Black & Brown Owned Business Growth Program (B³)

Stay tuned for details about the start of our next cohort.

B³ is a holistic approach to growing Black and Brown Owned Businesses in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County. Additionally, B³ seeks to create a welcoming culture that will attract new black and brown owned business ventures and will encourage increasing investment from our existing black and brown owned businesses.

B³ blends a combination of comprehensive business support including business plan development or improvement, marketing guidance, technical assistance, mini-grants, mentorship and networking support. B³ utilizes a phased assistance approach, customized to the businesses current stage and needs. B³ cohorts are launched every three months.

Eligible Participants

B³ is open to any existing black and brown owned business located in Harrisonburg or Rockingham County. The business must be at least 50% owned by a black or brown individual.
B³ is open to any black or brown individual residing in and seeking to start a business in Harrisonburg or Rockingham County.

“Harrisonburg provides an ideal context for the highly technical work we perform for the U.S. Government. We are ideally located next to many excellent colleges and universities, which provide exceptional talent, and close enough to DC and Northern Virginia that we can conveniently interface with our customer and partners. To me, it comes down to quality of life. Our employees have very short commutes and there are a plethora of activities in the area that suit almost every interest.”

Mike Goertzen, Sr. Program Manager, Serco

“As Rocco considered options for our expansion, we were pleased with the partnership that Harrisonburg Economic Development provided as we worked our way through plan reviews, permit approvals, and inspections. It was helpful to have an ombudsman guiding us through the process. We are excited that we have the opportunity to continue to grow and invest in Harrisonburg.”

Fontaine Canada, President, Rocco Building Supplies