CHARLESTON – The West Virginia Secretary of State's Office has launched a new tool to help entrepreneurs with the planning and registration process when they're starting their businesses.
The tool was launched earlier this year, but new data shows that of the 180 new business owners that used the new Business Startup Wizard, 79 percent said the tool was "very" or "extremely" useful.
The survey found that 16 percent said the tool was somewhat useful, while 2 percent said it was not so useful and 1 percent said it wasn't useful at all.
Wizard was part of Secretary of State Mac Warner's efforts to update and improve the online registration process for those looking to do business in the state. The tool helps entrepreneurs answer a series of questions to determine the most suitable structure for their new business.
"It has never been easier, faster, or more efficient to open a new business in West Virginia,” Warner said in a press release. “We’re receiving a lot of support from business owners who say that what we’re doing is making a difference.”
The tool was developed in partnership with WV Interactive. Warner wanted the tool to help make the licensing and registration process as efficient as possible. The tool is not meant to provide any legal or tax advice.
The tool has also already received national recognition. StateScoop Magazine ranked Wizard in its Top 10 State Technology Innovation of the Year for 2019 and the International Association of Commercial Administrators also recognized the tool in its 2019 Merit Awards.
“The Wizard continues to grow in popularity by those who are starting new businesses in West Virginia,” Chad Miller, the project liaison officer for the Wizard and a business and licensing specialist in the Secretary of State's Office, said in the release. “We continue to receive positive feedback from business owners on how we can make the registration experience as easy as possible.”
Miller said the tool is gaining traction.