Check this link every day for contract opportunities in Albany!
April 28, 2011 by ei2admin
Did you know that the Albany Small Business website lists contracting opportunities available in the Albany area every day?
If you are a business looking for opportunities, this is the place to visit: http://www.albanysmallbiz.org/contract-opportunities.
Right now, there are details posted on multiple items of contract work to be performed for the Albany Marine Corps Base, the Turner Job Corps Center, the City of Albany, Albany Technical College, Darton College, and Lee County.
If you are in the hunt for contract work, be sure to visit http://www.albanysmallbiz.org/contract-opportunities every day!
Learn all about government contracting on June 8th
April 28, 2011 by ei2admin
Georgia Tech is offering its comprehensive 3-hour “Introduction to Government Contracting” class in Albany at 10:00 a.m. on June 8, 2011.
The free class will be conducted in the 1st floor conference room located in the Albany Microbusiness Enterprise Center, located at 230 S. Jackson St., Albany, GA 31701-2885.
If you plan to attend, please pre-register on-line at http://gtpac.ecenterdirect.com/ConferenceDetail.action?ID=6870. To register, just hit the “Sign Up” button on that page and enter your name, company name, and email address.
The popular “Intro” class is a must for anyone thinking about or doing business with the government. A general overview of how the government buys goods and services, and the seven phases of government procurement will be discussed in detail. Additional topics include governmental registrations, market research on what the government buys, how government agencies advertise their procurements, understanding “ads” from sources like FedBizOpps, introduction to the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR), how to find internet marketing opportunities, how to locate subcontracting opportunities with government “prime” contractors, bidding, and much more.
Georgia Tech’s Jone Debnam is the guest instructor for this class.
Free business finance workshop June 13th
April 27, 2011 by ei2admin
Courtesy of the Small Business Development Center, you can come hear Terry Crispen of Borrego Springs Bank speak about small business financing on Monday, June 13, from 2 until 4 pm.
Most companies need working capital to conduct their day-to-day business. This program discusses the use of working capital term loans to finance these
operations.
You will want to attend this informative program if you are considering starting a new business venture or have the need for additional working captial for your existing business.
CALL TO REGISTER 229 420-1144 OR CLICK HERE to go online to register! This event is free, but you must register in advance.
This event will be held at 125 Pine Ave. in Albany.
A “Must Do” on Tuesday, Apr. 26th!
April 22, 2011 by ei2admin
We have a special treat just for you!
On Tuesday, Apr. 26th we are conducting a class just for registered clients!
From 1:00 ’til 3:00 pm, we’re going to be showing you exactly how our bid match service works and how you can “tweak” it to make it more effective in identifying government contract opportunities for you.
Guest speaker Tom Larkin will show you how to use the GTPAC bid match service to identify government bid opportunities that are relevant to your business interests. You will learn how to identify the correct NAICS codes, PSC/FSC codes, as well as keywords for your Search Profile. We will demonstrate how to effectively use the powerful ”iSearch” tool to validate keywords, obtain and collect marketing data, as well as how to identify what the agency “calls” what you sell. Real-time examples will be utilized during this interactive class.
Don’t miss this free class! If you can’t attend, be sure to send someone as your representative.
The class will be held in the Arthur K. Williams Conference Room located in the Microbusiness Enterprise Center, 230 S. Jackson Street, Albany, Georgia 31701.
To register in advance, please visit: http://gtpac.ecenterdirect.com/ConferenceDetail.action?ID=7012.
We hope to see you there!
Oh, and one more thing … Come early at noon and hear Tom talk about “How to Work Effectively with Small Business Specialists.” Refreshments will be served.
What is a Capabilities Statement and why should I have one?
April 20, 2011 by ei2admin
Clients of the Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center (GTPAC) often ask about how to best present themselves to government officials, particularly contracting officers and small business specialists. GTPAC Procurement Counselors — most former contracting officers themselves — consistently advise that there are four key ingredients to making a favorable impression within the government marketplace:
- Familiarizing yourself with the particular agency you are targeting,
- Being prepared to deliver a concise “elevator speech” (a 30-second description of your expertise),
- Presenting a business card which displays your CAGE, NAICS, and NIGP codes, and
- Having a “Capabilities Statement.”
While the first three ingredients are fairly straightforward, here’s what’s important to understand about creating a Capabilities Statement for your business.
A Capabilities Statement should contain particular information and be organized in a certain way for use in the government sector.
For instance, a Capabilities Statement should always identify the company’s CAGE code. The reason for this is that a company has a CAGE code only if it’s registered in Central Contractor Registration (CCR), the federal government’s vendor database. Showing your CAGE code is important because that way contracting officials know you are oriented to the government sector (if you weren’t, you wouldn’t know you have to register in CCR) and are properly registered (federal agencies can’t do business with you unless you’re listed in CCR).
Identifying your PSC/FSC and NAICS codes is important, too, because that means you know what they are and their significance. (There are such codes for every product and service, and government agencies specify their contract opportunities using these codes.)
Similarly, if you are marketing to state and local governments, you should show your NIGP codes in your capabilities statement, because state and local governments use NIGP codes (instead of PSC/FSC or NAICS codes).
Providing point-of-contact information for the references you list is important, too, in case a government official wants to make a call or send an email to one of them. Each reference should also describe the type of work you performed or the products you delivered.
Over a period of time, you’ll want to develop several different versions of your capabilities statement, each tailored to a particular government sector audience. This is just like tailoring a personal resume when applying for a particular job. You want your past work descriptions to match-up with the contracting needs of the agency to which you’re marketing. Small Business Specialists withing government agencies use this information to decide whether to refer you to contracting offices and end-users. Contracting officials use this information to make initial determinations about whether you have the wherewithal to perform.
GTPAC also recommends, in addition to a Capabilities Statement, that you create a one-page briefing sheet on your firm. It, too, should be tailored to each audience or occasion. Briefing sheets can be very helpful as handouts when you are attending trade shows, expos, pre-bid conferences, or face-to-face meetings.
If you need a sample Capabilities Statement or more guidance on this subject, contact your GTPAC Procurement Counselor for help. Remember, too, to attend GTPAC classes to obtain detailed instruction on marketing your business to the government sector.
© 2010 Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center – All Rights Reserved.
May 26th: Learn how to market and submit bids to the government
April 19, 2011 by ei2admin
This Thursday, May 26th, two free classes are being offered to give you insights into how to market to and submit proposals to government agencies. Don’t miss this!
Starting at 10:00 am, a two-hour class will be presented entitled “Preparing Successful Bids and Proposals.” This special briefing is designed to help companies understand the bid proposal preparation process when responding to government solicitations. Topics covered include: preparation for bidding, identifying the bid package, reading the solicitation, technical proposal development insights, developing your bid price/cost proposal, and more. This class will provide special instruction for Albany-area small businesses interested in doing business with the City of Albany as well as other units of government.
Then, starting at noon, another two-hours of instruction will be offered on the topic “Marketing to the Government.” If you’ve ever wondered how State agencies, cities, counties, school boards, and authorities buy their goods and services, then this is the class for you. You will learn how to register as a vendor, who to contact, where to find opportunities, what the requirements are for bidding, and how to get paid. Specific attention will be given to doing business with the State of Georgia and many units of local government in the Albany area.
Both classes will be held in the 1st floor conference room at the Microbusiness Enterprise Center, 230 S. Jackson St., Albany, GA 31701-2885.
You’re encouraged to register in advance. For the 10 o’clock class go to http://gtpac.ecenterdirect.com/ConferenceDetail.action?ID=6847 to register. For the class at noon, go to http://gtpac.ecenterdirect.com/ConferenceDetail.action?ID=6869 to register.
All businesses are welcome to attend. We look forward to seeing you there!
What’s an “elevator speech”? And why you need one!
April 19, 2011 by ei2admin
It takes planning to make a good first impression. And first impressions are usually made on the basis of just a few words.
Sometimes, a few words are all you have a chance to say to a decision-maker — a government contracting official, for instance.
Companies who work with the Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center (GTPAC) tell us that government officials always seem to be in a hurry and want vendors to get right to the point. Similarly, government contracting people tell GTPAC that they are weary of dealing with ill-prepared vendors who just can’t seem to succinctly state what it is they’re good at.
These circumstances constitute a few of the reasons why vendors who want to make a good first impression with the government need to have what’s called an “elevator speech.”
Simply put, an elevator speech is what you say, in 30 seconds or less, to describe your expertise.
The term “elevator speech” comes from a situation such as realizing you’re in an elevator with someone you’d like to impress … but you’ve got only a few floors to say anything before they get off the elevator.
What if you suddenly found yourself on an elevator with a contracting officer, an elected official, or some other a potential government customer? Are you ready to quickly and professionally describe the solutions you represent and the expertise you can deliver?
Here’s an outline of what a good elevator speech should address:
- Who and what you are
- What you specialize in
- What you do
- Why you’re the best at what you do
- What you want (a call to action)
- (And remember: Everything must be stated in less than 30 seconds.)
Contact your GTPAC Procurement Counselor for further assistance in formulating your elevator speech.
© 2010 Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center – All Rights Reserved.
Find contract opportunities in Albany every day!
April 18, 2011 by ei2admin
Did you know that the Albany Small Business website lists contracting opportunities available in the Albany area every day?
If you are a business looking for opportunities, this is the place to visit: http://www.albanysmallbiz.org/contract-opportunities.
Right now, there are details posted on multiple items of contract work to be performed for the Albany Marine Corps Base, the Turner Job Corps Center, the City of Albany, Albany Technical College, and Lee County.
If you are in the hunt for contract work, be sure to visit http://www.albanysmallbiz.org/contract-opportunities every day!
Albany uses TurboBid — here’s how it works
April 10, 2011 by ei2admin
The City of Albany’s Procurement Office uses an e-Procurement system known as TurboBid. This on-line system allows the City to create bid documents and upload them onto a special website so that vendors can see the bid documents and download them.
You can access the City of Albany’s bid postings on TurboBid by clicking here — this link will provide you with the most current information. For illustration purposes, a “screen shot” of what TurboBid looks like appears below:
Using the link above, any vendor can visit TurboBid at any time to see bid postings by the City of Albany. By clicking on a paricular bid title, a vendor can see more details on that posting. Look for the tabs above the posting; they look like this:
- By clicking on “Bid Q&A,” a bidder can submit a question about the bid package as well as see any other questions that have been asked, along with the answers.
- By clicking on “Documents,” a vendor can see and download the actual bid documents.
- By clicking on “Plan Holders,” the vendor can see a list of the other vendors who have already downloaded the bid documents.
- The tab labeled “eBid” is not currently utilized by the City of Albany. All bids submitted to the City must be submitted on paper, using the bid documents downloaded from the TurboBid web site.
You must register with TurboBid to gain access to some of its features. Registration is simple, and free of charge. Click here to register for TurboBid.
How to become certified as an Albany Small Business Enterprise (ASBE)
April 7, 2011 by ei2admin
There are just three steps to take to become certified as an Albany Small Business Enterprise (ASBE). Here they are:
- Attend one of the Small Business Procurement Program orientation sessions. Currently, these sessions are scheduled to be held on May 18 and July 20, 2011. (In 2010, similar sessions were held on Oct. 18 and on Nov. 17, and earlier in 2011, these sessions were held on Jan. 5, Feb. 9, and Mar. 16.)
- Commit yourself to attending our government contract training on a regular basis. Classes that are specifically tailored to the Albany Small Business Procurement Program are being held on a regular basis between mid October 2010 and August 2011. You can find the complete training calendar right here.
- Obtain and fill-out the Albany Small Business Enterprise application form and pay a one-time, nonrefundable $25 administrative fee. These forms can be downloaded from this website right here. Once your application is reviewed and approved, you will be listed in our on-line directory here and you will receive other benefits described here.