Vermont hearing spotlights small-business succession, training gaps and technical-assistance needs

Members of the Vermont House Committee on Commerce and Economic Development and their Senate counterparts convened a joint hearing on Jan. 29 to hear small-business owners and service providers about the challenges of scaling, succession planning and accessing state programs.

The testimony made a recurring point: owners who have kept businesses afloat through early, unstable years often hit a second wall when trying to grow or exit, and existing state programs and technical-assistance resources do not always match those needs.

Abby Duke, owner of Sugar Snap catering in Burlington, described a 21-year trajectory from a one-site prepared-foods start-up to a business that expanded to multiple locations, took on outside capital and then contracted during years of heavy borrowing. "I raised $300,000, half of it from private investors, mostly customers who lent money," Duke said, describing how she used that capital to open a commissary kitchen in South Burlington and later struggled with working-capital constraints. She said the pandemic ultimately improved her balance sheet, enabling higher wages and more durable staffing: "The lowest paid full time year round employee that I have makes, almost $29 an hour."

Whitney, owner of Axel's Gallery and Frame Shop in Waterbury, told lawmakers she began formal…