About Us
Phoenix Advantage is a Virginia-based economic development and business building consulting firm, featuring principals with deep experience in a wide range of issue areas that are critical to local success. Between them, Partners Miles Friedman and Michelle Coe have more than sixty years of hands-on work with governments at all levels and with businesses from microenterprises to multinational corporations.
The team has extensive experience in and outside of Virginia and offers a series of packages designed to help local economic development programs explore key issues, assess their readiness, and address opportunities and challenges in an affordable way. They believe that every local agency, whether a small one with limited resources, or a large one with a substantial and growing array of responsibilities, can benefit from experienced outside help, targeted to current and future challenges and flash points.
The Phoenix Advantage Team offers solutions designed to produce relatively swift and affordable results. Their methodology calls for starting with an analysis or exploration of a given issue area, which could then be followed with a comprehensive project to design and implement effective solutions.
Examples include:
- Starting and/or Enhancing a Local ED Program on a Modest Budget
- Creating a Small Business Resiliency Program Using American Rescue Plan Funds
- Conducting an Economic Development Strategy Assessment and Identification of Needs
- Completing a Performance Measurement Review (types of measures used and how they are used)
- Creating or Expanding an Entrepreneurship Program (e.g., business incubator; virtual support system)
- Assessing, Strengthening or Creating a More Demand-Driven Workforce Development System
- Developing Your Local Brand
- Revamping and Expanding/Fine Tuning a Marketing Strategy
Miles Friedman
Partner
Miles Friedman has more than 42 years of economic development experience. During that time, Friedman has traveled to 49 of the states, executed economic development engagements in 37 states and worked with government at all levels, and in all sized communities. He has helped create new slates of programs in states like Washington and Montana, has helped create an all new economic development structure and program in states like North Dakota, developed economic development strategies in communities like Manassas and Herndon, Virginia and established new small business development programs in places such as Fauquier County, Virginia and Baltimore, Maryland. He spent 25 years as president of a national economic development group, assisting communities all over the country in planning, developing, implementing and evaluating economic development programs.
Friedman served as Director of Economic Development for Fauquier County from 2013 to 2021, during which time he accomplished numerous firsts for the county. He opened three business incubator/accelerators, sited the first three data centers in county history, assisted numerous local businesses (large and small) to expand, added programs in workforce development, small business financing, training, incentives, green development and community revitalization.
Friedman has lived in Prince William County since 1978 and has been active in local and regional business groups, including Chambers of Commerce, downtown associations, the Prince William Parks Foundation, workforce initiatives and several community colleges. He is Founder and Chair of the Quantico/Belvoir Regional Business Alliance. This business group has helped numerous businesses gain work from the military while assisting the local installations in becoming more active members of the community.
Michelle Coe
Partner
Michelle Coe has worked with businesses and government on branding, web design and marketing for more than 25 years. Coe has worked with more than 100 companies, several not-for-profits and government agencies to clarify their brands, improve their marketing efforts and optimize their use of technology.
She is also the President and Senior Creative Director of BlueSkyPhoenix LLC, a brand, marketing strategy and technology solutions firm. She consults with public and private sector clients to create organizational growth and resiliency strategies, build strong brands, and craft effective, results-driven communications and marketing strategies. Her experiences in the business, government and nonprofit sectors give her an understanding of the people, processes and workflows that generate greater efficiencies and enable her to offer a unique perspective, facilitating positive outcomes to a wide variety of challenges. With experience in business, brand & marketing strategy, design, project management, event coordination and instruction, Michelle easily relates and adapts to meet the individual needs of each of her clients.
Current and past clients include the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, Vanguard Inspection Services, PC Perspective, Barrel Oak Winery and Farm Taphouse, Golden Rule Builders, Hero’s Bridge, Capaldi Reynolds & Pelosi, P.A. and Hammerhead Performance.
Coe has significant standing in the regional business community, helping to organize and lead the Fauquier Chamber Micro Enterprise Council and serving as 2022 Chair of the Fauquier Chamber. She is currently finishing out her second term on the board of directors as Immediate Past Chair.
Michelle also served as Vice President of the ClassicPress Initiative, a nonprofit providing funding and oversight of the ClassicPress project, a community-led open source alternative to WordPress.