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Your Fair Share
How small business can do more business with federal, state & local governments
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Business New Haven
10/15/2001
By:
Anne-Marie Brungard
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“It's the best time in years to do business with the government and to grow your business by contracting,” says Arlene M. Vogel, program director of the Connecticut Procurement Technical Assistance Program (PTAP). “There is a real opportunity for small and minority businesses to substantially increase sales if they can tap into some of these programs.”
PTAP is a program of seCTer (SouthEastern Connecticut Enterprise Region), a not-for-profit economic development corporation. Its regional focus includes addressing planning and coordination issues, business retention and expansion, small-business incubators, revolving loan funds, and statewide government procurement and technical assistance programs.
It is under this umbrella that PTAP started in Connecticut in 1993, although it has been a national program for many more years. The program is funded to the tune of $600,000 a year, including a 50-percent match from the state's Department of Economic & Community Development (DECD).
The Connecticut PTAP comprises three servicing centers and is a free service to Connecticut businesses. In the past year PTAP assisted with more than $21 million in actual awards, 851 contracts were awarded to client businesses and 512 jobs were created or retained because of the program.
Vogel, whose background includes more than 15 years of defense contracting positions, was well prepared for her role leading the “How To Do Business With Federal, State & Local Governments” workshop at the Southern Connecticut Business Expo October 3 in New Haven. In this capacity Vogel prepared an audience of business owners and managers to sell for the first time or increase their sales to various government entities.
Nightmarish stories about trying to do business with - and then trying to get paid by - government agencies remain a reality. And Vogel has heard them all.
She has heard the one about the ridiculous length of the forms, and the one about the endless reams of reporting requirements. She's even heard the one about waiting six months for payment, and the one where the small business gave up when they tired of the morass of red tape. But Vogel is hopeful that many more business people will respond to an evolving environment in which governments are trying harder to spread the wealth.
So, why do business with government agencies?
• The U.S. government offers vast opportunities, with potential for multi-year orders. Many if not most federal agencies have improved their payment policies and offer the largest variety of requirements allowing more businesses to try to meet them.
• State government in Connecticut has substantially improved electronic access, shortening payment timeframes and promoting policies that support small business.
• Municipal governments need products and services, too. In Connecticut there are 169 municipalities that purchase office supplies, consulting services, copy machines and more. Establishing a connection with local purchasing departments links small companies directly with state buyers. On the heels of improved electronic access is a new trend whereby the city or town now has the opportunity to conduct a broader search and expand their purchasing options. In other words, they are not just buying local anymore. So it's at once an opportunity and a challenge.
Getting Started
Every small business starts with an initial counseling session at the regional PTAP office. During the course of the meeting a client profile is developed that will assess the businesses potential as a government contractor, flush out the company's goals and review its ability to follow-up and meet the requirements. One should expect to spend at least one and a half hours on this process.
The information gained in the initial counseling session is then used to prepare the “business lead search profile.” Armed with business type and sales information, key words are entered into a computer system so that each company can receive daily electronic delivery of business leads - contract opportunities. It may take from two to five business days from the initial meeting until registration is completed.
Next Steps
This initial entrance into the system is the key to accessing the broad array of services offered by PTAP. Upon receiving and reviewing bid or proposal notices, PTAP staff are able to provide technical assistance to reduce frustration and support the success of the small business.
Since getting to the contract-award phase is just one piece of the pie, and assuming that nobody enjoys feeling like a small fish in a big pond, companies can access additional services in the following areas:
• Individual follow-up as requested
• Developing marketing techniques and strategies
• Cost and pricing polices and procedures
• Bid/proposal preparation assistance
• Pre-award survey assistance
• Post-award contract administration guidance.
Since time, staffing and money are critical elements for most small companies, PTAP can be viewed as a time-saving gateway that will provide education and information to help you navigate the governmental maze. But the bottom line is that there still does not exist one registration form that works for all agencies, and not all governmental payment systems are equal.
Just finding information can be challenging. Having access to that information quickly and easily can change the landscape for some small and minority-owned businesses. PTAP can point out where to find standard industrial classification (SIC) codes vs. the North American Industry Classification System data, or where to look for military or contractor specifications.
Another primary service is preparing companies for participation in electronic commerce. To accomplish this complete needs and benefits assessment is conducted. Upon completion, a basic electronic commerce orientation takes place that will also address electronic funds transfer, which is designed to accelerate payment from government to small business. Some government agencies now use this method of payment exclusively.
What about companies that do not have access to a computer and/or e-mail? Unfortunately, they cannot be helped by PTAP at this juncture. A computer is vital to receiving the daily bulletins, and access to electronic processing is essential for most forms of payment. A client coming through PTAP's doors with this issue would be referred back to their local small business development office.
But even very small and start-up companies are encouraged to upgrade their capabilities and come back to PTAP for services.
New Businesses: What To Do
1. Call your local Small Business Development Center
2. Get on the Internet and start exploring sources of help
3. Invest time and money in learning basic computing technology and techniques. Anticipate the need to continuously update your knowledge and deal with change.
4. Prepare to become EFT- (electronic funds transfer) capable. Accept credit cards, as there are many opportunities for micro purchases - those under $2,500.
5. Register with the Central Contractor Registration system
6. Register with the Procurement Marketing & Access Network (ProNet).
For those small and minority-owned businesses that may be a little more skeptical or not sure if they can manage the size of some government contracts, Vogel has this feedback:
• Subcontracting offers a host of opportunities for smaller companies. With contracts of $500,000 or more, the prime contractor is required to submit a plan outlining subcontractor participation. The prime contractor will sometimes give less experienced, but demonstrably qualified, contractors a chance. The experience gained from working with the larger company can be highly beneficial to both contractor and subcontractor.
• Micro purchases. Purchasing departments, especially at the state and local levels, often have significant flexibility with spending on contracts of less than $2,500. This is a great way to get your foot in the door, see the system work from the inside out and gain both valuable knowledge and experience.
• Set-Aside Programs. Nearly all agencies have some guidelines that support minority contractors. That doesn't make it an even playing field, but there are opportunities. Be active in calling prime contractors to offer your products and services.
Bloopers & Blunders
Certainly small-business owners can learn as much by examples of what not to do as they can from instruction on what works. Arlene Vogel recounts one client, a mom-and-pop-scale venture, that won a fairly large Department of Defense contract. After much back-patting, they settled in to discover that they had no realistic way of providing the volume they had contracted for.
That was Problem No. 1. Problem No. 2: They had signed a fully enforceable contract. However, PTAP was able to negotiate on their behalf a no-fault termination of the agreement. Otherwise, the mistake may have resulted in the loss of the business and the principals' personal investments.
With that in mind, Vogel offers some additional tips:
• Don't promise more than you can deliver
• Anticipate slower payments from primary contractors to subcontractors
• Thoroughly read your contracts so that payment expectations are clear
• Don't expect the system to be perfect.
“At the end of the day I can rest comfortably knowing that [PTAP] has helped a lot of people,” says Vogel. “And after all, small business is the backbone of our economy.”
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