How To Start Your Business in Downtown Charles Town

At Corner Connection, located in downtown Charles Town, WV, we are a business and community center that offers flexible workspaces including an event venue. Under our Cowork and Business Memberships, we provide private offices, flex offices, and various flex workstations, making it an ideal spot for individuals and organizations seeking a professional environment. In addition, Corner Connection houses Pendleton Hall, a versatile event space used for weddings, corporate events, expos, nonprofit fundraisers and more.

This space is and has been a hub for many businesses who are just getting started or looking to grow, but aren’t yet sure where they want to be located or even what their business will scale to for budgeting. We provide them a month to month membership to explore opportunities, develop their strategies for success all while building their clientele, services and outreach. However, we do not rent offices or provide long term leases, as we are a member based organization under the umbrella of a coworking business model, with a dash of a business incubator mentoring in our peer to peer conversations between members.

A coworking space, by definition, is a shared work environment where individuals, freelancers, remote workers, and companies can utilize workspaces on a flexible basis. Coworking spaces typically offer amenities like high-speed internet (Glo Fiber and Comcast for our Members), meeting rooms, and common areas. The key benefit is the collaborative and community atmosphere, which can foster networking, creativity, and the exchange of ideas among professionals from different industries. Yup, that sounds like us :)

We also try to help businesses, both in town and in our network throughout the DC/Metro region, make it through the process of getting their business started. This includes directing them to the various state entities for licensing, regulations, etc. Sure, there is the Google, but we try to help where we can because it can be very overwhelming, and often is fragmented from one state or region to the next. So, here is an easy list of links that we provide our members, and now we are sharing it for anyone who wants to read up and prepare for their next business adventure. For simplicity sake, we are only covering WV and Downtown Charles Town with this guide, as the title suggests.

Step One: Research the structure for your business and how you are going to organize and register with the state. You may want to consult a business attorney and/or CPA to understand the pros, cons and liabilities for your business. Once you are ready, you can register for your State Business License at https://business4.wv.gov/Pages/default.aspx

Step Two: Visit the City of Charles Town’s website where they outline the process and requirements to obtain a license for the City. You must have your State Business License before taking any steps at the City level. https://www.charlestownwv.us/business/start_a_business.php

Step Three: Even if you are using an existing space, without a buildout or alterations, and you are occupying the space as a new tenant with a new lease, you will need to complete a Fire Marshal Inspection. Here is a link to that portion of their website - https://firemarshal.wv.gov/Divisions/Fire_Inspections/Pages/Fire-Safety-Inspection.aspx - and here is a link to the actual form for an Initial Inspection Request for a new business - https://firemarshal.wv.gov/Divisions/Fire_Inspections/Documents/INITIAL%20INSPECTION%20REQUEST%20-%20BUSINESS.pdf

Additional Steps to Consider: Depending on the type of your business, you may need to work with County Offices such as the Jefferson County Health Department or the Jefferson County Planning Commission.

Resources for Networking your Business and Getting Involved: This list could be very, very long as there are a multitude of ways to bring your business and services to market… we will probably update this over time, or do a Part Two Guide. But, here are some intial starting points with established organizations.

Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce

Jefferson County Development Authority

Jefferson County Convention & Visitors Bureau

Rotary Clubs of both Charles Town & Shepherdstown

And, a little bonus checklist from our Founder, who owns Blue Umbrella Marketing & Events: