5 Questions: Growing small business in Prince William

For more than a year, Clarice Grove has worked in the Prince William County Economic Development office as a small business development manager.

Her job: help small businesses who are ready to grow and expand find the right location in the growing county of nearly a half-million people.

Grove sat down with us for our regular Five Questions series.

PLN

I’ve talked to so many different entrepreneurs, and with me being an entrepreneur myself, I’ve heard so many different people say. “I’ve got a 10-year-old start-up business.” Is there a such thing as a 10-year-old start-up?

Grove

That’s a great question. So. kind of. Our partners that I’ve worked with closely, Mason Small Business Development Center, the Community Business Partnership in Springfield, the SBA office, we kind of cut it off around two years. I mean, also we kind of see it a little bit different versus startups. High-growth entrepreneurs — think “Shark Tank” — versus small businesses who are just kind of growing gradually, who are seeing a steady incline for their business. Whereas the “Shark Tank’ entrepreneur, that’s more of a hockey stick model, where you see a spike in growth.

PLN

So, I’ve got an idea. Let’s say I’m an entrepreneur and I make really great cupcakes. I now seeing that my kitchen is no longer the best place to make cupcakes because I can’t guarantee up to the standards and demands of my customers. Overall, Prince William County is known for being a bedroom community, it’s not known for manufacturing (or cupcake making) And so what would you tell me, an entrepreneur, why Prince William would be such a good place to grow my business?

Grove

It really depends on what your goals are. I would say it’s a lot more of a discussion instead of just kind of a simple question. We sit down and I can define that answer for you really quickly. But generally, what we would do in that process — if there is a business that would sit down and have that question on why Prince William County, I have a team of partners. It’s not just me that’s kind of selling you.

We would have a one on one consultation, and we would talk about all the different partners and the resources and why Prince William County is offering incentives and services to grow and nurture the businesses here in Prince William County, which is not common in other jurisdictions.

Prince William County just invested over half a million dollars in startups. There are many different things that many different times in our program that sell like Prince William County.

PLN

Are you a mountain person? Are you a beach person? What’s your perfect day out?

Grove

Actually, before my time in economic development, I was in Parks and Rec. So I do enjoy getting out on our trails on the weekend. But to answer your second question, my favorite type of weather is actually rainy weather. I’m a enjoy sitting on the couch on a rainy day and watching the movie with a cup of tea.

PLN

When you talk to business owners, what are some of the challenges that they’re going to face the next 12 to 18 months?

Grove

Actually, right before this call, I was on another call with a business. And right now [the business owner] just wants to motivate customers to come back now that CDC guidelines are now changing. So, for a lot of our businesses, I wouldn’t say challenges. It’s more as opportunities. They want to get their doors open, and they’re ready for folks to come back and get back to the traffic that they saw pre-covid.

PLN

When dining out during the pandemic, do you eat indoors or do you eat inside?

Grove

A little bit of both. I think last year when the covid pandemic kind of started, [Prince William County] Office of Tourism did an initiative where you can order takeout but then enjoy it at some of our local parks. But now a lot of folks have been using our capital investment grants and some of our incentives to create more outdoor dining space. For me, we just spent some time at Hot Chikn Kitchn with my family last week for their opening and we dined inside safely.

PLN (Bonus question)

What’s so great about Hot Chikn Kitchn?

Grove

Honestly, the best part is just the people. You kind of walk in and it is a very warm atmosphere, and you walk in and someone’s yelling at you, “hey, welcome to your kitchen.” So it’s that cool part, that you’re here. So it’s it’s definitely a community feel, which is nice in Prince William County