Economic Development Value for Loudoun and the Board of Supervisors

A currently evolving initiative of the Loudoun Board of Supervisors is to explore additional, or different ways to derive value from the current Economic Development Commission. The EDC is a non-partisan, volunteer group of very experienced Loudoun business owners and leaders, representing most business sectors, who are appointed by the BOS to directly advise them (collaborating with the Department of Economic Development, or DED) on topics regarding Loudoun's business economy.

The EDC is effectively the "unfiltered, expert voice of the entire Loudoun business community" for the BOS to draw upon - when considering or analyzing topics that impact Loudoun's economic development. This voice persists across BOS election cycles, economic conditions and Loudoun's growth and diversity of its business segments. This voice is fully public and transparent, accepting of all relevant input. It's not the only voice, but others such as the Loudoun Chamber, the SBDC/MEC, and the LCVA are more focused on the needs of the membership or participants (by design), or are otherwise self-limiting in terms of constituents.

The EDC is not only the active "voice", but the "persistent steward" of Loudoun's collective business community interests, strategy and brand. (Point of note - the Loudoun business community had zero online, Internet social media, brand or collective economic development/marketing value or stewardship up until 3-4 years ago, when the EDC's Marketing and Business Retention Committee (MBRC) began providing the BOS and DED with the knowledge, strategic input and tactical direction required to make this happen.)

At the heart of the conversation is the concept of "value" - of the EDC, for the BOS. So far, the EDC's "value" has in fact not been adequately expressed or shared with the BOS or the general public, nor has the BOS clearly expressed their requests or concerns in terms of "value". How should and can the EDC's value be expressed?

There is, of course, all manner of unquantifiable but professionally-acknowledged value derived from the EDC, directly and indirectly by the BOS. Business leaders (new and established; young and old; small and large; profit, non-profit or academic) actually have a balanced forum to find ways to add value, and be recognized for it (thereby encouraging more). Professional, relevant, sage advice and perspectives that the elected BOS does not have (neither individually nor collectively), and in many cases doesn't exist within the County Government, is readily available - and offered proactively. Real-time awareness, intelligence and feedback concerning the broader context of Loudoun's economic development opportunities is provided - including regional, national and international perspectives and experience.

This world-class advice is freely given and professionally packaged, with no expectations of personal gain or influence. It's quite unlike most of the rest of Washington, where the pervasive lobbying, business development and special interest organizations feed at the trough. The Loudoun BOS and their constituents are privileged to have such an asset, if only considering the "qualitative" value it generates. Without the EDC, Loudoun's political leadership would be far busier attracting and engaging with those peddling special interest influence - and therefore far less productive or capable, particularly from a strategic perspective.

EDC value can, in fact, be quantitatively categorized and measured as well - though this hasn't yet been attempted. Simply categorizing the types of value delivered, however, completely overcomes any of the simplistic, absurdly-shortsighted assessments of "excessive costs" the BOS has put forward to challenge the EDC's value - for example that County Staff spend about 46 hours a month directly supporting the EDC. At, for example, $60/hr., this is less than $3,000 cost.

The EDC value delivered comes in two basic flavors - "benefits" and "cost savings". The list of EDC benefits is long, including increased exposure, reputation, "in-kind" services, and actual new business for Loudoun. We'll not focus on these here, but on cost savings (a broad type of value that's been generally ignored to date) - which are harder to measure in a tangible way, but of no less value. Here are some example categories, examples and rough orders of magnitude of "value" that can become more quantifiable (given access to data and analytical resources):

Direct Cost Savings - EDC committee members, in particular, provide free information, analysis and guidance to county staff and BOS members, that they would otherwise have to pay for. Value can be measured in terms of hours multiplied by market value (per role), or simply market value (or "in-kind" value) of the information product.

Indirect Cost Savings - By independently researching, analyzing and packaging information for use by the BOS and DED, the EDC saves the County costs it would otherwise have to train its staff, hours spent gaining the requisite experience and access to resources, and hours spent developing productive industry relationships.

Shared Savings - Some output and relationship-based assets of the EDC are equally applicable to other segments of County Governance and BOS responsibilities - for example, transportation-related information developed to inform business development strategies is critical input as well to the Board of Education and to the County's Public Safety and Homeland Security mission.

Direct Cost Avoidance - Through its proactive, expert, collaborative assessments, analysis, expertise identification and published output (either in writing or recorded meeting minutes), the EDC enables the BOS to ask less of county staff in a reactive mode, therefore incurring overtime additional expenses - when a new or unplanned issue arises. Call it the avoidance of "startup" costs to address new issues. It's also the avoidance of known or unplanned costs due to mistakes, errors or other mis-steps - in other, "public sector" words, this is "government risk mitigation".

Indirect or Collateral Cost Avoidance - Through the diverse activities and representation of the EDC members in economic development-related areas, potential BOS work and expense can be avoided essentially by the "proxy" labor of the EDC members. For example, delivery to the DED of interactive marketing strategies can help avoid future expense to deal with PR or communications issues the BOS finds itself addressing. Participation of EDC members in economic development-driven analysis regarding STEM-related education and workforce development, helps the BOS avoid additional costs it would otherwise expend along with the Board of Education in responding to STEM requirements. Feedback and analysis published by the EDC (or available from its members) may be critical input to address future challenges or changes to things like the Strategic Plan, the County IT Strategy (which is another whole discussion), etc. - for example possible future impact assessments of the rapid growth of Data Center facilities, that while helpful and attractive from a taxes (high) and services utilization (low) perspective, may not necessarily offer what's necessary to accommodate future local resident and business community demands.

It's important to note that "lost opportunities" (i.e. loss of access and influence in attracting and retaining new commercial revenue sources), result in direct or collateral future costs (in re-starting, or duplicating the effort) that can and should be avoided.

Very back-of-the-napkin calculations using simple hours spent by EDC members - resulting in these Value Categories, yield orders of magnitude value BOTH in terms of benefits (i.e. new commercial tax revenue), and cost savings/avoidance.

Value that can be estimated and measured in tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not millions (in recursive or compound value, over time). Value that comes from no other source, is utterly indispensable, and in fact demanded by the BOS electorate - whether as a direct or indirect beneficiary of the proven economic development results.

Dulles South Alliance - Loudoun County Schools, Transportation 2013 Update

Dulles South Alliance - Loudoun Growth, Transportation, Education
Today's Dulles South Alliance meeting was overstuffed with information concerning the Loudoun County Dulles South area and vicinities, focused on education and transporation topics for 2013. The central theme revolved around very significant, ongoing growth in population and the local jobs base, with enormous resultant and guaranteed pressures on Loudoun budgets for schools and road projects.

After welcoming remarks by Scott Plein (DSA President), Dr. Julie Leidig (NVCC Provost) opened the session with an overview of NOVA (Northern Virginia Community College), including news on planning for further expansion into Loudoun County. NOVA is the largest source of college education in the DC area, with over 78,000 enrollments annually, representing students from over 150 nationalities. In helping to close the gap between regional workforce and education needs, particularly in the healthcare support and IT industries, a second Loudoun campus is being strategized for the Brambleton area.

In other news, the "SySTEMic Solutions" program may offer a summer robotics camp in Loudoun this year, as well as at its Prince William campuses. Through SySTEMic Solutions, NOVA has created a collaborative arrangement among school divisions, higher education institutions, and employers to develop a sustainable workforce that by the year 2015 will have more than 3,000 students preparing for STEM careers.

Loudoun Supervisor Janet Clarke (Blue Ridge District) provided an overview of growth and density issues for that District, which extends East to the Dulles Airport through including Brambleton and Kirkpatrick Farms areas of the general Dulles region. The primary message was that of continued growth and pressure on County budgets, particularly for transportation and schools. The Dulles Landing project (Arcola and Rt. 50), coming online by the end of this year, is an example of critical retail outlets needed by the Dulles area population, along the Hal and Berni Hanson Regional Park (in planning stages only, with initial funding expected in the upcoming 2014 budget). This 254 acre park straddling Evergreen Mills Rd in the Arcola area would include disabled-access playgrounds, many soccer and baseball fields, and other significant parkland amenities. Additionally, the agreement between Loudoun and Fairfax City, owner of the Beaver Creek Reservoir in Loudoun, has now expired (evidently to the detriment of a nascent high school Crew club), and discussions are ahead to revitalize.

Jeff Morse, Dulles District School Board Member, provided an update on all local school building and capital improvement planning, including new schools coming online to relieve current overcrowding at Pinebrook and Liberty Elementary Schools, and projected overcrowding at the corresponding Middle and High Schools. Much dialogue remains by the School Board, to close the $50M+ gap between the School Supervisor's (Dr. Hatrick) recommended 2014 budget and guidance provided by the Board of Supervisors. Some relief may come in rebalancing and allocations associated with post-employment benefits and healthcare costs. New turf fields for many schools have specific cost-benefit gains, particularly if efforts to provide public/private funding succeed (with local Sports Booster organizations). The sole Charter School application received last year was rejected for weaknesses in academic, financial and governance models - though, according to Jeff, was a very good idea at its core and worthwhile to continue pursuing.

Other opportunities to enrich the quality and content of Loudoun academics include dual enrollment in high schools with NOVA, plus a strategy for a new Loudoun magnet school on a Sycolin Rd property, focused possibly on the Arts and additional STEM offerings as currently available at the Monroe Technology Center (a Virginia Governor's Career and Technology Academy). The School Board is also supporting about 60 local business-to-school relationships, where businesses support a school through donations in employee service, supplies or program assistance - including support for Lego League teams, plus academic contests and programs like that offered by the Oracle ThinkQuest Education Foundation and other companies. Note also that the Loudoun Department of Economic Development (DED) will shortly introduce a new "Intern Match" service, to attract Interns from Loudoun, the DC region and the rest of the country to positions with Loudoun-based businesses.

Bob Chase (President of the Northern Virginia Transportation Alliance) provided some stark reminders and strong advocacy (as the Virginia General Assembly begins its session tomorrow) for additional, regional and local investment in road infrastructure - absolutely critical to support the needs of our region and county, and imperative given the projected loss of state roads construction funds after 2018. "Investment" will likely include new local taxes, tolls and considerable participation and collaboration on the part of local political organizations and landowners to avoid significant gridlock and loss of business in the very near future.

Charles Yudd (Assistant County Administrator) provided further updates on local transportation progress, including progress on the Rt. 606 widening around the Airport and over the Horsepen Run Dam, Rt. 50 and the parallel, east-west collector roads. Scott Plein closed the meeting with an introduction to the next meeting in March, discussing the pending explosion in healthcare-related business and infrastructure requirements soon to come, driven mainly by the HCA Hospital and Emergency Center (HCA Virginia's StoneSpring Medical Campus) being now built on Rt. 50.

Loudoun and Northern Virginia Unique Businesses - Fall 2012

Check out this 2012 roundup of really interesting businesses in the Loudoun County and Northern Virginia supported at KME Internet Marketing and Fulcrum Marketing Group - businesses you've probably never heard about, with very unique, helpful products and services.

Take a look, visit, or give them a call, including:

Ashburn sign language interpretation services and training at HIS Sign.

Paxton Manor's Shoktober features Leesburg VA's only true haunted hause, at the historic Paxton Campus .

South Riding's own Heidi Carlstadt at Forks, Corks and Kegs Loudoun County meetings, tours and events concierge.

Karen McPadden at Kinections Physical Therapy in Arlington.

Suna Lee Photography in McLean.

Greenworks Landscape Design and Garden Center in Loudoun

Ready Depot national providers of emergency preparedness supplies online.

Hunt Country Propane, delivering fast, affordable Loudoun propane supplies to individuals and businesses throughout our Hunt Country region (Loudoun, Fauquier, Clarke & Western Prince William Counties, plus Middleburg, Purcellville, Leesburg, etc.)

The next roundups will cover a full array of Northern Virginia home improvement and design companies in the area (including Dulles South/South Riding/Chantilly), as well as a selection of corporate B2B business services, that you may not have heard of.

Loudoun County EDC Transitions New Leadership & New Members for 2012

This week's first meeting of 2012 for the Loudoun County Economic Development Commission featured installation of new members and transition to new leadership - from John Wood (CEO of Telos Corporation) to Shaun Kelley (Senior VP, PNC Financial Services Group).

New "Group B" Commissioners (3 year term) included Christopher Charron (CEO/Owner, Charron Construction Consulting, Inc.), Benjamin Leigh, Esq. (Partner, Atwell, Troxell & Leigh PC) and Keith Segerson (Associate VP for Economic Development & Executive Director, The Mason Enterprise Center (MEC)) .

New "Group C" Advisory Commissioners (1 year term) included Sharon Virts-Mozer (Owner and President, FCi Federal), Todd Pearson (VP of Acquisitions & Development, B.F. Saul Company), Sharon Steele, Esq. (General Counsel, Mid-Atlantic Security & Training LLC) and Ted McLaughlan (Homeland Security IT Consultant; Co-Owner and CTO, KME Internet Marketing).

One new member was appointed this week to the Rural Economic Development Commission (REDC) - Jean Brown (Bed & Breakfast Industry), Owner of The Oakland Green B&B, and member of the Historic District Review Committee among other local organizations.

Several New Year themes emerged from the meeting agenda and discussion, solidly in support of the "Loudoun is Open for Business" tagline. Scott York (Loudoun BOS Chairman, among several Loudoun Supervisors present) reiterated the focus of the new board on Loudoun's economic development priorities, among which included significant attention to Dulles Airport access from the Rt. 50/28 corridor in the Dulles South region, as well as a southern airport access route. Ken Reid (Leesburg District Supervisor) reiterated the "Live, Work, Play" tagline reflecting support for establishment of a County Arts & Cultural District to compliment and support the Leesburg Arts & Cultural District. The reported objectives and status from individual committees reflected continuing support for small business assistance, Dulles Metro to Loudoun, and continued growth of the Data Center industry segment.

A particularly interesting topic was raised - that of exploring ways in which the community of business leaders participating in the EDC could develop, support and possibly assist in developing finance strategies for Loudoun-wide economic development objectives - via a non-governmental organization construct different from that of the current EDC. One potential tool that could therefore be more appropriately, widely and successfully leveraged would be digital social media and other online assets of local businesses - this concept having been surfaced in early 2010 here in this blog.

We'll note that significant additional opportunity for online, transparent dialogue and information or idea-sharing about these topics, can be very effectively conducted via the public Loudoun Business social media group on LinkedIn (among others). This type of online dialogue works better, in our opinion, than trying to engage in discussion via blog comments. Join us there!

The next EDC meeting is the first Friday of February - all meetings are open to the public, as are sub-committee meetings...this year would be an especially good year for businesses and Loudoun residents interested in supporting the renewing economic development and growth of the County to attend and support EDC events and activities.

The Loudoun Is for Business Badge

At last week's Loudoun Economic Development Commission meeting, MBRC committee members Bob Steere and Ed Zigo updated the group on progress of the new "Loudoun Is for Business" badge, for anyone to use on their websites to help promote Loudoun County as a great place to have a business or conduct business. Drive "heads in beds", as Mr. Krause likes to say. The badge is currently in a "Beta" or "soft-launch" status, as the technical details are tested and completed.




This very unique web-enabled shared marketing asset the County's Department of Economic Development will host enables those with business interests in the County to both help themselves, and help the entire business community, drive interest and ultimately more business to the county. Here at KME Internet Marketing in Loudoun, we first introduced this concept nearly 2 years ago through posts on our Gateway to Loudoun Blog "Loudoun Business Challenge" posts and our "Made in Loudoun" campaign – and it's fantastic to see the idea come to fruition through a lot of hard work and commitment on the part of the Loudoun business community and government support!

The badge itself is carefully designed to achieve a number of objectives. It will be a fairly unobtrusive and easy-to-integrate text-only design and color, suitable to use for most websites. Including the badge (several sizes will be available) on your site, blog, community page, social media profile or email newsletter benefits both your business and the County, if implemented specifically using the included links and tags. While the actual badge code and program details are still being finalized, the ultimate HTML code elements will be carefully constructed to make sure that both views and clicks on the badge are appropriately tracked, and so that search engines can find you and this badge when folks are searching for terms like "Loudoun businesses". The badge code will also ultimately meet ADA Section 508 accessibility guidelines.

See our best-practices driven example HTML code for implementing the badge here in this blog, and on our Loudoun Marketing home page.

The badge itself links to the primary "Doing Business in Loudoun County" page, and a special Loudoun DED "Join the Online Business Community" page further describes the program. This page is being optimized further to help promote the program, its benefits and further distribution of the badge. As the program develops and experience with the badge grows, there will be many more opportunities to highlight examples of the badge in action, actual badge usage and ROI statistics, as well as more advanced versions and use cases to come.

If you have a website, or manage a website page or distributed web content of any kind (like email), and would like to help promote Loudoun's visibility to your customers and the worldwide business community – prepare to try the badge on for size! (And be sure to provide feedback to the Loudoun DED/EDC).

Loudoun Business Marketplace Underway - Now, Mon Oct 4 11-5PM, Dulles Holiday Inn

The Loudoun Chamber of Commerce Business Marketplace is underway right now, Monday, Oct. 4, at the Dulles Holiday Inn in Sterling (off Rt. 28) - great businesses, door prizes, entertainment and more! Stop by as soon as you can...


Scott York, Loudoun Board of Supervisors Chairman, opens the event!

Loudoun Business Marketplace - Chamber Event Mon Oct 4 10-5PM Dulles Holiday Inn

Make plans today to attend Monday's Loudoun Chamber of Commerce Business Marketplace, Northern Virginia's premier marketing showcase for businesses of every size, industry and customer type - at the Holiday Inn Dulles, Monday, Oct. 4 10AM - 5PM.. This includes Northern Virginia Businesses from the entire Metro Washington DC Region, with particular focus on the Dulles Corridor, Fairfax and Loudoun counties.

With tons of fun activities - The Taste of Loudoun, the Technology Gadget Center, an Oktoberfest-themed networking reception, hourly door prizes and more - the MARKETPLACE will offer the start to finish excitement for business owners, business investors, local consumers and organizations seeking new products, services, networking opportunities, vendor and partner relationships and more.

Door Prize schedule:

• Noon An Amazon Kindle, courtesy of GWU Virginia Science & Technology Campus
  
• 12:30 p.m. Two tickets to attend a Washington Wizards game, courtesy of PNC Bank
  
• 1:30 p.m. $1000 Gift Basket, includes a private wine tasting for 10, courtesy of Talk Loudoun
  
• 2:30 p.m. A 24-piece Fortissimo glassware set, valued at $450, courtesy of Fortessa
  
• 3:30 p.m. A $100 travel package, courtesy of AAA Mid-Atlantic, Inc.
  
• 4:30 p.m. Deluxe Overnight Stay, Dinner for (2), Breakfast for (2) a $355 value, courtesy of Holiday Inn Dulles
  

Platinum Sponsors: Fortessa, Inc. | Loudoun Times-Mirror (ask about their new online advertising specials!)
Host Sponsor: Holiday Inn Dulles
Gold Sponsors: George Mason University | George Washington University | PNC Bank | The Business Bank | Virginians for Reliable Energy
Badge Sponsor: Inova Loudoun Hospital
Floral Sponsor: Country Way
Media Sponsors: KME Internet Marketing and Talk Loudoun


Event Location:
Holiday Inn Washington Dulles
45425 Holiday Drive
Dulles, VA 20166

Phone:
703-471-7411

Getting Social with Loudoun.gov

Today’s Loudoun Economic Development Commission, Membership and Business Retention Committee (MBRC) meeting officially earned Loudoun, its residents and businesses their “Gov 2.0 street cred” on the Internet. An official Department of Economic Development (DED) strategy, roles and supporting cast are in place, the SEO and website analytics are turned on, the chicklets are published, a “badge” is under development, and the Loudoun online SoMe scene is now fully engaged by its local government. What’s it mean, even down here in SoLoCo?

Some of the beginning goals, per the DED, are to “increase our engagement and influence with our target audiences (initially Loudoun’s existing business community) – to build credibility…to create more advocates for our efforts…tracking the sentiment of our interactions…as we intelligently execute..our organic foray into social media..beyond our traditional communications channels…” Some of the channels that are already reaping rewards include Loudoun’s LinkedIn and Facebook groups, Twitter accounts and YouTube channel – serving up content ranging from DC’s Wine Country productions to Public Information Office announcements and Loudoun Farms discussion. From this catalyst of Internet activity should emerge a much more integrated, collaborative, helpful and ultimately rewarding community network of online Loudoun business stakeholders, driving the ideas, conversations and eventually investment into Loudoun’s shared economic recovery engine.

It’s interesting that “Phase 1” of the LCDED SoMe initiative was launched this April, at about the same time that an equally appealing approach to regional, yet hyperlocal journalism put up its first blog entry, over at TBD.com. This collaborative online news effort under the Albritton flag is harnessing the community reach and brainpower of nearly 100 blogs and a team of SoMe-savvy journalists and community managers who are, as they say, “determined to report news that’s important to our community; determined to develop a prosperous business model; determined to engage the community in our stories..”

So, there’s quite the perfect storm developing for local businesses, organizations and residents, for successfully leveraging their energy, assets or simply tax dollars into real-time ROI that matters. How might it work? Let’s say you’re a growing Dulles South area business, like the mainstay family restaurant in South Riding, the local Insurance Representative or Spas and Game Tables merchant in Chantilly, or a favorite Roofing Contractor, HVAC services provider in Sterling or Ashburn handyman. You want not only to promote your business online, but find new customers and get more involved in the local community – benefiting both your business and the residents nearby. Contribute something interesting, useful into the SoMe community, and it’ll spread quickly, with both intended and unintended benefit. Tell a story – for example, your last expert job or special event was particularly satisfying and well-received, with testimonials, and “it just so happens that this success will soon be parlayed into expansion plans in terms of community support, new employees or enhanced products and services”…it’s called “contextual advertising”.

The important part is to self-publish into these developing and synergistic “nodes” of the government-business-media network, through comments, wall postings, tweets, whatever – your YouTube posting link and Visit Loudoun Facebook comment may get retweeted by @loudoun, discussed by members of the Loudoun EDC LinkedIn group and noticed by a future supplier, employee or alert hyperlocal journalist. The result? More credible word-of-mouth referrals, actual business and overall positive sentiment about a Loudoun-centric, socially-active business and its clientele. Maybe the Donald could live-tweet a golf round at his newly-designed Loudoun golf course.

Loudoun Chamber + EDC + CEOs + BOS + BOE = Evidence of an Enlightened Business Community

A unique Loudoun County business leadership meeting took place on Tuesday (at the brand new , Doubletree Hotel Dulles Airport-Sterling) among key leaders and representatives of the Loudoun CEO Cabinet, the Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce (LCCC) and the Loudoun Economic Development Commission (EDC). This was billed as an exchange of ideas, goals and strategies for 2010, and introduced the realignment of the Loudoun CEO Cabinet officially now under the LCCC. Notable government reps included Supervisors York, Water, McGimsey; Board of Education reps Hatrick and Stevens; VA State Delegates Greason, May and Herring.
Here’s some of the newsbytes that resonated across the group and panel.

Some pics over at Loudoun Times - BizLoudoun, June 22..

Ralph Buona, SVP for Business Development of Telos Corporation delivered the LCCC message, including:

The Chamber is large, healthy and growing, with a recent survey indicating that 96% of members thought the Chamber was very relevant to their business – though room for improvement included a retention rate of 77% and 81% satisfaction with marketing efforts. The recently approved merger of the Greater Manassas/Prince William County Chambers will displace Loudoun as the DC region’s largest Chamber. 2010 initiatives underway include a “Political Process Committee” to help groom business leaders for political office, improved LCCC brand development and a number of new non-profit support initiatives.

Scott Hamberger, CEO of Sterling-based Fortessa Inc. (a Tableware Company), followed with the Loudoun CEO Cabinet overview:

“We’re experiencing an awakening of the Loudoun business community, like lights going on in a previously dark house. Loudoun is at an inflection point…and we can either learn from other areas with similar growth patterns (like Charlotte/Mecklenburg and Austin) or continue as a DC bedroom community”. The affiliation of the CEO Cabinet under the LCCC helps consolidate activity, focus and align outreach and information-sharing between the business community and the Loudoun County government (i.e. ostensibly taking the “shadow government” issue off the table). The CEO Cabinet helps drive professional education and outreach, foster an informal “neural network” of professional information sharing, raise funds for actions taken on behalf of the overall business community and alignment with neighboring jurisdictions, but has no desire in advancing purely parochial interests.

John Wood, Chairman and CEO of Telos followed with the EDC comments:

“We’re at a stage of enlightened self-interest in terms of the business community, with much more focus on children and education, employee needs, congestion issues (both physical and virtual, online), and infrastructure needs. He laid out the simple math of “unpacking the commercial tax base”, comparing the fact that every dollar of commercial tax revenue generates 93 cents profit to the County, while for every dollar of residential real estate property tax raised, the County actually spends $2 to support. So with the forecast growth in residential properties and school cots, we’re looking at over $400 million in near term incremental expenses that aren’t covered by projected tax revenues…this is a clear indicator of the need for the County to drive commercial location/relocation here to Loudoun. He also included some remarks regarding how the EDC, supporting the Department of Economic Development (DED), is a reasonably effective voice to the BoS – though he supports the concept of more “at large” Supervisors, since the concept of “District Supervisors” is an inherent conflict of interest.

Discussion followed - by far the best exchange was with Lori Waters asking the panel how the BoS was actually doing, in supporting the shared strategies of the Economic Development Commission, CEO Cabinet and LCCC - the fundamental answer revolved around "too many 5 to 4 BOS votes", as John Wood put it, and other evidence of an extremely unpredictable and partisan BOS with respect to the issues that current and future County business investors care about.

An historic meeting, for sure, but hopefully the first of many more, and with many more businesses represented...

Loudoun Rt. 28 Corridor Stakeholders Workshops - Land Use Policies

(From Kurt Krause, LinkedIn "Loudoun" Group)

This is a great opportunity to express our need for a Class A gateway into our county.

Anyone interested in the future of the Route 28 Corridor in Loudoun County VA is invited to attend one of two upcoming Route 28 Stakeholders Workshops. The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors is evaluating land use policies within the Route 28 Corridor and would like to hear from members of the public. The workshops will be held Friday, March 19, 2010, 8:30-11:00 a.m. or Saturday, March 20, 2010, 9:00-11:30 a.m. at Claude Moore Park Recreation Center, 46105 Loudoun Park Lane in Sterling.

RSVPs are appreciated. Please contact the Loudoun County Department of Planning, 703-777-0246 or e-mail: dop at loudoun.gov.

Please note that these meetings are identical in format and have been offered at different times to accommodate as many people as possible. Additional information, including the agenda will be available online at www.loudoun.gov/route28 the week of March 15.

Future workshops are planned for April 26 and May 24. Details will be announced later.

Loudoun County Marketing and Business Retention - Awash in Unrealized Opportunity

This week's Loudoun County Marketing and Business Retention Committee meeting (the MBRC is a part of the Loudoun County Department of Economic Development, or DED) was quite interesting, with many discussions revolving around the status of Loudoun's marketing efforts to attract "heads in beds" as well as new business investors.

What was missing, from our perspective as a Loudoun-based professional Internet Marketing firm, was a concrete marketing plan and progress report with measurable performance indicators and objectives, that most businesses typically use to gauge the effectiveness of their integrated online and offline marketing and communications efforts. While the Loudoun County Visitor's Association (LCVA, a non-profit association mostly funded by the DED, as "primary programmatic element of Loudoun's travel and tourism promotion") is doing a fantastic job of creating online web-based marketing material and beginning to leverage social media/Web 2.0 tools (follow @visitloudoun), there's quite literally no similar effort or investment (in our opinion) for doing the same online to promote Loudoun's non-tourism related business community.

Here's the interesting tidbits we learned:

- The MBRC has recommended that the DED fully fund the LCVA for the upcoming fiscal cycle - this is a good thing, and frankly funding should be increased - though making sure that the LCVA capabilities and programs are executed in a way that they can be integrated and reused for other DED programs, the Small Business Development Center (SBDC), and the Chamber of Commerce.

- The Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce 2010 Public Policy Positions paper, regarding Economic Development, was discussed and generally received approving remarks - though we'd suggest the word "Internet" or "Online" be used once or twice. The paper does recommend twice that "measurable performance goals and metrics" should be developed and implemented, and that Loudoun leverage in its marketing the "County's strongest economic assets, including industry sectors where Loudoun possesses a clear competitive advantage". Absolutely correct.

- "Rural Tourism" initiatives should be moved to the LCVA program - this is also a good idea, as LCVA is in name a "whole county initiative".

- Loudoun's got over 4 and 1/2 years worth of vacant buildings, and it evidently costs more to provide residents with Government services than businesses - this "upside down" and otherwise bleak indicator of the economy is actually an marketing opportunity waiting to be leveraged, i.e. Loudoun's competitiveness in the DC region in terms of low-cost, accessible and environmentally-attractive places to work and recruit employees.

- One of the MBRC/DED's biggest priorities is to do a better job recruiting new businesses to the county, overcoming the persistent perception that Loudoun's incredibly difficult to do business with...what was particularly interesting about this discussion, was that despite this perception, there really are very good examples of business investment success, and very real methods and routes to successfully purchasing and operating properties in the County - these examples and information, however, are simply not marketed.

- The initial foray by LCVA into online marketing and social media is well-received and is evidently generating positive economic impact, but can be much more aggressive and infused with professional Internet Marketing and Social Media ROI tracking methodology...for example, there were "0" new subscribers to the Industry eNewsletter in September; sales numbers were significantly down this quarter because (in part) of the absence of a sales person (an online sales campaign can be much more self-propagating); there appeared to be no online paid advertising at all; overall "IT Marketing Economic Impact" was down nearly 10% since last year; and there was "no data" by which to judge economic impact of the social media activity.

- There was discussion regarding the many events recently held or being planned, including a "Teacher's Internship Project", a "Vendor Opportunity Fair", the "Breakfast of Leaders", etc...but these events simply aren't marketing or published effectively using available online tools and outlets (just try to find them using Google; one meeting attendee remarked that the Local and Regional Media outlets simply don't provide as much coverage of Loudoun/DED-related news as they should).

- There was much other discussion about "print-based" marketing and signage associated with existing or planned rest stops (to be re-opened, according to our new Governor!), visitor's centers and other community centers - all good things, but with low ROI compared to online methods.

In all, we'd classify the road ahead for the DED and MBRC as "awash with overwhelming and real opportunities for professionally-managed success, use of Internet New Media, and immediate tactical collaboration with the local business and technology community".

Loudoun Business Challenge - Help Stimulate Loudoun's Economy in 2009

Loudoun Businesses – a Challenge to Stimulate Loudoun's Economy in 2009

Here's a sure-fire way that We All, as Loudoun Business Owners, can provide a collective economic stimulus package of our own to Loudoun County – basically for free.

We're challenging all Loudoun Businesses (heck, lets add Western Fairfax and Western Prince William in there too!) to collectively and coordinately promote Loudoun County online, as a great place to visit and/or invest, with your website or blog!

But how, you ask, in a way that truly makes a difference?

Answer: by leveraging professional Internet Marketing and Social Media techniques, in a coordinated fashion.

Following is a summary explanation of why it's necessary, and what you can/should do. Note that this cursory analysis is only a very small part of what should be a holistic Internet Marketing strategy, coordinated across the County government and with its businesses and business partners.

What exactly are people, businesses, organizations or investors searching for in Google (or any search engine online), that Loudoun County is most interested in promoting? You'd think things like great schools, reasonable housing value, business opportunities, educated employees. That's certainly true, but in the online marketing world, these somewhat tacit themes or ideas need to be distilled into more explicit keywords and phrases. What, specifically, should Loudoun County be marketing online in terms of keywords, in order to attract attention and dollars in the form of business and consumer investment?

There isn't an easy, clear answer – but some clues can be found on the Loudoun Department of Economic Development (DED) website. In terms of online marketing maturity (as constructive criticism), however, this site requires some quick attention (for example the "title" of the site's home page is just "home", vs. something like "Loudoun County business investment|economic incentives|business opportunities – Northern Virginia's economic engine!"). The site's "keywords" expressed as "metatags" in the website's computer code include the following words and phrases (along with our brief assessment):

• Loudoun location (ok, not too bad, one must first be interested in Loudoun to search for this)
  
• relocation to Loudoun (ok, the DED's services include help here)
  
• relocate business to Loudoun (again, one must first be interested in Loudoun)
  
• Loudoun County Economic Development (well, you're here already!)
  
• Sheila Johnson (Loudoun's greatest asset?)
  
• Larry Rosenstrauch (DED Director)
  
• John Wood, Lew Parker, Gerry Rubin, Joe Travez, Mary Porter, Jim Bennett (fine representatives of Loudoun business success, but people might probably first search LinkedIn or Facebook for better information…)
  
• DotNetNuke (bleah - some leftover advertising for the website's underlying software – free advertising taxpayers pay for)
  
• DNN (same)
  

We'll also point out the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority is eating our lunch in their ability to attract business investment via the Internet – while the reasons are many, and the PR resources available are more numerous and much different, there are certainly very visible differences from an online marketing perspective that could be fixed, quickly and inexpensively. Search for each, for example, in Google – the results are strikingly different, for the first items that come up:

Search for: "Fairfax County Economic Development":











Now search for: "Loudoun County Economic Development":






Here's a Tag Cloud visualization of all the keyword phrases (basically how many of these keywords there are) on the primary DED pages devoted to "Considering a Loudoun Location"? (Not too exciting, is it…)

applicants assist benefit board business competitive completing contact county ded dedicated department development economic educates following form help income industrial land listings ll location loudoun manager mp national offers office owners process project provide re request resources retail review site special supervisors targeted tax team technology timelines virginia work year

Look at this cloud from Clear Creek County, Colorado's Ski Vacation Destination (a favorite virtual destination of ours!)...much more attractive (but they've got bigger mountains, after all).

activities area bike business camping center clear colorado com county creek dining directions discover drive empire experience facts georgetown highway hiking historic history idaho located lodging maps miles mine mountain outdoor photo photography plume recreational ride rocky scenic shopping silver sites ski snowmobile sports springs tour trails vacation visitor weather

The Loudoun Convention and Visitor's Association seems to have a better handle on the sorts of things that attract investment and investors to Loudoun (wine and horses!) with their keywords (notwithstanding the fact that keywords used in metatags, these days, don't get much play in the search engines anymore) – they include things like:

• air & space museum
  
• bed & breakfast
  
• wineries
  
• airport
  
• equestrian events
  
• fine dining
  
• shopping
  
• steeplechase...etc.
  

The problem is that people aren't typically searching for these things without qualifiers like "Loudoun", "Northern Virginia", "Metro DC", "Virginia" or even "Mid-Atlantic". (Or "Fairfax" – note it's common practice in online marketing to do things like lure people to click on a link for "Fairfax fine dining", and see a page of nice (eastern) Loudoun restaurants included.) The Loudoun Visitor's association IS getting a bit more active in the circles of social media, with their Twitter (here's ours), Youtube and Blogging presence – but it still lacks the real focus on incentives people are searching for, and cross-fertilization of assets (is Loudoun only about wine? We prefer Loudoun beer).

Over at the Loudoun Chamber of Commerce, the online Loudoun-centric promotion with good keywords simply isn't available – the website title is " http://www.loudounchamber.org/cwt/external/index.aspx ", and the keywords (i.e. "about, resources, newsroom", etc.) are without Loudoun or Virginia context. A "keyword-density analysis" of the "2009 Public Policy" paper (which appears to be the best place to find all the reasons why Loudoun should be promoted to be a good place to do business) - reveals the frequency of useful, marketing-centric 2-word phrases (like "Virginia community, public safety, or workforce development") to be less than .1% of the document (the best targets for online marketing and exposure in search engines are greater than 2%).

So, while there's some attention being paid around the Loudoun PR community to attracting online traffic, and hopefully subsequent offline traffic and money, are these efforts working? Well, not so much online...while we can't peer into the actual website traffic reports of the county, we can certainly pretend to be Bavarian business owners flush with cash looking for a place to build a new business near Washington, or, a group of retired Microsoft employees looking for great entertainment near Dulles Airport. In Google, we might search for things like (and we describe the results, in terms of whether Loudoun or Loudoun's businesses are represented):

• "Loudoun shopping" (is there really good shopping outside of Fairfax?)
  - Page 1 search results: not too bad, but just directories (including ours) and media – where are the businesses?
  
• "Northern Virginia business climate" (any news or info on what areas are "friendliest"?)
  - The state of Virginia's well represented, and Fairfax checks in with a good result – but no Loudoun
  
• "DC Metro commercial investment properties" (where can we build?)
  - This brings up all the realtors (by far the best marketers of the county)...but didn't see the word Loudoun, however, in the first 5 pages of results
  
• "Northern Virginia Building and Construction" (who's going to build it?)
  - Again, no real Loudoun-centric information in the first few pages
  
• "Business-friendly neighborhoods near Dulles Airport" (not Brambleton, evidently, if you're building a hospital)
  - Well, Herndon was evidently in the "top 100 places to raise your family" in 2006, Supervisor McGimsey says the County is shaped like a fat "Letter L", and "Dulles is the worst run airport in the United States", according to Bacon’s Rebellion Blog. This topic really deserves a nice article in WAPO.
  
• "Loudoun businesses" (who'll be my business partners, suppliers, neighbors?)
  - Only 2 Loudoun businesses come up on the 1st page of results, that's Dulles South Online and Leesburg Today (where's everyone else?) Loudoun's DED did show up.
  

Therefore, in our nutshell, abbreviated opinion – Loudoun's being ineffectively marketed online to investors and visitors. There are many, many ways to fix this (fairly cheaply), that could take another 100 pages to describe – but here's a way YOU can quickly help YOUR county as a Business Owner, Organization Director or even Home Owner (don't you want your property values back where they were? So you can finally retire to Southern Maryland or Clear Creek County Colorado?).

Here are the first, simplest things to do to help promote Loudoun (besides rooting for the Loudoun Redskins), and thereby promote your own business – do them all, or perhaps just one (contact us if you need help):

1. Put a sentence on your website that includes the words Virginia, DC, business, invest, economy, and Loudoun, plus a superlative. For example "Find us in Loudoun County, the DC metro region’s premier business investment location in Northern Virginia and business-friendly economy". Preferably put this word on your front page.

2. Include a link to your favorite Loudoun business-assistance or promotion entity on your website – either standalone, or embedded in a sentence like the one above. For example, link "premier business investment location in Northern Virginia" to "http://www.loudounchamber.org".

3. Contribute an article, comment, picture, video or other feedback online, wherever you happen to make online contributions – but try to use a sentence like the one above, link back to a Loudoun PR entity, and use keywords like those above (especially "Loudoun" and "business"!). Do this often.

4. Share ideas and input regarding how you feel Loudoun can be better promoted online – here, through your memberships/affiliations with the Loudoun government entities, or otherwise.

5. Include a Loudoun "badge" on your site – while Loudoun doesn't currently have an "official" one (hint-hint, Loudoun DED!) – you can start with our own "unofficial" Loudoun badge.

6. If you want more basic advice, look here for an "Internet Checklist for Starting a Business in Loudoun County".

Let's have a great Loudoun business year, in 2009!

Loudoun Business Shout-Out: Topkick Taekwondo, Curry's Auto, Fireworks Pizza

Here's a quick shout-out to some fabulous Loudoun County business we really enjoy, and have received amazing services from...Topkick Taekwondo, Curry's Auto and Fireworks Pizza!

Topkick Tae Kwon Do



Topkick Taekwondo Martial Arts Center in South Riding is truly an amazing center focusing on martial arts, exercise, guidance for living and activities for the entire family. Our entire family attends various activities and events, and the expert, respectful and extremely organized and friendly staff are second to none in terms of program knowledge, competence and overall customer service. A first-rate outfit, and fantastic value in family activities.

Coming Friday, November 21st - "Champion for Life Workshop/Class" FREE for Students and Parents - Meet Martial Arts and Discovery Channel Star Roland Osborne...special dynamic kick combinations, champion's mindset and special focus skills, best kept secrets of Martial Arts training, parenting tips for a successful Black Belt in life, and more!!

Curry's Auto


We recently had two cars in various stages of failure, a bigger domestic SUV and a small fuel-sipping import. Normally we've relied on the dealer for our Chevy SUV, but we weren't sure where to bring the Hyundai here in Loudoun, Dulles South. So we called Curry's Auto Service of Chantilly, and in the space of a week, got both cars repaired and on the road - with absolute expertise and fantastic customer service evident at all times. From Mike at the front desk, to the mechanics who called to explain the myriad problems and routes to correction, we were treated with absolute professionalism and respect, and drove away thoroughly confident in both the expert repairs and fair prices. Thanks, Curry's Auto!

Firework's Pizza



Simply put, the best Pizza and Beer in Loudoun County, period. As a large family, with dining-out interests ranging from great microbeers to sippy cups, this restaurant is now a regular destination for us. The service and waitstaff were absolute professionals and family-friendly, the range of amazing beers was mind-boggling (and certainly hard to "digest" in only one sitting), and the pizzas were fabulous at very reasonable pricing. Though it was a bit cold, we sat outside under the festive lights, and were joined by a really nice crowd in downtown Leesburg. Our highest recommendations and compliments to this great pizzeria!

2008 Loudoun Small Businesses of the Year - Loudoun Chamber of Commerce

Congratulations to the 2008 Loudoun Small Business of the Year Award Finalists, as announced by the Loudoun Chamber of Commerce.

Here at Dulles South Online and KME Internet Marketing, our objective is to promote and advance Loudoun County and Northern Virginia Businesses online. Over the past years, we've done just that - helping to significantly increase the exposure of Loudoun County and its businesses in terms of Online Search Engine exposure, thereby doing our part in the economic development of this area of the country. These small businesses are representative of the solid economic growth engine in Northern Virginia, in spite of the National economic outlook - Loudoun will continue to produce energetic, value-add and truly entrepreneurial businesses like those listed here.

The winners are:

Small Business of the Year - Go Bananas.

Ag/Equine Business of the Year - Notaviva Vineyards;
Franchisee Business of the Year - Pump It Up;
Home Based Business of the Year - MakeUp Artistry by Tracie Rosales;
Product of the Year - Edibles Incredible Desserts;
Retailer Business of the Year - Go Bananas;
Service Business of the Year - Loudoun Family Practice;
Technology Business of the Year - Zillion Technologies, Inc.;
Entrepreneur of the Year - Hulya Asku, Modern Mom Media Corporation

We'll point out that "Modern Mom Media Corporation" in particular, is a breakout example of how to harness the Internet to represent small business interests on the local, regional and national stage. The "I Am Modern" brand and value is channeled not only through the printed magazine, social events and the core website, but also through online social media and search engine marketing strategies - thereby providing significant value to readers, members and advertisers across all Washington DC and Northern Virginia media channels.

All Loudoun businesses should leverage this example, working together to promote our local business economy both online and off.

Internet Checklist for Starting a Business in Loudoun County

We recently looked through the Loudoun Department of Economic Development’s "Checklist for Starting a Business in Loudoun County". It’s chock full of useful information and guidance, for businesses of many types, large and small.

What was curious, was that the word “Internet” wasn’t used at all.

That said, we offer here our own basic “Internet Checklist for Starting a Business in Loudoun County”:

Company Presence

• Establish a website, with a clear “About Us” page, including your Loudoun address, directions and service hours. Use new photos or even videos of your new business. (Need help with a video? Try Trivision Studios.) Redirect old sites to the new one.
  
  
• Register your business with Google/MSN/Yahoo “Local” services.
  
  
• Include Geospatial Metatags on your website, of your location in Loudoun.
  
  
• Update your YellowPages listings, online and off.
  
  
• Update your business name in DMOZ, and Yahoo Directories.
  
  
• Spellcheck - don't spell it "Loudon"
  
  

Networking and Communication

• Join the Loudoun Chamber of Commerce and/or the Dulles Regional Chamber of Commerce – use their logos on your website, and update your information on their websites.
  
  
• Join smaller Business Networks, like the Dulles South Business Alliance or Loudoun Business Alliance – as applicable - making sure your online information is updated.
  
  
• In your online social media pages (i.e. on your blog, your wiki, your LinkedIn or Facebook pages), include your new Loudoun address and contact information.
  
  
• Update your email footers to include your new location in Loudoun – and send a new broadcast out to your mailing list about it.
  
  
• Establish a new email account(s), specifically for your Loudoun business
  
  
• Update your online business networks – for example at MerchantCircle – invite your new business neighbors!
  

Marketing & Advertising

• List your business on local directories, such as Dulles South Online, Visit Loudoun and/or LoudounPedia (as applicable).
  
  
• Make sure your business is listed in localized “review” sites, like Yelp – encourage reviews among your customers and partners!
  
  
• Send a press release to the Loudoun Papers, for example the Loudoun Times, with an update on your location and services (make sure it's online as well as printed) – or take out a paid advertisement, as your marketing budget allows. Or construct a "Social Media Press Release" (contact KME Internet Marketing about this).
  
  
• Take out an ad in a local magazine, like "Modern Moms of Loudoun County" - the ad should appear on their great website as well.
  
  
• Notify local realtors of your new business, for possible referrals - like Ingrid Myers, Realtor - business partner links very often are included on local real estate/broker websites.
  
  
• Upload photos and/or videos of your new Loudoun business location, along with updated information about your business, to relevant social media sites like "Flickr" – using “Loudoun” in the keywords and tags.
  
  
• Get a “Made in Loudoun” tag!
  
  
• “Capture the Market” in the search engines with respect to your Loudoun business – for example “Loudoun Internet Marketing” – (this will likely require local, professional Loudoun Internet Marketing/SEO/Social Media services).
  

These are the minimum things necessary to solidly establish your business on the Internet as a respected Loudoun business entity.

Contact KME Internet Marketing for assistance with these activities, and provide any other ideas/questions here in the comments!