LAVA: Start a Business with the Right Resources

We’re about five weeks out from Election Day, gas is over $4, diesel is over $6, and everybody I talk to wants to know one thing: if Democrats win the House and Senate, does any of this get better?

Gray Montrose, advocate and resident Richmond-area expert on how things actually get built, joined me for a conversation where we touched on polling, a tour of who really makes decisions in your county, and why you usually find out too late. Let’s address this.

Can’t afford much these days, but you especially can’t afford not to vote.

Gray saw new polling today with a telling split: voters are willing to back Democrats, but they don’t trust them to deliver on affordability.

My take: with a Republican in the White House, a Democratic Congress can mostly stop the bleeding, not reverse it. And prices that spike rarely come all the way back down. Remember COVID grocery prices? They decreased somewhat but never went back to the way they were. Meanwhile, oil executives have been pulling in profits that outpace the rise in oil prices themselves.

Gray named the root: an economy run quarter by quarter. If a CEO doesn’t show growth every three months, they’re out. This short-term growth leads to long-term loss. Rather than focusing seven generations down the line, we’re focused three months from now.

That’s why when you vote this year, think about 2028 and 2030 too. Undoing the harm takes time. Moving forward takes longer.

The free program that tells the truth

More and more people are working multiple jobs to help make ends meet. Others are losing the jobs they have. Some have business ideas they’d love to execute…but they just don’t know where to begin beyond their passion. Enter Henrico’s Economic Development Authority funds PUMP, the Pop-Up Mentoring Program. On the fourth Wednesday of every month, you can walk into Libbie Mill Library, with no appointment, no fee, and no registration, and get one-on-one coaching from volunteer SCORE business mentors.

Gray dug up the program’s own application, which describes entrepreneurs as having passion and a commitment to hard work but lacking the resources and connections to succeed. Henrico’s own paperwork admits what so many of us have lived: success was never about hard work. It’s about resources and who you know. “I love the self-awareness,” Gray said.

That’s why homegrown businesses matter. They’re rooted in the community, run by people who live here, and they don’t pack up when the incentives run out.

I felt this one personally. Over a dozen years ago I ran my own law firm in Queens. I spent more time chasing clients, billing, and drafting letters than practicing law. Mentors told me to hire help. I said, “That costs money.” They said, “It costs money to make money.” I wish I’d had something like PUMP to get a better handle on the business aspect and network with people who could have helped grow the practice.

Gray’s advice for anyone starting out: use every free resource. Learn grant writing. Don’t overextend.

Doomerism? No, do-more-ism. Here’s what you can do:

1. Show up to PUMP. If you’re thinking about launching a business or know someone who would benefit from PUMP in or around Henrico County, mark your calendar for the next PUMP meetup or share with them: Wednesday, October 28, 5–7 p.m., Libbie Mill Library, 2100 Libbie Lake East Street. Not in Henrico? Share PUMP with your local elected official (e.g., a board of supervisors member or city councilmember) and ask whether something similar exists in your community.

2. Early voting is open. Election Day is November 3. Three constitutional amendments are on it. Don’t wait to vote.

At Let’s Address Virginia, the floor is LAVA and absolute justice is the ceiling.

Onward and upward,

Salaam

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