189 Small Businesses 'Open for Business' in 1H2021 with support from Prince William County's Small Business Project Management Program

Small business project activity show indications of a return to economic recovery from the impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic in the first half of 2021. One hundred and eighty-nine businesses that received support from the Prince William County Department of Development Services’ Small Business Project Management Program from January to June 2021 are “Open for Business.”

Overall customer service satisfaction ratings were up slightly, hovering between eighty-five and eighty-eight percent, in the first quarter and second quarter of 2021 respectively, over the same time-period last year. The square footage of occupied space almost doubled to 215,954 sq. ft. in the first half of 2021 in contrast to 108,878 sq. ft. in the first half of 2020.

Of the one hundred and eighty-nine small businesses that received a ‘Certificate of Occupancy’ or authorization letter, one hundred and sixty-two were logged as new businesses to the County and twenty-seven were logged as existing businesses, that either relocated or expanded within the County. These numbers show a fifty-eight percent increase in project activity over the same time-period in 2020, however, in contrast to the same time-period in 2019 - Pre-pandemic, there is a ten percent decrease in overall project activity.

“Small businesses are the backbone of the Prince William County economy and the US economy, at large. We have identified this as a critical time for our business community and work hard to ensure the leased or purchased space our customers have selected to operate their chosen trade business is safe and secure,” said Wade A. Hugh, Director Department of Development Services. There are 30.7 million small businesses in the United States, accounting for ninety-nine percent of all American businesses, according to 2019 data collected by the US Small Business Administration. 

“We cannot emphasis enough to customers to seek advice before deciding on leasing or buying a building, to ensure it will serve their specific trade business purposes,” added Hugh. “Opening a new business is a significant investment of financial and personal resources. A wrong decision can be costly.”

Business owners that locate in a building or tenant space that has been previously occupied by a similar “Use Group” e.g. Group B – Office professional or service-type transactions, after receiving Zoning Approval, a Joint Occupancy Evaluation Permit Application can be submitted to the Building Development Division. Safety Inspections may be conducted by the Building Code Enforcement staff, the Fire Marshal’s Office staff, and a determination shall be made on whether or not plans and permits are required. If plans are not required, once any safety deficiencies are mitigated, a Certificate of Occupancy or JOE Letter will be issued, allowing the business owner to ‘Open for Business.’

About the Small Business Project Management Program

Prince William County recognizes real estate decisions are critical to businesses, not only from a financial perspective, but for the ability to attract customers, access a quality workforce, establish their brand, build community partnerships, and operate in a stable and predictable government environment. The Prince William County Board of County Supervisors adopted and funded an initiative to enhance the level of services for small businesses, startups, and entrepreneurs in FY2019. The Department of Development Services spearheaded the initiative to improve entrepreneurs’ and small business owners’ experience within the County development process. The Small Business Project Management Program (SBPM) was officially rolled out in October 2018. For the purposes of the SBPM, the County defined a small business that employees thirty-five or fewer employees. Find out how to start or for more information call (703) 792-6930 or email [email protected].