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.
Make plans on Mar. 22nd to learn about marketing to the government
March 17, 2011 by ei2admin
If you’ve ever wondered how State agencies, cities, counties, school boards, and authorities buy their goods and services, then there’s a free class being held in Albany that you should make plans to attend.
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.
The Georgia Tech-conducted class will be held from noon until 2:00 p.m. in the 1st floor conference room at the Microbusiness Enterprise Center, located at 230 S. Jackson St., Albany, GA. To pre-register, please go to http://gtpac.ecenterdirect.com/ConferenceDetail.action?ID=6860 and click on the “Sign-Up” button.
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. All businesses are welcome to attend.
Learn about bonding requirements on Mar. 22
March 17, 2011 by ei2admin
Are you familiar with government bonding requirements?
Most large construction contracts, including many subcontracts, require payment bonds and performance bonds before a contractor can begin work.
Georgia Tech is conducting a free seminar on Tuesday, March 22, from 10:00 a.m. until noon, to acquaint you with the purpose of bonding, the standard bonding requirements, and what it takes to obtain a bond.
This briefing will be held in the Arthur K. Williams Conference Room located inside the Microbusiness Enterprise Center, 230 S. Jackson Street, Albany, Georgia. To pre-register, please go to http://gtpac.ecenterdirect.com/ConferenceDetail.action?ID=6858 and click on the “Sign Up” button.
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. All businesses are welcome to attend.
Albany procurement division holding open house Mar. 25th
March 7, 2011 by ei2admin
All Albany-area businesses are invited to attend and partcipate in the City of Albany’s Vendor Open House on Friday, March 25, 2011, from 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m.
This is a unique opportunity for vendors to meet the people who make the buying, purchasing and contracting decisions for the City of Albany government. Businesses also will be able to meet other vendors and network with one another.
In addition, there will be a mini vendor fair for vendors interested in setting up a tabletop with promotional materials and goodies to pass out to attendees.
Contact Christen S. Taylor at 229-431-3211 or su.ag.ynablanull@rolyathc by March 16, 2011, if you are interested in becoming a sponsor or donating a door prize for the Open House.
See the Open House announcement flyer issued by the Central Services Department of the City of Albany by clicking on this link: ALBANY CENTRAL SERVICES OPEN HOUSE 03.25.2011
On Mar. 9th, learn how to prepare a bid
March 7, 2011 by ei2admin
At noon on Wednesday, Mar. 9th, Georgia Tech is conducting a special briefing designed to help companies understand the bid proposal preparation process when responding to government solicitations.
This two-hour briefing, beginning at noon and concluding at 2:00 p.m., will be held in the 1st floor conference room at the Microbusiness Enterprise Center, located at 230 S. Jackson St., Albany, GA 31701-2885.
To pre-register to attend this no-cost class, please go to http://gtpac.ecenterdirect.com/ConferenceDetail.action?ID=6846 and click on the “Sign Up” button.
Topics to be 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. All businesses are welcome to attend.
Learn the fundamentals of doing business with the government on Mar. 9th
March 7, 2011 by ei2admin
Trying to decide whether to sell to the government market?
Interested in the government marketplace but not sure where to start?
Need to know how to be considered a viable contractor by government buyers?
These questions and many more will be answered in a two hour briefing on government contracting. The briefing will begin at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, Mar. 9th in the 1st floor conference room at the Microbusiness Enterprise Center located at 230 S. Jackson St., Albany, GA 31701-2885.
To pre-register for this free event, please go to http://gtpac.ecenterdirect.com/ConferenceDetail.action?ID=6842 and hit the “sign-up” button.
Conducted by Georgia Tech’s Clovia Hamilton, this briefing is the perfect place for a busy business person to learn what you need to know – and what you need to have in place – in order to effectively market yourself in the government sector. This is a way to “put your toe in the water” before jumping into the vast ocean that is the government marketplace.
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. All businesses are welcome to attend.
Speed partnering event proves to be a big hit
February 23, 2011 by ei2admin
The “Speed Partnering” event held at the Albany Civic Center on Feb. 22nd proved to be very popular with the 150 vendors who attended.
The concept for the event is based on “speed dating” where couples get together for 15 minutes to see if the “chemistry” is right. In the instance of Speed Partnering, vendors are matched with buyers.
119 business people registered in advance to attend, but event organizers allowed dozens more to participate on a walk-in basis. Personnel from the Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center (GTPAC) organized and managed the event in conjunction with the City of Albany’s Small Business Procurement Program.
The big draw for the conference proved to be the buyers who came representing 11 local, state and federal government agencies, along with a half dozen resource partners.
Government agencies included the City of Albany’s purchasing office, Dougherty County, Southwest Georgia Regional Airport, the Sumter Youth Juvenile Justice office, the Georgia Dept. of Administrative Services (DOAS), the University System of Georgia, the Georgia Dept. of Corrections, the Marine Corps Logistics Command (MCLC), the Internal Revenue Service, the National Park Service, and the General Services Administration (GSA). Buyers from these agencies met one-on-one with all vendors in attendance.
Resource partners who participated in the event included Albany’s Small Business Development Center (SBDC), Albany State University’s College of Business, Capitol City Bank, the Albany Chamber of Commerce, and Georgia Tech’s Enterprise Innovation Institute. These entities distributed helpful information and other resources to businesses.
The Mayor of Albany Willie Adams welcomed everyone during the event’s opening session. He was joined by Latoya Cutts, director of the City’s Community & Economic Development department. Also on hand was Presidential appointee Meredith Lilly of the General Services Administration and Patricia Hanes of the Minority Business Development Agency, U.S. Dept. of Commerce.
Running concurrently with the Speed Partnering were four workshops conducted by Georgia Tech procurement counselors on topics including Business Communications, Responding to Bid Solicitations, Conducting Market Research, and the SBA’s New Woman-Owned Small Business Program.
Albany’s news media covered the event closely. Video news coverage can be viewed at at:
- Fox 31 News: http://www.mysouthwestga.com/news/story.aspx?id=584222
- Fox 31 News Update: http://www.mysouthwestga.com/news/video.aspx?id=584222
- WALB-TV News: http://www.walb.com/Global/story.asp?S=14078571 (Click on the “Businesses, Government, Contractors get together” link under the “Video Gallery” to see the video there.)
Clovia Hamilton, procurement counselor in GTPAC’s Albany office, was the principal organizer for the day.
“Speed Partnering” registration reminder and tips for Tuesday, Feb. 22
February 20, 2011 by ei2admin
We’re very excited about the Small Business Speed Partnering event in Albany on Tuesday, and we hope you’re excited, too!
As a reminder, the event is being held at the Albany Civic Center and begins with coffee and informal networking at 8:00 am. The program begins at 9:00 am sharp.
If you haven’t already pre-registered, please do by going to http://tinyurl.com/4dvxlxj and then hitting the “Sign Up” button.
You can see an advance copy of the agenda at:
http://www.albanysmallbiz.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Speed_Partnering_Final_Agenda_2_22_11.pdf
When you look at the agenda, you’ll see that there are two blocks of time during which you will be able to meet one-on-one with buyers representing any of 11 different government agencies. (Marine Corps Logistics Command (MCLC) Albany; Georgia Department of Administrative Services (GSA); US Treasury Department, IRS; US Department of Interior, National Park Service; Georgia Department of Administrative Services (DOAS); University System of Georgia; Georgia Department of Corrections; Dougherty County; SW Georgia Regional Airport; City of Albany Procurement Division; and Sumter Youth Juvenile Justice.) The “speed partnering” times are at 10:00 to 11:00 and 1:45 to 2:45. You’ll have 15-minutes to have these meetings, so give some thought now to which agencies you’d liek to meet with.
To prepare for a speed partnering session, we recommend two things: 1) Bring copies of a short “capabilities statement” with you to hand-out, and 2) Be prepared to state exactly what you do and why you’re an expert at it (this is known as an “elevator speech.”
To help you prepare to do these two things, here are two short articles you can read:
- http://gtpac.org/2010/05/what-is-a-capabilities-statement-and-why-should-i-have-one
- http://gtpac.org/2010/07/whats-an-elevator-pitch-and-why-you-need-one
We’re also conducting great workshops during the event. Plan to attend these during the course of the day:
- Business Communications, Elevator Pitches and Capability Statements
- Reading and Responding to Bid Solicitations
- The Do’s and Don’ts of Government Contracting
- Conducting Government Market Research
- SBA’s New Women Owned Small Business (WOSB) Program
And, of course, you won’t want to miss addresses by Meredith Lilly, a Presidential-appointee and special assistant to the GSA regional administrator, as well as Patricia Hanes, Regional Director of the Atlanta National Enterprise Center, Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA), U.S. Department of Commerce. They will be providing tips for greater success in both the government and commercial markets.
We think you’ll agree — the Albany Civic Center is THE PLACE TO BE on Tuesday, Feb. 22. Plan to arrive at 8:00 am if you can to receive all the benefits of the day!
“Speed Dating” for businesses is theme for Albany event
February 16, 2011 by ei2admin
How would you like to have the opportunity to meet one-on-one with a buyer in charge of purchasing for the State of Georgia?
How about the chance to meet with someone in charge of contracting from the University System of Georgia?
In addition, would you like to have the chance to describe your business capabilities to contracting representatives representing the City of Albany, the Southwest Georgia Regional Airport, the Georgia Dept. of Corrections, the City of Albany, the Marine Corps Command, the IRS, the General Services Administration, and the federal departments of Commerce, Interior, and Juvenile Justice?
Well, you can have a chance to meet with all of these people by attending the “Albany Small Business Program Speed Partnering” event on Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2011, from 8:00 am until 3:00 pm at the Albany Civic Center.
The event is free, but pre-registration is strongly encouraged. Simply click here to register and then hit the “Sign Up” button.
Along with 15-minute one-on-one meetings with buyers and contracting officials, attendees will have a chance to attend briefings on each of these topics:
- Business Communications, Elevator Pitches and Capability Statements
- Reading and Responding to Bid Solicitations
- The Do’s and Don’ts of Government Contracting
- Government Market Research
- SBA’s New Women Owned Small Business (WOSB) Certification Program
The featured luncheon speaker for this very special day is Ms. Pat Hanes, Regional Director of the Atlanta National Enterprise Center with the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) of the U.S. Department of Commerce. She will be talking about what it takes to successfully sell within both the government and commercial sectors.
Feb. 22 event at Albany Civic Center is not to be missed!
February 15, 2011 by ei2admin
Ever heard of “speed dating” where couples are matched for short periods of time to see if the chemistry is right?
Well, through a unique event on February 22, the same principle is being applied – except it involves matches between local businesses, government agncies, and prime contractors.
If you want the opportunity to meet with buyers from local, state and federal agencies, you can’t afford to miss this event!
On Tuesday, February 22nd, the Albany Civic Center is the place to put your best marketing techniques to work. You’ll get a chance to meet with — and present your capabilities to — decision-makers and buyers from representatives of local, state, and federal government agencies, including the City of Albany, the Southwest Georgia Regional Airport, the University System of Georgia, the state’s Dept. of Administrative Services, the Georgia Dept. of Corrections, the Albany Marine Corps Logistics Command, the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Dept. of Commerce, the General Services Administration, and the Dept. of Juvenile Justice — and more!
Lunch will be provided, and featured speakers also will present on topics including Business Communications, Bid Preparations, Conducting Market Research, and the Do’s and Don’ts of Government Contracting.
This event also will provide special instruction for Albany-area small businesses interested in doing business with the City of Albany.
Coffee and informal networking begins at 8:00 am. The day’s program begins at 9:00 am and runs until 3:00 pm.
This event is completely free, so register now! Simply click here to register and then hit the “Sign Up” button.