PWC Department of Economic Development COVID-19 Business Update

Prince William County Department of Economic Development is dedicated to serving our business community during the COVID-19 situation. We have adjusted our normal business practices to protect the health and well-being of our employees and the public by operating virtually. As always, we are committed to helping your business and are available by phone or email to work with you to help sustain your operations. We continue to offer free one-on-one business counseling that can help you navigate this new environment. To schedule a virtual appointment with one of our team members, please email CGrove@pwcgov.org or call 703-792-5510.

To better serve businesses during this challenging time, the Virginia Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity is asking small-business owners to participate in a short survey. Governor Ralph Northam seeks to make Virginia eligible for federal disaster relief because of the COVID-19 virus. (Read Supervisor Boddye’s letter of support.) Input and response from small businesses throughout the Commonwealth on the impact to business operations and revenue is critical to meet requirements needed to access to federal disaster-loan funds. Click here to access the survey. They would like to receive responses as soon as possible but will be leaving the survey open through 5:00 p.m., Friday, March 27, 2020 to capture responses.

It was also announced yesterday that unemployment funds are available through the Virginia Employment Commission. The Governor has waived the one week waiting period so that workers can start receiving benefits right away. Affected workers or businesses can contact the Virginia Employment Commission for information on how to apply for help.

From the county side, the Department of Development Services is continuing to offer services so that the business and development community can submit plans and permits may be issued. However, we encourage you to call 703-792-6930 before coming to any county building to check on current service offerings.

The Office of Tourism is also a continued resource for our tourism and hospitality business community. Their office is monitoring the potential impacts and issued a survey to gather relevant data. The results will be shared with their partners. If you have not already completed the survey, please do so here: https://mailchi.mp/pwcgov/coronavirus_survey?e=fc7ad0c052.

Trusted Resources for County Businesses: 

Federal Government:  https://www.usa.gov/ for access to Government Benefits Grants and Loans, Taxes, travel and immigration, jobs and unemployment, Small Businesses plus many other topics of interest

Commonwealth of Virginia: https://www.virginia.gov/ for information on how Governor Northam and the state are responding to the current environment and providing information for businesses

Prince William County: Visit the County’s website for updates to help monitor the quickly changing environment :

Prince William County Department of Economic Development: Business Resources

Services for Existing Businesses, Market Research and Business Development

Small Business and Entrepreneurs

Small Business Development Center

Prince William County Department of Development Services: Visit the department’s website for help with permitting, licenses and other resources and check ePortal for regular updates on current service offerings

Prince William County Office of Tourism

Health Related Information:

CDC: Resources for Businesses and Employers

Virginia Department of Health website or call the public information line at 1-877-ASK-VDH3

Non-profit resources*:

Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce: webinar series “Achieving Business Continuity Amidst Coronavirus”

SCORE Business Advisors: Crisis Communications Planning Checklist from SCORE Mentors

United States Chamber:  U.S. Chamber of Commerce Coronavirus Response Toolkit

Remote Communication Cloud tools*: 

Zoom for video, conferences, and phone: https://zoom.us/ : Basic Service is FREE

Google Hangouts Meet:  Free for 14 days trial 

GoToMeeting: Free for 14 days trial

Though the dynamics of this situation are uncertain at the time, rest assured we standby ready to help Prince William County’s business community. We are here for you. Please don’t hesitate to contact the Department of Economic Development for help.

*Prince William County does not endorse any of these services; we are providing informational resources only.