And Grove definitely has a few tricks up her sleeve. Before she took her job helping entrepreneurs in Prince William County, she was exploring the path of being an entrepreneur herself. That journey sparked a passion to help others like herself, said Grove, who spoke about the small business support available in Prince William during 草莓传媒鈥檚 Small Business September.
鈥淭rying to start my own business, there were a lot of things that I didn鈥檛 know. I was just figuring it out,鈥� she recalled. 鈥淢y main priority is helping businesses get in touch with business literacy.鈥�
It鈥檚 core help that businesses need to launch and then succeed, Grove said, noting that having a brilliant idea for a product or business has little to do with the operational aspects of running a business.
The magic and power of business literacy
Through programming and outreach launched in 2020 with the creation of the small business development program, aims to cover a lot of territory when it comes to helping people build their business literacy.
In tandem with community resources and services, Grove and her team provide business owners with a range of development offerings, from financial planning, licensing and permit information, and certifications guidance to product strategy, technology assistance and marketing training.
She said the aim of her program is for business owners to 鈥渇eel that they have subject matter experts to talk to and bounce ideas off of and say, 鈥楬ey, could you look at my business plan and help me through this?鈥� Or, 鈥業s this really the industry that I want to get into?鈥� Or, 鈥楢m I going to have the customers that I hope to have?鈥� We really want to provide those business literacy tools for small businesses.鈥�
Why Prince William County?
Just beyond The Beltway in Northern Virginia, Prince William County has begun focusing on startups and entrepreneurs looking to launch their businesses by promoting the county鈥檚 spaciousness, diversity and cost of living relative to other suburban Washington, D.C., locations.
But Grove also likes to point out an equally compelling item from an entrepreneurial perspective: Prince William is an underserved market when it comes to the products and services available.
A study by the county found that the population has a surplus of income relative to what it spends, Grove said. 鈥淲e need more product for them to spend it on,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e need more places for them to spend.鈥�
It also likely means a bit less direct competition, depending on the product or service.
Ensuring programs support all small business owners
Because the small business program in Prince William launched just before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Grove said her team almost immediately went into recovery mode to ensure businesses had access to federal relief funds and local grants.
That pivot also led to a major realization that the new program needed to ensure all business owners in the county had access to resources and services to thrive, she said. Since the pandemic, 鈥渨e hear about it on a national scale how women- and minority- and veteran-owned businesses have different challenges to growing their businesses,鈥� Grove said.
As her program continues to evolve and grow, a next-up focus will be identifying and removing any barriers that make it tough for underrepresented businesses in Prince William to take root and become successful, she said.
鈥淲e鈥檝e actually appointed a consultant to support our staff to help us to do a study of where Prince William County is now,鈥� Grove said. 鈥淲hat assets do we have that are helpful? And what assets do we have that can be improved on 鈥� whether that鈥檚 later hours for counseling to accommodate schedules or if that鈥檚 offering more bilingual courses? We want to know what those challenges are so we can do something about it.鈥�
To discover more insights for entrepreneurs, startups and SMBs shared during 草莓传媒鈥檚 Small Business September, click here.
Listen to the full interview:
