Loudoun Wins Award for Small Business Program
The Loudoun County Department of Economic Development has won a Silver Excellence in Economic Development Award in the category of Entrepreneurship for communities with populations of 200,000 – 500,000 from the International Economic Development Council. The honor was presented at an awards ceremony during IEDC’s annual conference in Philadelphia.
“The Excellence in Economic Development Award recognizes the Loudoun County Department of Economic Development as being one of the leading organizations in the industry for innovation, creativity and successful strategies,” said IEDC chair Paul Krutko. “This organization uses creative solutions and inventive ideas, and offers other regions a wonderful example to learn and benefit from.”
Loudoun’s Department of Economic Development has created a vibrant, entrepreneurial ecosystem and achieved significant growth in its small business and entrepreneurship program. Components of the program include:
1. LoudounSmallBiz.org, a website for small business owners. Its core is the Resource Navigator, which allows owners to search more than 50 local, regional and state nonprofit resources to find the one that can best assist with their immediate need. The site includes a robust startup checklist, a blog, a business events calendar, and other online resources;
2. Idea Fusion™: a monthly meet-up group that allows tech-focused entrepreneurs, mentors, investors and resource gurus to connect and create business relationships;
3. The Business Assistance Team: a new governmental, intradepartmental team that focuses on improving front-counter customer service for small businesses, with the goal of providing consistent information no matter which county department the business owner contacts first;
4. One Million Cups: a weekly meeting where two entrepreneurs pitch business ideas and get valuable feedback from participating business owners; and
5. Multiple networking and education events.
“We thank our partners who’ve co-created Loudoun’s entrepreneurial ecosystem: the Mason Enterprise Center, the Small Business Development Center, the Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce, the Northern Virginia Technology Council and the Town of Leesburg,” said Economic Development’s Acting Director Buddy Rizer.
Loudoun’s Small Business and Entrepreneurship Manager Debi Roder said, “The Loudoun tech startup community is a quickly growing, active and supportive community that is creating jobs, investing in the community, and bringing innovative products and services to the market.”
For information about starting, locating and expanding a business in Loudoun, call 1-(800)-LOUDOUN or go to biz.loudoun.gov.