FABRIKAM

BizLaunchPresentation to theEconomic Development Commission

T a r a P a l a c i o s

F e b r u a r y 1 2 , 2 0 1 9

FABRIKAM

We Love What we Do!

FABRIKAM

Counseling, Workshops, Training & Research

FABRIKAMHelping Turn Dreams Into Reality

History of BizLauncho Launched February 2002o Small Business Hub – Small

Business Info Center (SBIC)o Partners: Libraries, GMU,

US SBA & EDCo Current staffing: 1 FTE, 1

PTE & Management Interno 4 SCORE Business

CounselorsBUDGET = $30,000

BizLaunch Goals

6

Provide value to business owners by aiding in building capacity;

80% of entrepreneurs fail in the US within first five years of operation – build foundation so don’t fail;

Healthy businesses = healthy community (taxes) = healthy economy;

Value to Small Businesses = Accurate information and business intelligence.

BizLaunch:Foundation Pi l lars

7

Research Education Counseling

BizLaunch Components• Educational Seminars (FREE)• Business Counseling (FREE)

• Access to Business Intelligence (FREE)

• Market Research Data (FREE)• Training on specific topics of

interest to entrepreneurs

• Interactive Web site• Networking• BizLaunch en Español

The BizTeam: Cross-Departmental Team

• C r o s s - d e p a r t m e n t a l A r l i n g t o n C o u n t y t e a m w h i c h w o r k s c l o s e l y w i t h e n t r e p r e n e u r s w h o h a v e s p a c e n e e d s ( C o m m e r c i a l / R e t a i l U s e ) ;

• M e m b e r s : A E D , H e a l t h D e p a r t m e n t , P l a n n i n g , B u i l d i n g I n s p e c t i o n s , Z o n i n g , C o m m i s s i o n e r o f R e v e n u e a n d m o r e ;

• W o r k w i t h e n t r e p r e n e u r s b e f o r e t h e y s u b m i t p l a n s t o e n s u r e p o s i t i v e o u t c o m e .

Educational Seminars

• 100+ seminars each year (106 in FY18);• Topics range from social media, financing (+

crowdfunding), business planning and starting a business;

• Average 40 participants each session;• Examples: Brunch & Business, Fireside Chats, and

more!

Business Counseling

• 6 Counselors whose expertise range in business development

• 4 SCORE counselors• 1 Spanish-language business

specialist• BizLaunch Director• Examples: Business Plan

Review, Lease Review, Marketing Plan Review

Business Intelligence/Market Research

• Complimentary Business

Databases

• Co-licensed with Public Library

• Statistics by industry sector

• Marketing Research (foot

traffic, competitive markets,

target markets etc.)

• & More….

and12

BizLaunch en Español

• Launched in 2004• Regional partners with Latino Economic

Development Center, GWHCC and Virginia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

• From FY2004 – FY2018 BizLaunch en Español conducted 189 workshops, and provided 1,322one-on-one business consultations with a grand outreach total of 15,869 participants.

53,311 !!S i n c e 2 0 0 2 w e ’ v e t o u c h e d e n t r e p r e n e u r s .

FABRIKAM

A Snapshot of BizLaunch Stat ist ics FY18

15

English Spanish Combo (ST) SCORE LEDC Totals

Workshops 52 10 6 38 (2) 106

Workshop Participants

2,567 907 227 English112 Spanish

673 --- 4,483

Counseling 158 144 --- 391 42 735

TOTAL 2,725 1,051 336 1,064 42 5,218

Our Partners

Examples of BizLaunch Clients - 2019

17

Small Business Trends 2019• Volume of requests for assistance increasing• The number of women in business is

increasing• Health & fitness industry on a continued

uptick• Childcare inquiries increasing from last year• Access to capital of interest – especially

venture capital• Art as a business• Government Contracting steady

FABRIKAM

THANK YOUw w w . a r l i n g t o n e c o n o m i c d e v e l o p m e n t . c o m /

b i z l a u n c h

TA R A PA L A C I O S

( 7 0 3 ) 2 2 8 - 0 8 0 8

t p a l a c i o s @ a r l i n g t o n v a . u s