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Development Services

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Entrepreneurs & Startups

Entrepreneurs & Startups

The Department of Development Services leads the County's effort to improve entrepreneurs and small business owner's experience within the County development process.

Since 2008, the Department's Commercial Project Management Program has been very successful with assisting business owners through the development process. Based on our long-term success, the Board of County Supervisors supported the hiring of three new Project Managers, with the sole focus of assisting entrepreneurs, startups and new businesses through the development process. Today, this program is known as the Small Business Project Management Program.

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?

Supporting entrepreneurs and new business growth within the community, help first-time business owners get their business running faster, promotes a fair and equitable marketplace and consumer confidence that will help improve the economy.

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WHERE ARE WE GOING?

The County continues to fine-tune its business assistance programs to focus more intensely on startups, small businesses and entrepreneurship by:

  • Improving the small business owner's experience by hiring three new Project Managers whose sole focus is guiding small business through the development process;
  • Creating a new Manager position within the Department of Economic Development to facilitate small business assistance and entrepreneurial growth;
  • Launching a new collaborative initiative with the George Mason University Small Business Development Center to deliver FREE workshops, one-on-one counseling, training and seminars. For a list of upcoming workshops, click here. The program is located within the Prince William Chamber of Commerce's offices at 14000 Crown Court, Suite 205, Woodbridge, VA 22192.
  • Supporting additional coworking spaces that foster an entrepreneurial environment through its investment in the establishment of the Brickyard coworking center at Neabsco Commons.

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WHAT IS THE OUTCOME WE ARE TRYING TO DRIVE?

The Board of County Supervisors aim to increase the growth of small business jobs to over 1,000 jobs per year.

The goals of the Small Business Project Management Program are to provide a consistent message (eliminating confusion for the owner) and to resolve issues in a timely manner, which allows the owner to move through the development process in an efficient manner.

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HOW IS THIS MEASURED?

We are measuring the number of small businesses that open for business and those that received the correct guidance, that helped them ultimately avoid a costly decision.

Tracking operational performance measurements helps us know if we are meeting target goals and determine where we can make improvements. Additional follow-up with Customer Satisfaction Surveys and one-on-one interviews help us better understand from the Customer perspectives, giving us important feedback, critical to improvement and continued success.

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ARE WE BETTER OFF?

Prince William County is improving as an area where small businesses can thrive and compete with larger firms. Entrepreneurs have many resources made available to them, and the process of starting their own business has never been easier.

For more information, please contact us here or via email [email protected] or (703) 792-6930.