Ravenrock Funding Group, a small-business funding broker in Sarasota, Florida, is located at 1830 Main St, inside ZIP 34236. Sarasota County counted 15,989 employer establishments in 2023, 64.5% with fewer than five employees, plus 59,161 nonemployer businesses in 2024. This page sets out those figures, the local sector mix and public resources. Every yes or no comes from a lending partner.
| Office address | 1830 Main St, Sarasota, FL 34236, in Sarasota County |
|---|---|
| Employer establishments | 15,989 countywide, County Business Patterns 2023 |
| Under five employees | 64.5% of Sarasota County payrolls, County Business Patterns 2023 |
| No-payroll businesses | 59,161 without a payroll, Nonemployer Statistics 2024 |
| ZIP 34236 employers | 1,692 employers and 17,636 jobs, ZIP Code Business Patterns 2023 |
| Self-employed residents | 16.5% of employed City of Sarasota residents, +/- 1.9 (ACS 2020-2024) |
| Phone | (941) 384-0737 |
Two governments, one name: Sarasota, FL and its county
Sarasota is an incorporated city inside Sarasota County, and the two share a name, so it matters which one a figure describes. County figures below cover all of Sarasota County. ZIP 34236, which holds the 1830 Main St address, lies entirely inside city limits: the 2020 ZCTA-to-place relationship file puts 100% of the ZIP's land inside the City of Sarasota.
Ravenrock Funding Group is at 1830 Main St in that ZIP. About Ravenrock explains how a broker differs from a lender, and the contact page has the phone number and address.
Payrolls across Sarasota County, FL
County Business Patterns counted 15,989 employer establishments in Sarasota County in 2023, with 162,310 paid employees and annual payroll of about $9.05 billion. Fewer than five people were on the payroll at 10,311 of them, or 64.5%.
| Sector | Establishments | Share under 5 employees |
|---|---|---|
| Professional, scientific and technical services | 2,199 | 78.7% |
| Construction | 2,126 | 70.6% |
| Health care and social assistance | 1,862 | 55.2% |
| Retail trade | 1,755 | 50.1% |
| Other services | 1,436 | 64.5% |
| Real estate and rental and leasing | 1,384 | 87.4% |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023. Health care and social assistance had the largest payroll of any sector, about $2.02 billion.
Owner-run firms outnumber employers
Nonemployer Statistics counted 59,161 Sarasota County businesses with no paid employees in 2024. That is a separate program and a different year from the employer count, so the two figures are not added together, but the scale is clear: most businesses in the county are run by their owners alone.
The American Community Survey (2020-2024) puts the self-employed share of employed residents at 16.8% (+/- 0.8) for Sarasota County, against 12.8% (+/- 0.1) for Florida. For the City of Sarasota alone the figure is 16.5% (+/- 1.9).
ZIP 34236 around Main St
ZIP Code Business Patterns counted 1,692 employer establishments with a ZIP 34236 address in 2023, employing 17,636 people with annual payroll of about $1.24 billion. Payrolls under five people accounted for 62.7%.
- Professional and technical firms: 407 establishments
- Retail trade: 199
- Finance and insurance: 188
- Real estate and rental and leasing: 186
- Lodging, restaurants and bars: 166
- Health care and social services: 110
What these figures mean for funding
Small payrolls and owner-run firms tend to have thin cash reserves and few hard assets to pledge. Partners underwriting them lean on bank statements and clean records more than on collateral. That points many owners toward working capital financing or a credit line for timing gaps, and toward equipment financing when an asset can secure the deal. All six structures are laid out on the comparison page, and the industry pages cover construction, restaurant and medical practices in detail.
New homes permitted in Sarasota County, FL
The Building Permits Survey recorded 6,627 new privately owned housing units authorized in Sarasota County in 2025, down from 7,466 in 2024 and 7,822 in 2023. Of the 2025 total, 4,283 were single-unit homes and 2,212 were in buildings with five or more units. These are residential counts, but they shape demand for the county's contractors and suppliers.
Business tax receipts and permits in Sarasota, FL
Owners often search for a 'city of sarasota local business tax receipt' and a 'sarasota county business tax receipt', which suggests local registration has both a city and a county layer. Partners may ask to see whichever receipts apply to your business, so keep current copies with your other records.
The City of Sarasota's official site is sarasotagov.org and Sarasota County's is scgov.net (both checked 2026-10-16). Before a build-out, read our guide to zoning and building permits.
Advisers, chambers and the county EDC
Owners also search for the Sarasota County Economic Development Corporation, an SBDC in Sarasota and the local chamber of commerce. Our Sarasota-Manatee resource directory explains how to find each one. Ravenrock Funding Group is independent of every group named here.
Buying a business or commercial property
Searches for businesses and commercial property for sale in Sarasota come up often. Ravenrock Funding Group does not arrange mortgages, including loans to buy real estate. For the business side of a purchase, such as equipment or working capital after closing, the options above may apply, subject to the partner's terms.
Beyond city limits
Owners in nearby Sarasota County and Manatee County communities work with us the same way, by phone and online. The communities we cover lists each one with its own figures.
Who Ravenrock Funding Group works with in Sarasota, FL
Our partners have confirmed appetite for four kinds of business: contractors and construction trades, restaurants and food service, medical and dental practices, and retailers and wholesalers that carry stock. If your Sarasota, FL business is something else, call and ask before you spend time on paperwork.
Paperwork partners commonly ask for
- Recent business bank statements (partners often ask for three to six months)
- Your most recent business tax return
- Current financial statements: profit and loss plus a balance sheet
- Your articles of organization or incorporation and the EIN letter
- A list of existing business debts and payments
- The equipment quote, contract or purchase order the funding is for
Partners differ in what they request; this list covers the usual ground.
The steps after your first call
- It starts with a call to (941) 384-0737 or the short contact form. On the phone we cover the purpose of the funds, time in business and approximate monthly revenue.
- We walk through the funding types that suit that purpose and the paperwork partners tend to ask for. Nothing goes out until you say so.
- Once you agree, the request goes to partners that provide that type of funding. The credit decision belongs to each partner.
- If a partner makes an offer, you compare the total cost, payment schedule and terms. You are never obligated to accept.
Our office is at 1830 Main St, Sarasota, FL 34236.
By Ravenrock Funding Group · Updated