentic Mexican restaurant on Fourth Street called Taqueria Los Amigos.
Why Danville, KY is a Great Place to Live
Take Away Several Headaches
Large companies can also be a part of Jump Start, as evidenced by Denyo Manufacturing Corp. The company, which recently underwent a $7 million expansion, manufactures large, quiet, diesel-engine-driven generators often used as full power sources at outdoor events — and even by the military in Afghanistan.
“With Jump Start, we met with state inspectors and utility company representatives who usually take days to track down, and they signed off on important site drawings we needed for electric, gas, water, phone and so forth,” says Joey Harris, Denyo Manufacturing Corp. plant manager. “The Danville-Boyle County chamber set up the meetings and took away several of the headaches associated with such a large endeavor. I recommend Jump Start to anyone starting or expanding any business, whether the company is large or small.”