Baltimore Businesswoman Returns from Middle East Business Development Summit

Berthold Chosen to Speak with Summit Attendees from 17 Countries

November 28, 2006. (Baltimore, MD) Gloria Berthold, President of TargetGov, recently returned from Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after participating in the Middle East North Africa (MENA) Businesswoman’s Summit 2006. Berthold was one of five U.S. business owners invited to participate in the Summit and provide discussion group facilitation and one-on-one mentoring to the 250 women attending from 17 countries. She also personally coordinated and delivered proclamations from three different organizations in the U.S. to Dr. Rawdha Abdullah Al-Muttawaa, Chairperson of the Abu Dhabi Business Women Council.

The MENA Businesswomen’s Summit was sponsored by the Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) of the U.S. Department of State with the support of the Abu Dhabi Business Women Council and the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry; and was presented under the patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak.

Berthold said “Businesswomen in the Middle East and North Africa deal with the same challenges as we do in the U.S. – start-up issues, financing growth, opening new markets, and finding, training and keeping good employees all while contributing to the community and caring for family. I found that we had more similarities than differences and was delighted to discover that these common threads allowed frank and open discussion of not just the common problems, but also encouraged creative thinking of a range of solutions.”

The Summit was a forum for 250 dynamic women from 17 countries and territories from Iraq to Morocco to join with women executives and leaders from the United States to take entrepreneurship in the region to the next level. MEPI announced at the Summit that new businesswomen’s hubs have been formed to provide ongoing support of this network in Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, the Palestinian territories, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. These hubs are as a result of the dreams and goals expressed by the businesswomen at the first summit in 2005, which was held in Tunisia.

In addition to the discussions and roundtables, featured presenters included a speech of Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, H. E. Suhair Al Ali, Minister of Industry and International Cooperation, Jordan; The Honorable Karen Hughes, Under Secretary of State and Public Diplomacy; The Honorable Michele Sison, U. S. Ambassador to the U.A.E. and from the Forbes List of the 50 Most Influential Women in the Arab World: Raja Easa Al Gurg, Managing Director Easa Saleh Al Gurg Group.

“To say I was honored to be chosen to participate is an understatement of great magnitude” said Berthold. “While I consider this to be a trip of a lifetime, it has also opened my eyes to the opportunities we have outside of our own borders. I am now inspired to redouble my efforts to be a business facilitator and connect U.S. businesspeople with global opportunities and help open doors here for those who wish to do business with us.”

Berthold coordinated the creation and in-person delivery of proclamations from the following organizations declaring congratulations and support for the businesswomen’s efforts in Abu Dhabi, U.A.E.: Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP), a national. organization representing a half million business women throughout the U.S., the Baltimore-Washington Corridor Chamber of Commerce, the only regional chamber in the mid-Atlantic area, and the Business Women’s Network of Howard County. “I felt that these three organizations represented a wide range of businesswomen in the U.S. and was moved that they would each agree to participate in sending official greetings and open the doors to future communications with the women in Abu Dhabi.

Note: Photos can be provided in electronic format upon request.

Gloria Berthold is president of TargetGov at Marketing Outsource Associates, Inc, a full service business development firm specializing in government contracting and business to business markets. She can be reached through the web site: http://www.targetgov.com/.

Ignorance is NOT Bliss in Government Contracting

By: Don Walsh

Many government contractors are baptized by fire into the labor requirements of government contracts.

Although a bumpy ride, the majority of government contractors have become familiar with such things as having appropriate documentation of employment eligibility, security clearances and the importance of accurate and certified payrolls.

Over the past few years, however, the landscape for employers has dramatically changed creating issues for unsuspecting contractors who do not realize that these requirements may trump even contractual requirements and bid prices.

For contracts imposing the Service Contract Act (SCA), employees must be paid wages and fringe benefits that are no less than the prevailing wages and fringe benefits paid to private and public sector employees in the same locality who perform similar work. Unlike the commercial market where the parties to a contract may agree on the wages to be paid an employee, the SCA interjects the Department of Labor into the process. Its Wage and Hour Division is authorized to make the determination of the "prevailing wage" regardless of what the contracting officer may have agreed to and regardless of what the contractor may have proposed.

This ability of the Department of Labor to modify the payment terms of the contract poses an inherent risk to the contractor and has provided fertile ground for contract disputes.

In addition to incorrectly classifying an employee’s labor category, the Department of Labor and private litigants have also launched increased scrutiny into whether salaried employees are exempt from overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Careful inspection of the duties of all salaried employees is necessary to ensure that they meet one of the tests created for overtime exemption. Similar to labor misclassifications, the overriding power of the Department of Labor and the jurisdictional limitations of the various Boards of Contract Appeals limit the ability of the contracting officer to permit the employer to defend these misclassifications based on the contract, the treatment of employees by predecessor contractors or even by similar positions and pay by the government.

Improper classification of labor category or overtime exemption status frequently involve multiple current and former employees and expose employers to back wages, liquidated damages, and the employee’s counsel fees.

This is not to say, however, that contractors are left without any contractual remedies. With moderate success, many contractors have recovered increased costs utilizing either the Price Adjustment Clause in their contracts or "common law" theories, such as constructive change, mutual mistake, superior knowledge, and equitable estoppel.

To avoid such entanglements, prudent contractors must take special precaution to carefully review all of the duties of positions proposed to ensure the appropriate classification.

Don Walsh is a partner at Offit Kurman, PA concentrating in commercial litigation, employment law and all aspects of government procurements including contractual and administrative issues arising when doing business with federal, state and local governments. He can be reached at 443.738.1583.

Exit Strategies for Women-Owned Firms

For some time, the conventional wisdom was that women are more “attached” to their businesses than men. As a result, some observers felt that women entrepreneurs were less open to clear exit strategy (IPO or a sale) than their male counterparts.

This belief has little grounding in reality according to new research from Center for Women’s Business Research and MassMutual.

In a survey of successful business owners (firms more than five years old with more than $1 million in annual revenue), researchers found few differences between men and women in terms of their development of a long-term exit strategy.

Both men and women entrepreneurs had developed such a strategy, and both groups deemed price to be the key factor in determining whether to sell a business. Women business owners did express a greater concern about the sale’s impact on their employees.

First time women business owners were more reluctant to sell their companies. Serial women entrepreneurs showed no differences compared to men when it comes to propensity to sell their business.

Click here to learn more about the Center for Women’s Business Research Report, Exit Strategies of Women and Men Business Owners

© 2006 The Public Forum Institute and the National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship

Changes on the Hill: Will Business Benefit?

The New Landscape on the Hill: What Will it Mean for America’s Entrepreneurs?

Now that the dust from Election 2006 appears to be settled, it is time to take a closer look at the potential effects of the changed political landscape on America’s innovation economy. Most of the recent economic news has been pretty good. American companies are prospering, and the base for innovation and entrepreneurship is fairly strong. However, long term worries -- related to trade and current account deficits and a challenged K-12 education system -- lay on the horizon.

At the highest level, it’s unlikely that Democratic control of Congress will change this pattern very much. While Democrats have assumed the majority, their margins are not huge – and quite vulnerable to a veto from the White House. Thus, Congress will be unlikely to introduce huge shifts in policy in the coming two years. However, they will be able to get new issues and ideas on the table via Congressional hearings, and, as we will see below, they will also likely generate some changed policies and priorities in targeted areas.

Click here to view the rest of this post.

Upcoming Training and Seminars January 2007: Jan & Feb

Click here for the complete TargetGov Teleconference schedule.

Government Contractor Resources Seminar January 30, 2007: This seminar is intended for businesses that are considering competing in the Federal market, or those that are in the early phases of entry.

Speakers
Government Business Development
Gloria Berthold
Sessions will cover the 5 Key Steps to Procurement Success
1. Basic definitions
2. Identifying Who Buys What you Sell
3. Finding Business Opportunities
4. Finding Decision Makers
5. Effective Strategies and Tactics

Government Contracting—Overview
Dennis Smythe
Session will cover the following topics
1. How the Government Buys
2. Myths Associated with Government Contracts
3. Minority, Small Disadvantaged Business Certifications
4. Contract Administration and the FAR

Click here to view further information

Middle East Business Development Summit

Local Businesswoman Returns from Middle East Business Development Summit
Berthold Chosen to Speak with Summit Attendees from 17 Countries

Gloria Berthold, President of TargetGov, recently returned from Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after participating in the Middle East North Africa (MENA) Businesswoman’s Summit 2006. Berthold was one of five U.S. business owners invited to participate in the Summit and provide discussion group facilitation and one-on-one mentoring to the 250 women attending from 17 countries. She also personally coordinated and delivered proclamations from three different organizations in the U.S. to Dr. Rawdha Abdullah Al-Muttawaa, Chairperson of the Abu Dhabi Business Women Council (shown in above photo).

The MENA Businesswomen’s Summit was sponsored by the Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) of the U.S. Department of State with the support of the Abu Dhabi Business Women Council and the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry; and was presented under the patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak.

Click here to view the rest of this post

Government Contractor Resources Seminar

This seminar is intended for businesses that are considering competing in the Federal market, or those that are in the early phases of entry.

Speakers
Government Business Development
Gloria Berthold
Sessions will cover the 5 Key Steps to Procurement Success
1. Basic definitions
2. Identifying Who Buys What you Sell
3. Finding Business Opportunities
4. Finding Decision Makers
5. Effective Strategies and Tactics

Government Contracting—Overview
Dennis Smythe
Session will cover the following topics
1. How the Government Buys
2. Myths Associated with Government Contracts
3. Minority, Small Disadvantaged Business Certifications
4. Contract Administration and the FAR

Accounting for Government Contracts
Rhonda J. Tomlinson, CPA
Session will cover the following topics
1. Components of Government Contract Accounting
2. Specialized Rules and Regulations
3. Policies and Procedures
4. Document and Best Practices

Valuable Handouts Included
Presented by: Government Contractor Resources, LLC
We help you navigate the contracting maze!

Date: Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Time: 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Cost: $149.00 (credit cards accepted)
Location: The Center for Business and Technology Development, The Thomas Dorsey Building 9250 Bendix Road, North, Columbia, MD 21045

For More information or to register click here or phone: 410.313.6550

Top 10 Forecasts for 2007

Please visit THE FUTURIST web site for the full story.

Each year since 1985, the editors of THE FUTURIST have selected the most thought-provoking ideas and forecasts appearing in the magazine.

Here are the editors' top 10 forecasts from Outlook 2007:
1. Generation Y will migrate heavily overseas. For the first time in its history, the United States will see a significant proportion of its population emigrate due to overseas opportunities. According to futurists Arnold Brown and Edie Weiner, Generation Y, the population segment born between 1978 and 1995, may be the first U.S. generation to have many of its members leave the country to pursue large portions of their lives, if not their entire adult lives, overseas. Brown and Weiner also predict that by 2025, 75% of Americans will live on the country’s coasts.

2. Dwindling supplies of water in China will impact the global economy. With uneven development across China, the most water-intensive industries and densest population are in regions where water is scarcest. The result is higher prices for commodities and goods exported from China, so the costs of resource and environmental mismanagement are transferred to the rest of the world. As a nation, China already outconsumes the United States on basic commodities, such as food, energy, meat, grain, oil, coal, and steel.

Click here to view the rest

BWN Luncheon Meeting

Guest Registration for the October 18 Lunch:
"Business Women-Government Contracting-Strategic Partnerships"
BWN members Special Secretary Sharon Pinder from the Governors Office on Minority Affairs and Gloria Berthold, President: TargetGov will present.

Wednesday, October 18, 2006 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
$40 Member Door fee / $30 Member Pre-register
$40 Non-member

Click here for more information and to register

Teleconference: GSA Schedules

10/19/06 GSA Schedule Two Track Teleconference

October 19, 2006 -- Two Track GSA Teleconferences -- Track 1: What a GSA Schedule Is and How to Obtain One from and Track 2: Now That You Have a GSA Schedule, Learn How to Use It to Get Contracts. Getting a GSA Schedule can be one of your most effective business development tools for the federal governemnt market. Attend these two teleconferences to learn how to get a GSA Schedule and how to use it effectively!

BWCC Procurement Fair October 27

Friday, October, 27, 2006
♦ 8am-12pm ♦ Greenbelt Marriott
Doors open at 8:00am

Resources available throughout the event to help you learn how to
do business with the government.

Pre-registration required for:
One-on-One Counseling Sessions
Contact Shirley Redd to register and learn which agencies and prime contractors are participating
Presentation Topics:

Maryland Small Business Reserve, Mentor-Protege and MBE Programs:
SHARON R. PINDER, Special Secretary, Governor's Office of Minority Affairs

Intercounty Connector Project:
Melinda Peters, Project Director, MDOT State Highway Administration

Business Development for Government Contractors
Learn the Top Ten Successful Strategies for Government Business Development and the Mistakes to Avoid in Government Contracting from nationally-known speaker Gloria Berthold. These practical do's and don't's of government contracting will help you target and win the business opportunities that are your best matches in this confusing market. Contracting: GLORIA BERTHOLD, President, TargetGov
To register: Visit our website: www.bwccgovcon.org

More News and Government Contracting Notes

Angel Investing Continues to Grow
The latest data on angel investing trends from the University of New Hampshire (UNH) shows that the angel investor market remains quite healthy. According to UNH professor Jeffrey Sohl, the value of angel investments reached $12.7 billion over the first two quarters of 2006. The growth rate of these investments was 15% higher than occurred in the first half of 2005. The average size of investments grew (up 22%) as angels backed 24,500 firms in the first half of 2006 – representing a 6% drop from the first half of 2005. ‘Health care and medical devices’ is the hottest sector for angels, accounting for 27% of total deals. Other hot sectors include software, biotechnology, and retail.

To learn more, click here to access the University of New Hampshire’s September 20, 2006 press release entitled “Angel Investor Markets Grows in First Half of 2006.”

Click here to view the rest of this post

Berthold Awarded 100 Top MBE in Maryland

Gloria Berthold Recognized for Business Excellence


Baltimore, MD. The Governor’s Office of Minority Affairs (OMA) and The Daily Record announced that Gloria Berthold, president of TargetGov at Marketing Outsource Associates, Inc., located in Howard County, has been named one of Maryland’s Top 100 Minority Business Enterprises for 2006. This program is designed to salute Maryland’s best minority and women business owners and to highlight their achievements.

A panel of distinguished judges chose Gloria Berthold as an entrepreneur who has demonstrated outstanding achievement in four key areas: business development, client satisfaction, professional affiliations and community outreach.

TargetGov was created to help small, minority, women and veteran-owned businesses with business devlopment in federal, state and local government agencies. Services include an exclusive, online database of government buyers at all levels of government, teaming development for contracts, business and sales consulting as well as GSA Schedule assistance, proposal writing, negotiating and contract management.

Sharon R. Pinder, Special Secretary, Governor’s Office of Minority Affairs said, “The business owners selected for this award represent the best of the state’s more than 200,000 women and minority owned businesses. Their contributions have had a major impact in maintaining Maryland’s vibrant economy.”

“Maryland is a very proactive state in encouraging minority and woman business owners. I am honored to receive this recognition and I will continue to help other business owners reach success in government contracting.”

Gloria Berthold will be honored at an awards ceremony at the Inn and Conference Center at University of Maryland University College, in Adelphi, Maryland, on Friday. October 27, 2006.

For more information about TargetGov go to www.targetgov.com

Press info: http://www.targetgov.com/Content.asp?id=2330

For more information about tile Top 100 MBE awards, please log onto www.TopMBE.com

For more information on the Governor’s Office of Minority Affairs visit www.mdminoritybusiness.com

Teleconference Schedule

Click the date for more details


October 5, 2006—Two Tracks! 8(a) Certification -- Will It Help You Win More Contracts? 2 Tracks: Choose the one that is best for you or attend both for full information. Attend both and save $40!
Over $15 Billion in federal contracts are set aside for those companies meeting Minority, Disadvantaged, HUB Zone or other certifications. Do you qualify for certification? If so, how do you get certified and then use that certification to open the door to business opportunities? Attend one or both TargetGov Teleconferences for answers!

October 19, 2006 -- Two Track GSA Teleconferences -- Track 1: What a GSA Schedule Is and How to Obtain One from and Track 2: Now That You Have a GSA Schedule, Learn How to Use It to Get Contracts. Getting a GSA Schedule can be one of your most effective business development tools for the federal governemnt market. Attend these two teleconferences to learn how to get a GSA Schedule and how to use it effectively!

FAA ends procurement program

A $543 million Federal Aviation Administration contracting program is being dissolved after an audit found it was improperly managed by the agency, according to a Transportation Department inspector general’s report released this week.

Only 24 percent of the 114 contracts awarded for support services under the RESULTS program “benefited from competition” and half of all contracts were awarded with no competition, according to the audit. The IG found that most of the contracts lacking competition were awarded based on “manager’s preference for working with a known individual contractor, an unacceptable reason.”

Also, 10 of 11 contracts reviewed lacked any criteria to determine contractor performance, the audit found. The audit also found the program failed to meet its mission of providing FAA with faster, cheaper and better support services. Labor costs under the RESULTS program were $24 million to $44 million higher than those incurred under other FAA procurement programs.

The report notes that FAA has taken steps to dissolve the program by halting new contract awards, discontinuing the program Web site and terminating 12 contracts this year. The report recommended FAA use other, existing multiple-award programs to replace the contracts.

The investigation into the program began in 2005 with a request from Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, chairman of the Finance Committee, and Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla.

Click here for more information

Congress agrees to merger of GSA funds

The House on Monday passed legislation allowing the General Services Administration to merge revolving funds for two acquisition units -- a key step in an ongoing reorganization -- advancing the measure to the White House for President Bush's signature. The Senate passed an amended version of the bill earlier this month.

The legislation would allow GSA to complete the merger of its Federal Technology Service and Federal Supply Service into a single entity. Combining the revolving funds for the two procurement groups into a new Federal Acquisition Service fund could improve the agency's financial outlook, as the technology service has recently run at a loss while the supply service has generated a surplus.

Click here for the full story

TSA Contracts Will Go to Small Business

Kerry Ensures TSA Contracts Will Go to Small Businesses

Contact: Brian Rice of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, 202-224-7834

WASHINGTON, Sept. 29 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Senator John Kerry (D- Massachusetts) succeeded in attaching legislation to the Homeland Security Appropriations Conference Report that will make the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) accountable to the Small Business Act for purposes of contracting with outside vendors. TSA was exempted from the Small Business Act in the aftermath of 9/11, and as a result has not been held to requirements for contracting with small businesses that apply to nearly every other Federal agency.

"By every account, TSA has abused procurement privileges granted in the aftermath of September 11th," said Kerry, who as Ranking Member of the Small Business Committee has been an ardent supporter for small business contracting opportunities. "As a result, capable qualified small businesses are left out of the federal procurement process. When it comes to ensuring that America's small businesses receive the opportunities they need to grow and succeed, it's time to bring the Bush Administration in check. That starts today at TSA."

Kerry's legislation is scheduled to pass as part of the Homeland Security Appropriations Conference Report later this evening. The final version of the bill will be approved by both the House and the Senate Chambers today, and will be sent to the President for his signature.

As a result of Kerry's amendment, TSA will be required to adhere to government-wide, statutory contracting goals. These goals establish that at least 23 percent of federal contracts will go to small businesses, with smaller percentages of between three and five percent directed to disadvantaged business communities, including socially and economically disadvantaged businesses, women owned businesses, and service disabled veteran owned businesses.

"Small businesses face plenty of obstacles without the federal government shutting them out of procurement opportunities," said Kerry. "We depend on small businesses to grow our economy. The least we can do is reserve them a place at the table to compete for these contracts."

GSA: End NASA contract?

GSA chief wants to end NASA contract

The head of the U.S. General Services Administration has taken the unusual step of asking the White House to deny NASA's request to extend a multibillion-dollar government-wide information technology contract.

A $4 billion space agency contract for buying computers and other IT products from IBM Corp., Northrop Grumman Corp., Unisys Corp., Hewlett-Packard Co. and CDW Corp., among others, is scheduled to end next year and NASA has received bids to extend the deal.

But Lurita Doan, GSA administrator, argues that her agency has contracts offering similar products, and not renewing the NASA contract would allow that agency to better focus on buying products and services needed for space exploration and other NASA-specific missions.

Doan is making similar requests on contracts at other agencies, including Treasury and Defense. If she gets her way, she could change the way federal contractors do business with the government. It's not clear whether Doan's request will be honored.....

Click here for the full story

Travel Contracts for Small Businesses

Travel effort has generated small business opportunities
From National Journal's Technology Daily


An ongoing effort by the General Services Administration to save money and improve government employee travel services has given small travel agencies ample opportunities to do business with the federal government, according to a report from the Government Accountability Office released Friday.

Small businesses can take part in GSA's e-government travel service -- under which three vendors agreed to offer an array of travel-management services to agencies -- and through a comprehensive contracting vehicle for offices to obtain related services like professional travel agents, GAO said.

GSA promotes the use of small subcontractors by setting goals and offering incentives for using small businesses, as well as monetary penalties for not meeting those goals, the report said.
Click here for the full story

Not the Brightest Bulb in the Pack...

This guy took outsoucing contracting a bit too loosely:
A 46-year-old Los Angeles man was nabbed on Thursday for impersonating a US Department of Homeland Security official while trying to get a job with Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's security providers and become a part of their security entourage. Click here for the full story about the dim bulb....