The Dos and Don'ts for Starting A Roswell Business

If you've ever considered starting up a business in Roswell there are plenty of dos and don'ts - just ask any local business owner. But before all the horror stories stop you in your tracks Roswell Patch has compiled some soup-to-nuts information for would-be entrepreneurs.

Before you sign a lease or order business cards, follow this good advice: visit Alice Wakefield, the community development director for the city of Roswell, in her ground-floor city hall office.

The keeper of the forms, the rules and, most importantly, the okays for budding businesses, Wakefield is the one to see before beginning the process of starting a business. She can help you understand the structured process that one must go through in order to receive final okays and receive an occupancy permit and a business license.

“Start your business in a building that is zoned and modified for your type of business. It’ll help a lot,” she counsels.

Roswell is a city of small businesses. There are 5,180 businesses in the city and only 25 of those have 100 or more employees.

Business formation continues at a healthy pace. There were 703 businesses started in 2009, 750 in 2010 and 643 through Nov. 17 of this year, according to the .

Wakefield has tremendous experience in this job, because she has worked similar positions for Fulton County, the city of Atlanta and the city of Milton. Despite what many have said about Roswell's unfriendly attitude toward business, Wakefield insists that opening a business in this city is no more difficult than any other city in Georgia, but that the naiveté of some budding business owners causes most of the snags.

“What we try to give them is different options,” Wakefield said. “We try to direct them to where it will be the easiest for them to get a business up and running. If you want to go in this location, these are some of the things you need to be aware of. These are some of the regulations that you will have to abide by. But if you think this will be a problem, you might want to look over here. This is where the zoning allows. This was a bakery at one time, so if you want to be a bakery it may be much easier to go in there as a bakery.”

The time frame for opening a business varies greatly. If someone plans to open in a building that is properly zoned and is set for the specific desired use, the permitting and business license process can take a matter of weeks. On the other hand, a soup-to-nuts business start - demolishing and constructing a new building, with all the permitting that is required and the run through the Design Review Board and the Planning Commission - could take two years.

Each situation is different. However, the process roughly takes this path:

1. Applicants visit the Roswell Community Development Department to understand the process and pick up forms.

2. He or she submits applications.

3. The community development staff reviews the material. This leads to rejection or the scheduling of inspections.

4. The new business undergoes inspections. These could include a city engineer, the fire marshal and the Fulton County Health Department.

5. Community development issues a business license and occupancy tax certificate.

6. Over time, the new business owner becomes a millionaire - though, this step is hit-and-miss.

There are additional requirements. For example, if you want to open a restaurant, the Fulton County Health Department will have to give its okay. That means a definite inspection by Fulton County.

Inspections weren’t a problem for Rand Cabus, who opened Mojo Vinyl at 34 Webb Street, No. 8, in the Roswell Historic District this year.

“I didn’t have to bribe the fire marshal,” Cabus said. “In fact, he gave me 45 days to get in compliance. I wanted to slap my name all over the building, but I had to be in compliance [with city codes]. But if everyone slapped signs all over their building, Roswell would be an ugly city. I just had to follow the rules everybody has to follow. I’m glad we have these rules.”

Cabus said the process of opening took about two more weeks than he envisioned. There was some back-and-forth about codes for signage.

“The city was kind, cordial and they helped me,” he said.

The codes and regulations that must be satisfied are numerous.

In addition to city zoning requirements, there are laws the city enforces that are required by the state and federal government. For example, two years ago Georgia added the Model Energy Code, which requires more efficiency and better insulation in structures. The federal government’s Americans with Disabilities Act adds other non-negotiable rules about handicapped parking spaces and wheel-chair ramps.

All of these must be enforced by the city of Roswell.

Suggestions to business neophytes about how to streamline the process will be available from the Roswell Business Alliance, which comes into existence in January. The Roswell Business Alliance will be a cooperative of the city, the and local business people.