New Businesses Now Assigned Dedicated Project Managers

Home-based-start-ups, small businesses and entrepreneurs do not often have their own project managers who know the ins-and-outs of building codes, permitting processes or safety requirements.

Prince William County Development Services has a way to help businesses with less than 35 employees such as breweries, wineries, professional services, elderly care, health care, restaurants, entertainment venues and others navigate through the process to get their businesses up and running through its small business management program. The program offers dedicated project managers who act as guides to small businesses as they get started.

“The permitting process can be complex,” said Development Services Director Wade Hugh. “We don’t expect small business owners to understand all of the nuances associated with that process. For example, if you’re looking to lease tenant space or purchase real estate, you want to know the conditions associated with the space for the property prior to purchasing or leasing. By contacting us early in the process, we can help you get that information.”

The value of the program is that it helps small businesses get their doors open sooner. Efficiency and time are important to businesses. Getting people connected with project managers early in the process can save the new business owner time and money.

“We encourage business owners to contact us early in the process,” Hugh said. “They don’t have to have their plans designed. As a matter of fact, they don’t have to have a lease signed or property purchased. We’ll meet with them early on and we can discuss their design plans and help provide them codes and requirements that will help them better design their space. We also have a talented, professional staff who are well-versed in those businesses and know which codes and requirements apply and that’s a benefit of having those project managers help.”

The program, which has been operating for several years, has a track record of helping small businesses and the project managers and their teams look forward to helping.

For information on starting a new business, visit department/development-services/starting-business

To learn about the project management process, visit  department/development-services/small-business-projects

“We’re very proud of the small business management program services that we provide. The program has been in existence now for a little over three years,” Hugh said. “We’ve helped close to 1,500 small business owners open their doors in Prince William. A new business opens each day in Prince William County, so we encourage small business owners to contact us and see how we can help them.”