The Small Business Advocate

Advocacy: the voice of small business in government

The Small Business Administration Advocacy is turning its attention to the existing regulatory burden facing small business. By one estimate, the total cost to comply with current regulations is $1.1 trillion, and small business pays a disproportionate share of that cost. Advocacy wants to reduce regulatory burden by identifying and reforming existing rules that are outdated, ineffective, or unworkable. You can help them identify burdensome rules and regulations that affect YOUR business. Advocacy’s new Regulatory Review and Reform— or r3—initiative (www.sba.gov/advo/r3 ) is designed to give small business a voice in the review and reform of existing rules. Just as the RFA training effort has been successful in helping agencies consider small business when making new rules, the r3 initiative will work to help agencies consider small business when evaluating their existing rules.

SBA’s r3 Website Features Nomination How-To’s
The Small Business Administration Advocacy’s r3 website contains new information and updates.
Advocacy recently added complete nomination criteria guidelines to assist small businesses in nominating regulations that should be reviewed. Visit www.sba.gov/advo/r3/r3_nomination.pdf to consult the guidelines. Submit nominations to advocacy@sba.gov or contact Assistant Chief Counsel Keith Holman at (202) 205-6936.

A complete series of questions and answers regarding the r3 initiative is now available at www.sba.gov/advo/r3/r3_questions.pdf.
All r3 initiative information can be found at www.sba.gov/advo/r3.

Minority Procurement Seminar -- U.S. House of Representatives

In an effort to increase the level of participation by minority vendors in contracting opportunities with the U.S. House of Representatives, the Committee on House Administration is sponsoring a Minority Procurement Seminar on September 27, 2007 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Washington, D.C. This seminar will provide step-by-step instructions for bidding on contracts within the agencies listed below. More than 50 contractors from all over the country have already registered for this event.

This session will focus on the contracts available in the offices of the Architect of the Capitol (AOC), the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), the General Services Administration, and the Small Business Administration. The seminar will provide information on how to qualify for the small and minority business contract lists that some agencies maintain. It will also provide information on how to navigate the Federal contracting and bidding processes. In recent years, the AOC has provided more than $675 million dollars in contracts to private vendors, and the CAO has let approximately $300 million in contracts.

Participants are accepted on a first come, first served basis. Once the seats are filled, waiting lists are established and those aspiring attendees will be notified if a slot becomes available. The Committee on House Administration must have registration fees by close of business on September 10, 2007.

View the PDF file for more information and a registration form. Or contact: Sterling Spriggs or Janice Crump at (202) 225-2061.

A Federal Procurement Bonanza—Are You Getting Your Share?

U.S. federal procurement costs have soared during the Iraqi war, breaking the $400 billion mark for the first time in fiscal 2006 with a nearly 10% year-to-year increase to $425 billion, and much of that money goes to a handful of defense-industry contractors, Government Executive reports. Lockheed Martin's came to $33 billion, up 27% from the previous year and a total that eclipses the procurement budgets of all civilian federal agencies. Northrop Grumman, Boeing, General Dynamics and Raytheon had smaller but nonetheless substantial increases, while the war helped private-security firm Blackwater join the list of top 200 players for the nearly $600 million it received for work in Iraq. Let us know if you want to become more successful in your contracting efforts.

Make Mine a Million $ Business® Award

Get a powerful package of money, mentoring, marketing and technology opportunities to set you on your way to owning a Million $ business.

Targetgov's own Gloria Berthold is among the mentors in this program and urges you to apply.

The Make Mine a Million $ Business program encourages applications from any business that is at least 50% woman-owned, at least two years old, and demonstrate high growth potential.

Make Mine a Million $ Business, founded by Count Me In for Women's Economic Independence with founding partner, OPEN from American Express®, is designed to help women entrepreneurs surpass the Million $ revenue mark.

Award Recipients Receive

• One year of mentoring from a “dream” team of coaches and business experts from Count Me In.
  
  
• Up to $50,000 in financing from OPEN from American Express® and Count Me In.
  
  
• Services and consulting from AIG® to help with work/life balance, small business insurance needs and financial planning.
  
  
• Smart Business Communication network from Cisco Systems valued at up to $20,000 for select awardees.
  For more info:  www.cisco.com/go/smb
  
  
• Discounts from FedEx select shipping and office and print services.
  
  
• Easy-to-use business and financial management software from Intuit as well as expert consultation, education, training and resources.
  
  
• A marketing consultation from QVC.
  

Click here to apply.

WIPP INVITATION to the September Powerful Policy and Politics Conference

POWERful Policy and Politics ~ September 17-19, 2007 ~ Renaissance Mayflower Hotel ~ Washington, DC ~

POWERful Policy and Politics is almost here. If you haven’t registered yet, or made your hotel registration, it is not too late. There are plenty of good reasons to attend but here are some of the top benefits:

1. You will meet incredible women from across the country – women just like you who are smart and successful – and want to make a difference!
   
2. You will learn a lot about the legislative issues that make a difference to small businesses from the best political strategists in Washington!
   
3. You will learn how to be an effective advocate and lobbyist for the issues that make a difference to you!
   
4. You will meet your elective representatives and staff on the Hill, in their offices!
   
5. You will meet the federal procurement representatives you need to know to gain entry into the federal contracting arena!
   
6. You will meet, sit with, talk to and get to know top corporate leaders!
   
7. You will hear THE top 2008 Election outlook from the best in the field!
   
8. You will learn strategies to build a multi-cultural organization and meet the top corporate, entrepreneur and agency leaders in the country – and learn how strong diverse leadership strengthens our economy!
   
9. You will meet 5 young entrepreneurs, competing for the Elizabeth Dole Young Entrepreneur Scholarship Award!
   
10. We’ll have special receptions and a Gala – not to be missed! Click here for the agenda and registration.

DoD to Change Vendor Payment System--Will it Speed Payments?

The Defense Department plans to stop using commercial electronic data interchange (EDI) systems to process payments and instead will require contactors to use the Department’s Web-based Wide Area Workflow - Receipt and Acceptance system. The department said it anticipates that the use of Wide Area Workflow will fully automate its payment process, significantly improve the timeliness of payments and reduce interest charges on late payments.

In 2004, Defense had $206 billion in contract payments subject to the Prompt Payment Act, according to a May 2006 Government Accountability Office report. Out of a pool of some $24 billion in payments the GAO studied, Defense was late in paying an average of 10 percent or $2.4 billion, of the payments to large vendors, while late payments to small vendors ran about 14.5 percent or over $3.4 billion, according to the report.

Defense wrote in an Aug. 14 Federal Register notice that neither the American National Standards Institute X12 EDI nor the Web Invoicing System cannot process all Defense contract payment requests and cannot be made available to all government offices and organizations.

According to the Federal Register notice, the change in Defense Federal Acquisition Regulations requiring use of Wide Area Workflow will require about 1,000 small businesses to switch to the system – a relatively low number compared with the 20,000 small companies already using it. (Contracting officers can allow the use of other payment systems if they choose.)

Wide Area Work Flow is the only system that can process all payment types. According to a fact sheet from the Defense Business Transformation Agency, it uses a virtual folder that contains the three documents required to pay a contractor: the contract, the invoice and the receiving report. The Wide Are Workflow helps eliminate lots of paper documents, which also can be misplaced, and compresses the contract payment process from weeks to days or minutes, according to the fact sheet.

Defense said it will take comments on the proposed rule change until Oct. 15.

Since it takes only one hour to learn how to use Wide Area Workflow, according to the Federal Register notice, it seems the new change in rules can be a boon to small vendors, even though I have yet to encounter any computer program that can be mastered in an hour. (Original story by Bob Brewin)

Note: See WAWF training course available at http://wawftraining.com Source: Original story by Bob Brewin through the Association of Procurement Technical Assistance Centers at http://www.aptac-us.org/new/Contracting_News/index.php?articleID=83

Response from the Hill to SBA Announcement

Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-N.Y.), chairwoman of the House Small Business Committee, responded to SBA's announcement Aug. 16 by criticizing the Bush administration's failure to meet the small business contracting goals. "Year after year, the federal government has failed to reach their small business contracting goals and this year is no exception," Velazquez said. "Once again, the government has neglected to take advantage of the innovations and quality products offered by small firms, resulting in billions of dollars that instead went to large government contractors."

Velazquez also said the latest data show "the clear need" for the Small Business Fairness in Contracting Act (H.R. 1873), approved by the House this year, which "will ensure that small businesses are able to compete for billions of dollars in contracts that will help them expand and proper within their communities."

WIPP Update Notice

Call for Public Participation in Examining Small Business Regulations

A recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report documents the need for more public participation and transparency in federal agencies’ review of their existing regulations. Reexamining Regulations: Opportunities Exist to Improve Effectiveness and Transparency of Retrospective Reviews also finds that agencies are not getting it done when it comes to measuring the impacts of regulations on small businesses – mandated by section 610 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA). The report points to a lack of clear standards, insufficient public participation and comment, and inadequate communication of the results to stakeholders. A new program by the SBA Office of Advocacy, Regulatory Review and Reform (R3), promises to address these issues by offering agencies guidance and training on how to implement section 610 of the RFA; soliciting recommendations from the small business community on rules that should be reviewed; and, providing public updates on the status and results of agency retrospective reviews.

Download the GAO report, Reexamining Regulations or learn more about the SBA Office of Advocacy's R3 initiative.

© 2007 The Public Forum Institute and the National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship www.publicforuminstitute.org/nde.

SBA Scores Small Business Procurement Efforts

Seven of 24 Federal Agencies Meet Small Business Contracting Goals

In an effort to increase the transparency and accountability in small business contracting, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) today released its first-ever Small Business Procurement Scorecard. The Scorecard will help agencies measure their achievements and progress in making contracting opportunities available to small businesses, improve the accuracy of contracting data regarding small businesses, and provide the public the opportunity to assess agencies' performance in meeting these goals.

Seven federal agencies; the Departments of Agriculture, Energy, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, Veterans Affairs, and SBA itself, met their small business contracting goals.

"SBA's and the agencies' commitment to small business contracting results is unprecedented," said Clay Johnson, Deputy Director for Management at the Office of Management and Budget. "With clear, outcome-oriented goals, clear, realistically aggressive plans to achieve them, clearly defined accountability, and frequent tracking of performance, SBA and the agencies are saying they want to be held most publicly accountable for contracting with small business at desired levels."

SBA's Scorecard builds on a series of administration initiatives to improve small business access to federal contracts. At the request of the White House's Office of Federal Procurement Policy and SBA, federal agencies spent months reviewing 11 million contract actions from the last two years to cleanse the database of miscoded contracts. On June 30, federal regulations were changed. Contracts awarded to small companies acquired by large corporations will no longer count towards federal agency small business goals -- even if the acquisition took place before the rule change.

"These changes -- increased accuracy, transparency and accountability -- provide a real window of opportunity for America's small businesses," said SBA Administrator Steve Preston. "Almost $5 billion in misreported contracts have been cleaned out of the small business database. To meet their goals in 2007 and beyond, federal agencies know they will have to place more new contracts with small businesses. SBA is also increasing its staff and technical assistance to help our federal partners meet their contracting needs."

Small Business Goaling Report

After working with federal agencies to identify miscoding and anomalies in the contracting database, SBA released the annual Small Business Goaling Report for FY 2006, and revised the FY 2005 report. The Goaling Report shows that $77.7 billion in federal contracts were awarded to small businesses in FY 2006, up $2.7 billion from the previous year. The revisions reduce the share of contracts awarded to small businesses in 2005 $4.6 billion from the previously-reported 25.4 percent to 23.4 percent. For 2006 the figure is 22.8 percent, just short of the small business procurement goal established by law at 23 percent.

Administrator Preston cited the progress federal agencies have made towards meeting the five targeted sub-categories for small businesses procurement, as an example of what can be accomplished when agencies track progress towards small business goals.

"While only the target for small disadvantaged business has been met so far," Preston said, "SBA is encouraged by the real gains made in every category in 2006." Contracts to companies owned by service-disabled veterans increased by 50 percent, from $2 billion to $3 billion; contracts to women-owned businesses increased by a billion dollars; contracts to 8(a) companies rose by $700 million, contracts to HUBZone companies were up $1 billion. "We still have more to do to reach our targets," Preston said, "but these are accomplishments that our federal partners can be proud of."

About the Scorecard

SBA rates 24 agencies green, yellow or red, both on whether they reached their annual small business contracting goals and on their progress on efforts to make contracting opportunities available to small businesses. To achieve a green rating a federal agency has to meet its overall small business contracting goal, as well as the goals for at least three of four subcategories. For their current status, seven agencies were rated green, five yellow, and 12 were red. In the second category, under "progress," 12 agencies were rated green, eight were yellow, and four were red.

Each federal agency has a different small business contracting goal, determined annually in consultation with SBA. SBA ensures that the sum total of all of the goals exceeds the 23 percent target established by law. The Scorecard will be updated every six months and is publicly available on the SBA website at http://www.sba.gov.

"Small businesses play an important part in growing our nation's economy, and this Scorecard will help the agencies achieve contracting results that will keep our small businesses strong," said Administrator Paul Denett of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP). "This new tool, along with better data in the goaling reports, will enable us to identify where we are strong and where we need to improve."

With more than 5.5 million contracting actions each year, miscodings and errors will not be completely eliminated from the contracting database. By publicizing the reports, and providing new tools to facilitate public review of the database, SBA and OFPP will enlist affected businesses and other stakeholders in the effort to continuously improve the accuracy and integrity of the procurement data.

The goaling reports released today by SBA are available at http://www.sba.gov/aboutsba/sbaprograms/goals/index.html.

SOURCE: U.S. Small Business Administration
Tiffani Clements of the U.S. Small Business Administration, +1-202-401-0035

Dept. of Energy’s Business Opportunity Sessions

The Dept. of Energy’s (DOE) Business Opportunity Sessions Scheduled for Aug 28 and Sept 26

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Director of the Office of Small & Disadvantaged Business Utilization, Theresa Speake, announced an upcoming monthly Business Opportunity Sessions (BOS) to encourage small business contracting and further the Department’s mission.

The Business Opportunity Sessions begin with an overview on “How to Work with DOE,” followed by presentations from program experts seeking to develop small business participation through current or pending contract opportunities. The next Business Opportunity Sessions will be he held at DOE’s Forrestal Building, and are scheduled for Tuesday, August 28, and Wednesday, September 26, 2007. Space is limited, registration is required. To register, contact the DOE OSDBU office: Lee Avila, Lee.Avila@hq.doe.gov or call (202) 586-7377. To reserve your seat, please email your name, company, country of citizenship, a contact phone number and an email address. Also include a brief description of what services or products your company provides. Some of this information is required for our office files and some for the DOE security logs. Space is limited. Only two individuals per company, please.

The sessions provide a forum for federal acquisition officials to meet, in-person, with small businesses that may not be familiar with DOE’s contracting opportunities, and that DOE might not necessarily identify through traditional market research. BOS aims to further President Bush’s Small Business Agenda by increasing small business participation in the Department’s contracting opportunities.

“The Department of Energy strongly supports contracting with small businesses to help drive economic growth, and to advance our mission,” Director Speake said. “Small businesses have played and will continue to play a key role in DOE’s many successes. Encouraging DOE’s program officials to meet with small business representatives, in-person, allows the Department to continue to bring cutting-edge technology and improved business practices to our entire complex.”

Last month, Secretary Bodman issued a policy statement on DOE’s small business priorities, reiterating the Department’s commitment to pursue contracting opportunities with small businesses.

In Fiscal Year 2006, DOE awarded approximately $1.2 billion in prime contracts to small businesses. Additionally, through its Management and Operating contractors, $3.5 billion in subcontracts were awarded to small business. DOE strives to maximize its commitment to small businesses in 2007 and in subsequent years. Read more information on contracting with DOE.

Delay Implementation of 3% Contract Withholding

Committee Passes Legislation to Delay Implementation of 3% Contract Withholding Requirement For One Year

Last week the House Ways and Means Committee passed H.R. 3056, Tax Collection Responsibility Act of 2007 which includes language to delay by one year a 3-percent withholding requirement on government payments to its contractors that is set to take effect in 2011. If enacted, the 3% withholding will not go into effect until the start of 2012. The bill now moves to the House floor for consideration. WIPP strongly supports permanent repeal of the withholding provision because of its adverse effect on small business contractors. The 3% withholding requirement applies not only to federal contractors, but also state and local contractors. WIPP will continue to press for repeal of Section 511 of the tax code.

To view the letter signed by WIPP and other business associations to the House Ways and Means Committee on H.R. 3056, please click here.

WIPP asks that you write to your Members of Congress to urge them to support legislation that will repeal the provision. Two bills introduced will fully repeal the 3% withholding requirement. In the House, HR 1023 has been introduced by Reps. Meek (D-FL) and Herger (R-CA). The Senate bill (S 777) was introduced by Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID). Please click here to visit the WIPP Instant Impact site to take action.

Gloria Berthold awarded WIPP Member of the Year

Gloria Berthold will be awarded the 2007 Member of the Year Award by Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP), a national bi-partisan public policy organization representing more than 505,000 women in business and women business owners. She will be honored on Tuesday, September 18th, at the WIPP Awards Luncheon in Washington DC. for her dedication, devotion and achievements as a business owner and as a leader in the WIPP organization.

Barbara Kasoff, President and CEO of WIPP, a nationwide group encouraging the collective vision and voice of women to impact legislation affecting the business community, had this say to say about Ms. Berthold, "She is a role model for all our members, excelling in her advocacy work and generosity of spirit, and setting an example for all to emulate.” Kasoff thanked her for all her work and her guidance and support.

Currently Ms. Berthold is the Maryland Advocacy Director for WIPP. In this capacity, she has volunteered her time and expertise to inform business owners regarding pending legislation affecting their businesses; she has also met with legislators, offered testimony to affect changes and taught other business owners how to do the same. She is active in the Maryland Instant Impact Team and the WIPP Procurement Council. Ms. Berthold said, “I searched a long time to find an organization that offers bipartisan support for business owners. WIPP not only represents business owners from both parties, but it actively advocates and gets results from both parties. I love being part of an effective group!”

Gloria Berthold has been President of Marketing Outsource Associates, a full service business development and marketing firm since 1997, and its division, TargetGov, since 2004. TargetGov specializes in government contracting business development at federal, state, and local levels. In addition, Ms. Berthold is also a government contractor as well as a published author, speaker and instructor on the subject of government contracting and general business development. Her quotes have appeared in USA Today, Inc. Magazine, and Government Executive Magazine and she has been interviewed in podcasts for BusinessWeek.com and The Business Monthly. For more information visit: www.TaregtGov.com

Finding Business "Idols"

Just as the “American Idol” television series is stirring up the music business, a group of entrepreneurs is quietly adopting a similar format to change the face of the venture capital and angel investing industry, according to an analysis on venture financing by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. According to the paper, while “American Idol” has proved to be a major success in identifying and establishing entertainment stars, the reality show also has tapped industry experts to groom and coach the top talent in the competition, who have gone on to sell tens of millions of albums. A similar formula is emerging among a new wave of entrepreneurs and venture capital funders -- from identifying new entrepreneurs to providing the expert advice and support in launching and accelerating new business operations. The new “Idol-based” models vary in their details, but their contest-based method of selection and subsequent grooming are a common feature. This new approach to finding and nurturing innovative entrepreneurial enterprises seems to be catching on like wildfire, not only in the United States but in Europe and other parts of the world. In a report titled “Finding Business Idols: A New Model to Accelerate Start-Ups,” the Kauffman researchers outline several variations of this new form of early stage acceleration and venture investing. This so-called new “accelerator” model differs from previous early stage investors, such as incubators, which are oftentimes limited to real estate deals, with start-ups as tenants who pay for shared overhead. In contrast, the accelerator typically helps form companies as legal entities, interviews and hires the appropriate initial management team, and lends its own management expertise. In short, the accelerator becomes the “new company” throughout seed-stage development. And though venture capitalists and even some angel investor groups have backed away from seed-stage financing, others are now showing interest in the accelerator model of picking and grooming the next wave of potentially high-growth start-ups.

Download the report, Finding Business Idols: A New Model to Accelerate Start-Ups.

© 2007 The Public Forum Institute and the National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship www.publicforuminstitute.org/nde.

Department of Energy Seeking Small Businesses

The Department of Energy has released a "Sources Sought" Announcement. – Timing is Critical, Small Businesses Must Reply This Week.

The US Department of Energy seeks qualified small businesses, small business-led teams and joint ventures that qualify as small businesses capable of preparing Environmental Impact Statements (EIS), environmental Assessments (EA), Environmental Reports (ER), and supporting environmental documentation.

For the last last 4.5 years, the DOE has issued 42 tasks valued at over $87M on the incumbent contracts and four out of the five businesses were large companies. Share this announcement with all the small businesses you know who can do this work. We need to show the DOE that small businesses are interested and are capable of meeting their needs.

Click here for the Sources Sought announcement from the Dept. Of Energy (DOE). The timing is tight, so download and respond today!

Competition - Top 50 Women-Owned Companies

The Search is on!

In honor of the 10th Anniversary of the Women Presidents’ Organization (WPO), the WPO and Entrepreneur Magazine are holding a competition to find the top 50 fastest-growing women-owned/women-led companies in North America. Companies will be ranked according to revenue growth from 2002 to 2006.

To be eligible, companies must be…

• privately-owned
  
• women-owned/led
  
• must have started generating revenue by the first week of 2002
  
• must have reached revenues of $1 million by year-end 2006

To apply, download and fill out the form at the Targetgov website and fax to 212.688.4766 or email to fastgrowth@womenpresidentsorg.com by August 5, 2007. There is no charge to apply.

For more information please visit www.womenpresidentsorg.com/50Fastest.htm The Top 50 fastest-growing companies will be publicized in the November 2007 issue of Entrepreneur Magazine.

Applicants need not be WPO members to apply.

Maryland TEDCO Tops National VC List!

Angels Climbing List of Top VC Firms

Every year Entrepreneur magazine identifies the top 100 venture capital firms. And while not every startup needs $1 million or more, an infusion of cash like that is enough to put some on the fast track to high growth. A total of 608 startup and early stage companies got their first round of venture capital last year, according to a special analysis prepared for Entrepreneur of the "MoneyTree Report" by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association, based on data from Thomson Financial. On average, each company got $4.8 million, for a combined total of $2.9 billion. Both figures are four-year highs. The listing ranks VC firms by the number of early-stage deals made in 2006. The top five firms were: Maryland Technology Development Corporation (22 deals in 2006); Draper Fisher Jurvetson (19); Tech Coast Angels (17); New Enterprise Associates (13); and Khosla Ventures (12) tied with Sequoia Capital (12). Tech Coast Angels, the largest angel investor network in the US, came in at the top for late stage companies with seven deals in 2006.

View the full list of Entrepreneur's 2007 Top 100 Venture Capital Firms.

© 2007 The Public Forum Institute and the National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship www.publicforuminstitute.org/nde.

The World’s Fastest Cities

Fast Company has just published its annual listing of the world’s "Fastest Cities," i.e, the places best suited to support innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship. The list is very eclectic, broken into categories such as start-up hubs (Austin, Madison, Tucson and London), creative class meccas (Shanghai, New York, San Francisco and Buenos Aires), green leaders (Chicago, Portland, Vancouver and Stockholm) and high-tech hotspots (Hanoi, Chandigarh, and Boise).

The issue also includes unenviable lists of "slow cities" (Budapest, St. Louis, New Orleans, Detroit and Havana) and "too fast cities" where future risks outweigh current upsides (Cairo; Almaty, Kazakhstan; Greenwich, CT; Las Vegas, and Shenzen).

The "Fast Cities 2007" list appears in the July 2007 issue of Fast Company and is available on-line at: http://www.fastcompany.com/cities/2007

This story is from the National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship© 2007 The Public Forum Institute

Self-Employment Booms... Again!

The number of self-employed Americans has been rising rapidly for years, and new Census Bureau data indicates that the trend is continuing. Earlier this month, the Census Bureau released the latest numbers (2005) which show that more than 20 million Americans are now self-employed. A deeper look at these numbers yields some astounding figures.

Each day, 2,356 Americans decide to go into business for themselves. Their companies account for 78% of all US businesses, and they collectively obtain annual receipts of $951 billion. Georgia (up 7.6%) and Utah (up 7.2%) showed the highest annual increases. The national average increase was 4.4 percent. The fastest growing sector was Web search portals, where the number of self-employed jumped an astounding 41.2 percent in one year.

To access the latest US Census Bureau Nonemployer Statistics, visit http://www.census.gov/epcd/nonemployer/index.html

This story is from the National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship© 2007 The Public Forum Institute

Technology Trends and Small Business

As part of its “Future of Small Business” project, Intuit has recently a second report that examines key issues facing entrepreneurs. The latest study examines how small firms can prosper in the “connected world” where new technologies will change nearly everything about running a business. The study flags three key trends. First, mobile devices and new analytical tools and devices will free entrepreneurs from spending too much time on mundane managerial tasks. Second, as on-line networks grow in scale and scope, small businesses will be able to build global partnerships and will face limited technology hurdles when it comes to starting or growing their companies. Finally, marketing will move from a “push” to a “pull” mentality. Instead of pushing information out to potential customers, businesses will need to emphasize providing customers with the right information at the right time in the right context. As such, a firm’s on-line presence will become the critical factor in its subsequent success.

Access the Intuit Future of Small Business report on technology trends.

© 2007 The Public Forum Institute and the National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship at www.publicforuminstitute.org/nde.

A Little Summer Diversion: The Best Lemonade Stand in America

Inc. magazine is back with its 2nd annual “Best Lemonade Stand in America” contest. The contest is open to all kid-preneurs (between ages 5 and 12) who must submit an application before September 3, 2007. Inc.’s editors and readers will select the winner who will receive a $1000 savings bond. The Inc. website contains all the rules and details -- as well as interviews with last year’s winners and tips for making a cool lemonade stand of your own.

To learn more about the Inc. Best Lemonade Stand in America contest

Trends in Government Contracting

1. From fiscal year 2000 to fiscal year 2005, government purchasing increased nearly 75% from $219 billion to more than $380 billion.
2. Services now comprise a greater percentage of the government’s acquisition budget
3. The federal acquisition workforce has declined by nearly 50 percent since personnel reductions in the mid-1990s.
4. Purchases through indefinite delivery contracts have gotten much larger, often exceeding five million dollars. Purchases under the Multiple Award Schedules also have more than doubled in value over the last decade.

See the “REPORT OF THE ACQUISITION ADVISORY PANEL” below for more details.

The Federal government is the single largest buyer in the world. Each year Federal agencies spend nearly $400 billion a year for a range of goods and services to meet their mission needs. Some acquisitions are highly specialized – advanced fighter jets, precision munitions, nuclear submarines – for which there is no non-governmental or commercial demand. Other goods and services are readily available and purchased from the commercial marketplace. From laptop computers and off-the-shelf software to information technology (“IT”) consulting services, software development, and engineering services. Federal agencies rely upon common commercial goods and se rvices to conduct their business. In addition, commercial products may be modified to meet government needs. In all of these circumstances government acquisition process intersects with the private sector and the Federal government can benefit from knowing how commercial buyers approach the acquisition process.


Trends In Acquisition
Since the FASA and FARA reforms were enacted a decade or more ago, a number of events have affected government contracting. For example, the events of September 11, 2001, and subsequent conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as the Katrina aftermath, have influenced what the government buys and how much it spends. From fiscal year 2000 to fiscal year 2005, government purchasing increased nearly 75% from $219 billion to more than $380 billion.

Over the last decade, a number of trends have affected government contracting. Services now comprise a greater percentage of the government’s acquisition budget. Between 1990 and 1995 the government began spending more on services than goods.10 Currently, procurement spending on services accounts for more than 60% of total procurement dollars.11 In FY 2005, DOD obligated more than $141 billion on service contracts, a 72% increase since FY 1999.12

While procurement spending has increased, products and services often are purchased through relatively large orders under contracts with broad scopes of work. Contracting agencies often rely on indefinite delivery contracts, such as interagency contracts, under which orders are issued for products or services. Orders under the types of contracts discussed above often can be larger in amount than individual contracts. Orders under such contract vehicles can be significant in terms of size, and may exceed $5 million. Purchases under the Multiple Award Schedules also have more than doubled in value over the last decade.

There also are fewer acquisition professionals in the government to award and administer contracts as the government’s contracting workforce has reduced in size over the last decade. The federal acquisition workforce has declined by nearly 50 percent since personnel reductions in the mid-1990s.14 Despite recent efforts to hire acquisition personnel, there is an acute shortage of federal procurement professionals with between five and 15 years of experience. This shortage will become more pronounced in the near term because roughly half of the current workforce is eligible to retire in the next four years.

Over the last decade or so, consolidation has occurred in certain parts of industry that contract with the government, including but not limited to aerospace and defense. As a result, certain contractors are now performing work that previously was performed by other companies. In sum, a variety of trends and factors have influenced government contracting and continue to do so. Effective and efficient access to the commercial market place, and will continue to play, a major role in helping to enable agencies to purchase the products and services they need.

Source:
http://www.acquisition.gov/comp/aap/documents/DraftFinalReport.pdf

One Billion PCs

A new set of projections from Forrester Research predicts that there will be more than one billion personal computers (PCs) in use worldwide by 2008. That’s a pretty astounding growth rate in PC use as Forrester researchers project that PC use will grow at a compounded annual rate of roughly 12% between 2003 and 2015. Overall, it took 27 years to reach the one billion mark for PCs. The two billion mark should be achieved in an additional five years. As PC use skyrockets, there are lots of implications for entrepreneurs and for policy makers. One clear conclusion from this research is that emerging markets (especially Brazil, Russia, India, and China) will account for the predominant portion of future growth in the personal computer market.

Learn more about the June 2007 Forrester Research report, Worldwide PC Adoption Forecast, 2007-2015. (Access to full report requires purchase)

© 2007 The Public Forum Institute and the National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship at www.publicforuminstitute.org/nde.

Chamber Supports Withholding Repeal Legislation

Chamber Rallies Support for 3% Withholding Repeal Legislation

Reps. Kendrick Meek (D-FL) and Wally Herger (R-CA) joined the National Association of Counties and the Chamber-led Government Withholding Relief Coalition in rallying support for H.R. 1023, the Withholding Tax Relief Act of 2007. This legislation would repeal a mandate that federal, state, and local governments withhold 3% from all payments to government contractors for goods and services beginning in 2011.

The Chamber and the Coalition oppose the 3% withholding mandate, which will cause companies to lose vital funds needed to operate day-to-day activities, forcing them to pass along the added costs to customers or finance the additional amount.

Click here to read the summary of the 511 legislation

Click here to read the Talking Points

For more information, visit: http://www.withholding.relief.org

Mikulski announces $164 Million for Fort Meade

Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, has announced that the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs 2008 spending bill provides $984.2 million for projects at Maryland’s military facilities, including $719.7 million in Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) projects.

The spending bill includes $164 million for Fort Meade in Anne Arundel County. The breakdown includes $152 million in BRAC funding for a Defense Information Services Agency building; $7.9 million for a new power, space and cooling utilities building at NSA; $4 million for an exterior stair tower at the NSA Operations Building to address building safety codes; $94,000 in BRAC funding for a clearance adjudication facility.

The bill also includes $87.5 billion for critical Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) programs, a significant $4 billion more than President George W. Bush requested and the largest increase for veterans’ health care in the 77 years of the department’s existence. In the next step of the appropriations process, the bill will go to the Senate floor for a vote, which has not yet been scheduled.

The legislation, which passed the full Senate Appropriations Committee, contains provisions for military installations nationwide, with federal funding totaling $21.55 billion to support new construction costs.

Federal Support for Small Manufacturers

At the request of several Members of Congress concerned about the fate of America’s small manufacturers, the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) has published a detailed summary of all Federal programs that provide support to small manufacturers. The survey results are quite interesting. Overall, GAO identified 254 Federal programs that provide support to the business sector. Within this group, twenty programs provide support to manufacturers, and five are targeted especially to small firms. While GAO could not obtain data on spending in all twenty of these programs, its analysts estimate that Washington spent a total of roughly $35 million (over three years) to support anywhere from 8,000 to 9,000 small manufacturing firms per year. Very few of the Federal programs provide direct financial assistance; most focus on providing technical support and other types of assistance. At first glance, it may appear that, with only five targeted programs, small manufacturers have very few options for Federal support. However, as GAO notes, small manufacturers are more likely to obtain support from general business support initiatives as opposed to programs that are targeted only to their specific niche.

Access the May 2007 Government Accountability Office report here

This story © 2007 The Public Forum Institute and the National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship.

Gloria Berthold-Bravo Business Achievement Awardee

Business Achievement Award winner by Baltimore SmartCeo Magazine. Ms. Berthold was chosen along with 24 other female entrepreneurs in the Greater Baltimore area who are making unprecedented strides in business and building a stronger community financially, philanthropically, and most importantly, through leadership. This award program serves to increase the visibility and recognition of these extraordinary business women.

Ms. Berthold, and other award winners, will be honored at the awards ceremony on July 19, 2007 at the Padonia Park Club and will be highlighted in the July issue of the Baltimore SmartCeo Magazine.

Gloria Berthold, was selected because of her varied business achievements and her service to fellow business women and the business community. In 2006, Ms. Berthold was chosen as one of five US business women to travel to the Middle East to mentor and counsel business women from 17 countries throughout North Africa and the Middle East regarding building their own economic independence as new business owners. Here in the U.S., she offers practical advice and counsel to help business owners to be more effective and understand the realities of time and financial commitment needed to create a successful business.

Gloria Berthold has been President of Marketing Outsource Associates, Inc., a woman-owned, privately held company offering business development and marketing services since 1997, and it’s division, TargetGov. TargetGov specializes in government contracting business development at federal, state, and local levels. Ms. Berthold is a government contractor and an expert author and speaker regarding government contracting. She has instructed contractors regarding government business development in recent teleconferences and procurement conferences and has been quoted in USA Today, Inc. Magazine, www.BusinessWeek.com and Government Executive Magazine.

In addition to running her business, Ms. Berthold is the Maryland Advocacy Director for Women impacting Public Policy, and has volunteered for many nonprofit or civic organizations such as The Baltimore/Washington Corridor Chamber of Commerce, the Governor’s Workforce Investment Board Aerospace Committee, and the Public Transportation Board of Howard County.

Ms Berthold may be reached through the web site: http://www.targetgov.com/ or at 866-579-1346.

TargetGov Teleconferences

Did you miss one or more of the exclusive TargetGov Teleconferences? Do not worry, you can order both the teleconference and the accompanying Toolkit right now!

Immediately upon completing your order, you will be able to download the Toolkit, and your CD will be shipped to you within 24 hours of your order.

Sample listing: "Selling to the Army", "Powerful Sales Tools to Win Contracts", "BRAC Business Opportunities", "Intelligence Agency Contracting", "Introduction to Government Business Development", "Non-Profits, Grants & Gov't Contracting", "Fiscal Year End Business Building Strategies", and "Naval Surface Warfare Center Contracting"

2007 Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Conference

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) inconjunction with the Metropolitan Washington D.C. Chapter of theConference of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO), is pleased tosponsor the 2007 Disadvantaged Business Enterprise ProcurementConference on Wednesday, July 25, 2007. This event will be held in theLobby Level Meeting Room at the Jackson Graham Building, located at 600Fifth Street NW, Washington, DC.

You are cordially invited to attend this event. WMATA have assembled anumber of timely workshops and distinguished speakers for this event. Workshop topics were developed from surveys we conducted from industrybusinesses.

The agenda is as follows:
• Registration and Continental Breakfast (8:00 am to 8:45 am)
• Opening Remarks (8:45 am to 9:00 am)
• Exhibit Hall - Meet with Large Corporations and Government Agencies (9:00 am - 2:00 pm)
• Bank Lending and Financial Services (9:00 am to 10:00 am)
• Bonding and Insurance (10:05 am to 11:00 am)
• How to Market to the Federal Government (Gloria Berthold is speaking!) and Get a GSA Schedule (11:05 am to 12:00 pm)
• Building Wealth and Protecting Your Business (12:05 pm to 1:00 pm)
• Closing Remarks (1:05 pm to 1:20 pm)

We look forward to seeing you on July 25th and hope that you willparticipate in this, which is one of many events that WMATA will sponsorto help you market your business. Attached, please find a registrationform, which you should complete and return via fax # 202-962-2038. Should you have any additional questions or require further assistancecontact us via email at D.B.E.@wmata.com.

WIPP Legislative and Regulatory News

Ø WIPP Submitted comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on the matter of XM Satellite Radio Holdings, Inc. and Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. authority to merge. Click here to read the comments.

Ø The U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Care, Katrina Recovery, and Iraq Accountability Appropriations Act, 2007 (H.R. 2206), was passed by Congress and signed into law May 25. WIPP worked on several provisions which were included in the final bill, which contains several important victories for small business and for WIPP. The bill contained a $4.8 billion tax break package for small businesses. One of the provisions that WIPP advocated for in the Small Business Tax Break package was included in the final bill. The WIPP-backed provision calls for the extension of Section 179 expensing to be extended through 2008 and the expensing limit was increased to $125,000. The bill also contained language for Women’s Business Center (WBC) grant renewal, so that all successful WBCs will be able to apply for renewable grant funding on a 3-year cycle. Thanks to the WIPP members who took action on these issues throughout the past weeks as these are important victories for WIPP.

Ø The WIPP Maryland Instant Impact Team will hold its next team conference call to discuss issues and the upcoming meeting with Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) on July 18 at 9:30am eastern. All MD WIPP members are welcome. Tune in learn more about WIPP’s MD efforts. Team leaders for MD are Gloria Berthold, President, TargetGov, Elkridge, MD and Magdalah Silva, President, DMS International, Inc., Silver Spring, MD. To learn more and to RSVP email info@targetgov.com.

Ø Note from Gloria: If you are NOT a WIPP member and would like to dial in and see what this is all about, I would be happy to have you as my guest. Please send me an email to info@targetgov.com and let me know.

Ø Are You Ready for the Exaflood? Click here to connect to a short video from the Fiber to the Home Council to learn about the changing needs of the Internet and how it will affect your business.

Doing Business With the Department of Education

Doing Business with the Department of Education —TargetGov Teleconference

Learn How to Graduate to Future Business Opportunities

July 19, 2007 Thursday, 1:00 to 2:00 pm EST No Cost to Attend!

NO COST TO ATTEND! Learn what you can do to open the door to doing business with the Department of Education and increase your government contracting revenues.

http://www.targetgov.com/Content.asp?id=2382

Accounting for Government Contractors

June 28, 2007 Thursday, 1:00-2:00pm EST (check your local time zone)

Most government contractors do not consider their accounting needs until after they win a contract. This can be a recipe for disaster. Successful companies know what is required to satisfy special government contract needs and prepares upfront – even before preparing the proposal! Attend this TargetGov Teleconference for the most informative hour you can spend and save yourself frustration and worry about pricing and audits!

http://www.targetgov.com/Content.asp?id=2347

The Insider: Working with the Government

GBTC Members time and again have asked the following question: "How can they effectively conduct business with the government." If you are interested in rolling up your sleeves and hearing from others who have been there and done that…join us at the next "The Insider".

"Working with the Government"

Wednesday, June 27, 2007
12:30 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Baltimore, MD
$20 - Members
Click Here to Register

Experts:
Christopher Foster, Director of Strategic Partnerships, Northrop Grumman Corporation's Government Systems Division
Tom Loveland, CEO, Mind Over Machines
Gloria Berthold, President, TargetGov at Marketing Outsource Associates, Inc.

For all companies, navigating the waters of government agencies can be tricky. Find out the opportunities that large and small businesses are taking advantage of. Whether you are already working with the government or looking to get your foot in the door, this program will strengthen your company's strategic approach.

This session will be interactive. Attendees will be called on to share their own "working with the government" experiences -- the good, the bad and what they learned along the way. So be prepared to share and ask questions - no wallflowers allowed. "The Insider" was created to provide peer to peer learning through discussion guided by experts. This is your chance to see behind the curtain and get an insiders view of how others are tackling this issue.

More info: http://www.gbtechcouncil.org/events/insider.asp

Minority Enterprise Executive Council Awards Gloria Berthold as a National Influential Entrepreneur

Baltimore, MD. Gloria Berthold, President of TargetGov at Marketing Outsource Associates, Inc., has received the Minority Enterprise Executive Council’s Fifty Influential Entrepreneurs in Business Award 2007. She was chosen for this national award based on her commitment to business growth, professional excellence and to the community. She was also recognized for her actions to shape economic future for business owners and making a difference in her field.

The Minority Enterprise Executive Council assists and promotes the interests of minority groups such as women, African-Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans and Hispanic American entrepreneurs. They initiate, encourage and promote the advancement and development of small and disadvantaged minority/women-owned businesses. The honorees will also be profiled in the June 2007 edition of MEA magazine which is the official magazine of the gala.

The Minority Enterprise Executive Council’s 9th Annual National Awards Ceremony to honor the 2007 fifty influential entrepreneurs in business award recipients is scheduled for Wednesday June 27, 2007 at 6:00 pm at the Fairmont Washington D.C. Hotel. The theme for the award this year is “Applauding the Vision of Success”.

Gloria Berthold, President of TargetGov since 1997, brings a rich background of accomplishments as an awardee. In 2006, she was chosen as one of five US business women to travel to the Middle East to mentor and counsel business women from 17 countries throughout North Africa and the Middle East regarding building their own economic independence as new business owners. Here in the U.S., she offers practical advice and counsel to help business owners to be more effective and understand the realities of time and financial commitment needed to create a successful business. In addition to running her business, she is the Maryland Advocacy Director for Women impacting Public Policy, and has volunteered for many nonprofit or civic organizations such as The Baltimore/Washington Corridor Chamber of Commerce, the Governor’s Workforce Investment Board Aerospace Committee, and the Public Transportation Board of Howard County.

TargetGov is a division of Marketing Outsource Associates, Inc., a full service business development and marketing firm. It is a woman-owned, privately held company specializing in government contracting business development at federal, state, and local levels. Ms. Berthold, President, is a government contractor and an expert author and speaker regarding government contracting. She has instructed contractors regarding government business development in recent teleconferences and procurement conferences and has been quoted in USA Today, Inc. Magazine and Government Executive Magazine. She may be reached through the web site: http://www.targetgov.com/ or at 866-579-1346.

Selling Deep Versus Selling Wide

"Are you looking for more customers? If so, ask yourself what kind of new business you're after. Do you want to go deep (sell more within existing accounts) or go wide (open new accounts across several companies or industries)? Both approaches have advantages. Before you decide, consider the positives and negatives of both." --Michelle Nichols

Read the article "Selling Deep Versus Selling Wide" to learn more.

Michelle Nichols

Michelle Nichols is a sales speaker, trainer, and consultant based in Reno, Nevada. She is also the Savvy Selling columnist and podcast host for BusinessWeek.com. Ms. Nichols recently joined in a teleconference with Gloria Berthold on "Powerful Sales Tools to Win Contracts" the CD and Toolkit of this teleconference are now available for purchase.

Fast Track to Government Contracting

Did you know that Maryland companies (including ones just like yours) sell over $20 BILLION to the federal government every year? The federal government buys over $400 Billion every year throughout the entire U.S. Isn't it time for your company to enter this lucrative market?

If your company has wanted to enter the government contracting market quickly and effectively, this Fast Track Workshop is exactly for you.

Sponsored by:

The Fast Track to Federal Contracts is a one day hands-on intensive workshop specifically for established companies who want immediate entry into the federal contracting market.

Date: June 19, 2007
Time: 8:30 to 4:00
Location: Courtyard Marriott, Ft Meade, MD
Workshop size: Limited due to the hands-on, one-on-one approach.
Register today to guarantee your seat!

Do you want to enter the federal contracting market right away?
Shorten the learning curve and in just one day you will be able to launch your federal business development plan!

Click here for details

Berthold on HC Public Transportation Board

Berthold appointed to Howard County Public Transportation Board

Berthold Awarded as Influential Entrepreneur

The Minority Enterprise Executive Council Awards Gloria Berthold as an Influential Entrepreneur

Gloria Berthold will be awarded the Minority Enterprise Executive Council’s award of “Fifty Influential Entrepreneurs in Business Award.” Gloria Berthold was chosen for this national award based on her commitment to business growth, professional excellence and to her community. She is also helping shape our economic future, and making a difference in her field.

The Minority Enterprise Executive Council is a council that assists and promotes the interests of minority groups such as Women, African-Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans and Hispanic American entrepreneurs. They initiate, encourage and promote the advancement and development of small and disadvantage minority/women-owned businesses. The honorees will also be profiled in the June 2007 edition of MEA magazine, which is the official magazine of the gala.

The Minority Enterprise Executive Council 9th Annual National Awards Ceremony is scheduled for Wednesday June 27, 2007 at 6:00pm to 10pm to honor its fifty influential entrepreneurs in business award recipients. The theme for the award this year is “Applauding the Vision of Success” and is being held at the Fairmont Washington D.C. hotel.

This year one woman that is being honored is Gloria Berthold, president of TargetGov since 1997. In 2006 she was chosen as one of five US business women to travel to the Middle East in November 2006 to mentor and counsel business women from 17 countries through out North Africa and the Middle East. She offers practical advice and counsel to help business owners to be more effective and understand the realities of time and financial commitment. She currently is the Maryland Advocacy Director, for Women impacting Public Policy, and has worked for many nonprofit or civic organizations such as The Baltimore/Washington Corridor Chamber of Commerce; the Governor’s Workforce Investment Board Aerospace Committee and the Public Transportation Board of Howard County.

TargetGov is a division of Marketing Outsource Associates, Inc., a full service business development and marketing firm. It is woman-owned, privately held company specializing in government contracting business development at federal, state and local levels. Ms. Gloria Berthold, president, is a government contractor and an expert author and speaker regarding government contracting. She has instructed contractors regarding government business development in recent teleconferences and procurement conferences and has been quoted in USA Today, Inc. Magazine and Government Executive Magazine. She may be reached through the web site: http://www.targetgov.com or at 866-579-1346.

J-Ref's "Down to Business"

Tune into J-Ref’s new television program “Down To Business.” The program airs on Comcast Howard County Channel 73 with host Michael Mobley on Mondays 12:00 pm, 4:00 pm, and 8:00 pmand Wednesday & Fridays 8:00pm. May’s guests include our very own Gloria Berthold.

Small Business Contracting Goal May Increase

Federal agencies would be required to spend at least 30 percent of their prime contracting dollars with small businesses under legislation approved by the House Small Business Committee. If enacted -- and enforced -- this could mean billions of dollars' worth of new contracts for small businesses. The current contracting goal is 23 percent.

The Small Business Administration contends agencies exceeded the contracting goal in fiscal 2005, but its calculations exclude contracts performed overseas. The legislation ends this exclusion, which the National Small Business Association says will result in a more accurate accounting of small business procurement.

The bill also includes provisions aimed at making sure that contracts awarded to large businesses aren't mistakenly counted as small business contracts. An analysis by House committee staff found that $12 billion in contracts credited to small businesses in fiscal 2005 actually went to large businesses or other entities that weren't small businesses.

The legislation also expands the definition of contract bundling, thereby making it more difficult for agencies to combine contracts into packages that are too large or complex for small businesses to handle. The bill also allows business or trade associations to appeal agency procurement decisions. The Office of Federal Procurement Policy would review disputes between the SBA and procurement agencies over contract decisions.

The text of the Small Business Fairness in Contracting Act (H.R. 1873) is available at thomas.loc.gov

Cleaning Up Contracting

Government contracting is big business -- not only for the industrial behemoths like Boeing and Lockheed Martin, but also for thousands of small business owners located across the US. Yet, in recent years, it has become more difficult for many small firms to break into the government marketplace. A new report from the Center for American Progress, a progressive think tank, contends that cronyism and corruption have played a big role in these trends. Last week, the Center held a conference and released several reports on this topic. The Center’s report notes that federal contract dollars grew by 86% between 2000 and 2005 (reaching $377 billion). The scale of non-competitive contracts doubled over that same period. The report recommends closer oversight of the contracting process as well as hiring of additional contract personnel to better monitor contractor performance.

Learn more about the Center for American Progress initiative on competitive contracting and read the May 2007 report, A Return to Competitive Contracting, by Scott Lilly. © 2007 The Public Forum Institute

White House Opposes Small Business Measure

The White House announced its opposition today to a measure intended to increase the amount of federal contracts awarded to small businesses.

Bill supporters nonetheless expect the legislation (HR 1873) to pass with broad bipartisan support when it comes to the House floor tomorrow. The House Rules Committee was to meet at 3 p.m. to consider a rule for the bill

In a statement of administration policy, the White House said it supports efforts to boost contracting opportunities for small businesses, but opposes this bill because “it would impose broad, burdensome statutory restrictions on federal agencies’ ability to conduct acquisitions and establish unrealistic small business procurement goals.”

Sponsored by Bruce Braley, D-Iowa, the bill would increase the federal government’s small business procurement goal to 25 percent from 23 percent. That goal reflects an amendment adopted during the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee markup scaling back a higher bar of 30 percent approved by the Small Business Committee during its markup.

The bill would further clarify the definition of contract bundling, a change the White House criticized as “overly-expansive” and one that “would impose costly and time-consuming requirements on thousands of agency acquisitions.”

CQ Today Midday Update

SBA Faces Tough Reception on Capitol Hill

The House and Senate Small Business Committees have been holding a series of hearings on Small Business Administration programs and, generally, the reception for SBA has been pretty frosty. On May 22, the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship held a hearing to examine SBA’s efforts to promote minority business development. While SBA touted data showing an increase in minority business ownership, a bipartisan group of Senators criticized the agency for failure to better track and promote minority contracting opportunities. SBA was also criticized for its failure to take a tough stance against contract bundling. Meanwhile, the House Small Business Committee has passed a package of proposals designed to improve SBA’s outreach efforts to veterans, Native Americans, women, and minority business owners. Similar legislation is also being considered in the Senate.

Access more information about the May 22, 2007 Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee hearing on minority entrepreneurship.

Learn more about the House Small Business Committee’s efforts to promote entrepreneurial development.

© 2007 The Public Forum Institute and the National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship www.publicforuminstitute.org/nde.

Will Taxes Increase Soon?

$1.5B Maryland budget gap looms

State sales tax receipts rebounded last month after a poor showing in March, assuaging fears that Maryland would face an even bigger deficit than the $1.5 billion projected shortfall. After March’s 3 percent decline from the same period last year, sales tax revenues grew by 2.8 percent last month over April 2006, according to numbers released Tuesday by the comptroller’s office. Fiscal analysts still consider that to be slow growth for the sales tax, most likely an indicator of the slow housing market, because construction materials are subject to the sales tax.

April also saw strong individual income tax growth, with a jump of more than 13 percent from the April 2006 numbers. Income tax receipts for March had been weaker than expected.

March’s decline had policymakers and fiscal analysts worried that, if the decline was indicative of what was to come in future months, the state’s total revenue for the fiscal year would be well below estimates. With lawmakers already grappling with a $1.5 billion gap between expected revenues and spending commitments, any further revenue decline would have had serious implications.

“It’s just a relief,” said Warren G. Deschenaux Jr., chief fiscal analyst for the legislature. “There was concern that, given the softness that we saw in March, that it foretold something ugly with respect to final payments of the income tax.”

April’s revenue collections indicate that, despite March’s blip, the state is on track with the official estimates for the year, with the exception of the sales tax. Comptroller Peter Franchot’s letter accompanying April’s revenue summary noted that sales tax receipts are the only revenue source that is below expectations for the year. Deschenaux said analysts had expected to see growth in sales tax collections of about 4 percent for the fiscal year, which ends June 30. But so far collections for the year indicate growth of only 2.2 percent. “So long as the housing sector is soft, that sector of the sales tax is going to be depressed,” he said.

Gov. Martin O’Malley and legislative leaders put off dealing with the budget deficit during the session that ended last month, allowing O’Malley to take time to look for efficiencies in state agencies. But chatter has increased about the possibility of a special session later this year to deal the shortfall. The General Assembly is expected to consider a combination of budget cuts, tax increases and slot machines to raise the money needed to fulfill the state’s spending commitments.
http://www.mddailyrecord.com/article.cfm?id=135129&type=Daily

Learn how to Build Your Business by Selling to the Army

National Teleconference Helps you Open Doors to
Business Opportunities with Military Customers

Washington, DC. The national teleconference, “Selling to the Army” will be held Thursday, June 14, 2007 from 1:00 to 2:00pm EST. No wasted travel time or expenses, you attend directly from your own phone, at your office. The US Army buys billions of dollars in services and products of all types from companies throughout the entire US every year. Are you selling to the Army now? Are you selling as much as you can to the Army? Attend this teleconference to find out how to open the door to more profitable business opportunities.

Expert speakers at the teleconference include Nancy D. Small and Gloria Berthold. Nancy D. Small is the Assistant to the Director, Army Small Business Programs Office. She is also the Program Manager for both the Woman-Owned Small Business (WOSB) and 8(a) / Small Disadvantaged Business (8(a)/SDB) for the Secretary of the Army, Small Business Office. She began her career in 1985 as an Army Material Command (AMC) Contracting and Acquisition, intern at the Army Aviation Systems Command (AVSCOM), St. Louis, MO. She soon moved up and has won awards in the process.

Gloria Berthold is the President of Marketing Outsource Associates, Inc. (MOA) and its division, TargetGov which focuses on government procurement and related business development services. She is the author of “The Veterans Guide to Government Business” (book). And she created a complete series of Government Business Guides highlighting various federal agencies.

The cost of this teleconference is $89.00, which includes both the teleconference and the 50+ page exclusive toolkit detailing all information needed for your business development success. For more information and to register go to http://www.targetgov.com/ and click on the teleconference button in the top right corner.

Elizabeth Dole Young Entrepreneur Scholarship

We need your help finding the best and the brightest young women entrepreneur community leaders to apply for the FIRST Elizabeth Dole Young Entrepreneur Scholarship. The scholarship is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to gain knowledge, skills and guidance from successful women business owners – as well as have a chance to receive a cash award to help grow their business!

In tribute to her legacy of leadership, the Elizabeth Dole Young Entrepreneur Scholarship has been established to recognize high potential young women business owners who are leaders in their community, with resources and guidance to excel their businesses and personal success.

Here are the qualifications you will be looking for:

• At least 51% woman-owned
• Entrepreneur between the ages of 21-35
• U.S. Citizen
• Business 5 years old or less
• Revenue of $500, 000 or less for service industries OR $1milion or less for manufacturing industries
• The business has capacity to assume more debt
• Owner has a satisfactory personal credit history

More information about the program is available here and at www.WIPP.org. The deadline to apply is June 15^th, so please pass this on - this is a life-changing opportunity not to be missed!

Please have them contact Kathryn Mahoney, kmahoney@politicalcapitol.com (615) 346-9535, or Jason Lalak, jlalak@wipp.org (415) 434-4314, for more information.

8th Annual Small Business Conference

Washington, DC– The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced that its Office of Small and Disadvantage Business Utilization will host its 8th Annual Small Business Conference, Exposition & Matchmaking Forum, June 26-28, 2007, at the Washington Hilton Hotel in Washington, DC. The Matchmaking Forum will provide over $1 billion in potential subcontracting opportunities in Fiscal Year 2007 through scheduled one-on-one meetings with procurement representatives from DOE’s prime contractors.

“Because small businesses are the driving force of this economy, the Department of Energy and this Administration are committed to putting in place pro-growth policies that encourage enterprise and enhance economic growth,” Secretary Bodman said. “We want America to continue to be the best place in the world to conduct business. Small businesses play a key role in helping DOE to advance its mission and DOE’s Small Business Conference provides a forum to compete in DOE’s contracting market.”

DOE is the second largest civilian purchaser, procuring over $23 billion in goods and services annually. DOE’s Office of Small & Disadvantaged Business Utilization will lead the Departments national outreach effort as outlined in President Bush’s Small Business Agenda. The Conference will provide insight and programs available to assist small businesses, small and disadvantaged businesses, women-owned, 8(A), HUBZone, veteran-owned and service-disabled veteran-owned businesses, to engage in DOE contracting opportunities.

This year’s conference is co-sponsored by The Veterans Corporation, charged with creating and enhancing entrepreneurial business opportunities for Veterans, including those who are service-disabled. The Veterans Corporation is a 501(c)(3) organization.

To register for the conference, visit: http://www.smallbusiness-outreach.doe.gov or call (888) 246-2460. For more information on contracting with DOE visit: http://energy.gov.

President Bush has proclaimed April 22-28, 2007, as “Small Business Week,” signifying an ongoing commitment to honor small business owners and workers for their important role in ensuring that America remains the economic leader of the world. For more information on Small Business Week, visit: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/04/20070419-6.html.

J-Ref’s “Down to Business”

Tune into J-Ref’s new television program “Down To Business.” The program airs on Comcast Howard County Channel 73 with host Michael Mobley on Mondays 12:00 pm, 4:00 pm, and 8:00 pm and Wednesday & Fridays 8:00pm. May’s guests include our very own Gloria Berthold.

Berthold on HC Public Transportation Board

Berthold appointed to Howard COunty Public Transportation Board

Cleaning up Contracting

Government contracting is big business -- not only for the industrial behemoths like Boeing and Lockheed Martin, but also for thousands of small business owners located across the US. Yet, in recent years, it has become more difficult for many small firms to break into the government marketplace. A new report from the Center for American Progress, a progressive think tank, contends that cronyism and corruption have played a big role in these trends. Last week, the Center held a conference and released several reports on this topic. The Center’s report notes that federal contract dollars grew by 86% between 2000 and 2005 (reaching $377 billion). The scale of non-competitive contracts doubled over that same period. The report recommends closer oversight of the contracting process as well as hiring of additional contract personnel to better monitor contractor performance.

Learn more about the Center for American Progress initiative on competitive contracting and read the May 2007 report, A Return to Competitive Contracting, by Scott Lilly. © 2007 The Public Forum Institute

Learn Powerful Sales Tools to Win Government Contracts

Learn How to Create A Strong Capability Statement

Baltimore, MD. The no-cost national teleconference “Powerful Sales Tools to Win Government Contracts” will be held on Thursday May 24, 2007 from 1:00-2:00pm EST. Attendees will also receive the exclusive TargetGov Government Sales and Capability Statement Toolkit, a 20+ page book detailing winning sales strategies, a sample Capability Statement, specific instructions to craft your best business development tool and over 100 contacts within federal agencies to which to send it.

One of the toughest challenges in selling to the government is applying an effective sales strategy that results in winning contracts. Hear from national sales expert, Michelle Nichols, a columnist and podcast host for BusinessWeek.com, with readers in over 50 countries. Michelle increases the sales and profits of organizations by understanding their unique situation and applying her cutting-edge thinking to create powerful results. Hear her specific tips and tactics to make an impact in your government sales strategy and ask her how to address the real challenges you experience everyday.

Your Capability Statement should be the strongest business development tool in your toolkit. A well done Capability Statement will open doors to great business opportunities; whereas a poorly done Capability Statement will slam the door before you get to square one. This teleconference will teach you the key features of a great Capability Statement, how to create a “living” Capability Statement that can be used for more than one agency or prime contractor, the differences between Core Competencies and Differentiators, the ideal length of a Capability Statement, the difference between a Capability Statement and a Capability Brief, and when to use each, and much more…

Gloria Berthold will cover the Capability Statement and related tips. She is the President of TargetGov and an expert on government procurement and related business development services. She is the author of “The Veterans Guide to Government Business” (book) and a series of Government Business Guides highlighting business development with federal agencies.

Register for this free teleconference at http://www.targetgov.com/; click on the Teleconference button in the top right corner.

TargetGov is a division of Marketing Outsource Associates, Inc., a full service business development and marketing firm. It is woman-owned, privately held company specializing in government contracting business development at federal, state and local levels. Ms. Gloria Berthold, president, is a government contractor and an expert author and speaker regarding government contracting. She has instructed contractors regarding government business development in recent teleconferences and procurement conferences and has been quoted in USA Today, Inc. Magazine and Government Executive Magazine. She may be reached through the web site: http://www.targetgov.com/ or at 866-579-1346.

Small Business Contracting Goal May Increase

Federal agencies would be required to spend at least 30 percent of their prime contracting dollars with small businesses under legislation approved by the House Small Business Committee. If enacted -- and enforced -- this could mean billions of dollars' worth of new contracts for small businesses. The current contracting goal is 23 percent.

The Small Business Administration contends agencies exceeded the contracting goal in fiscal 2005, but its calculations exclude contracts performed overseas. The legislation ends this exclusion, which the National Small Business Association says will result in a more accurate accounting of small business procurement.

The bill also includes provisions aimed at making sure that contracts awarded to large businesses aren't mistakenly counted as small business contracts. An analysis by House committee staff found that $12 billion in contracts credited to small businesses in fiscal 2005 actually went to large businesses or other entities that weren't small businesses.

The legislation also expands the definition of contract bundling, thereby making it more difficult for agencies to combine contracts into packages that are too large or complex for small businesses to handle. The bill also allows business or trade associations to appeal agency procurement decisions. The Office of Federal Procurement Policy would review disputes between the SBA and procurement agencies over contract decisions.

The text of the Small Business Fairness in Contracting Act (H.R. 1873) is available at thomas.loc.gov

White House Opposes Small Business Measure

The White House announced its opposition today to a measure intended to increase the amount of federal contracts awarded to small businesses.

Bill supporters nonetheless expect the legislation (HR 1873) to pass with broad bipartisan support when it comes to the House floor tomorrow. The House Rules Committee was to meet at 3 p.m. to consider a rule for the bill.

In a statement of administration policy, the White House said it supports efforts to boost contracting opportunities for small businesses, but opposes this bill because “it would impose broad, burdensome statutory restrictions on federal agencies’ ability to conduct acquisitions and establish unrealistic small business procurement goals.”

Sponsored by Bruce Braley, D-Iowa, the bill would increase the federal government’s small business procurement goal to 25 percent from 23 percent. That goal reflects an amendment adopted during the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee markup scaling back a higher bar of 30 percent approved by the Small Business Committee during its markup.

The bill would further clarify the definition of contract bundling, a change the White House criticized as “overly-expansive” and one that “would impose costly and time-consuming requirements on thousands of agency acquisitions.”

Source: CQ Today Midday Update

Will Taxes Increase Soon?

$1.5B Maryland budget gap looms

State sales tax receipts rebounded last month after a poor showing in March, assuaging fears that Maryland would face an even bigger deficit than the $1.5 billion projected shortfall. After March’s 3 percent decline from the same period last year, sales tax revenues grew by 2.8 percent last month over April 2006, according to numbers released Tuesday by the comptroller’s office. Fiscal analysts still consider that to be slow growth for the sales tax, most likely an indicator of the slow housing market, because construction materials are subject to the sales tax.

April also saw strong individual income tax growth, with a jump of more than 13 percent from the April 2006 numbers. Income tax receipts for March had been weaker than expected.

March’s decline had policymakers and fiscal analysts worried that, if the decline was indicative of what was to come in future months, the state’s total revenue for the fiscal year would be well below estimates. With lawmakers already grappling with a $1.5 billion gap between expected revenues and spending commitments, any further revenue decline would have had serious implications.

“It’s just a relief,” said Warren G. Deschenaux Jr., chief fiscal analyst for the legislature. “There was concern that, given the softness that we saw in March, that it foretold something ugly with respect to final payments of the income tax.”

April’s revenue collections indicate that, despite March’s blip, the state is on track with the official estimates for the year, with the exception of the sales tax. Comptroller Peter Franchot’s letter accompanying April’s revenue summary noted that sales tax receipts are the only revenue source that is below expectations for the year. Deschenaux said analysts had expected to see growth in sales tax collections of about 4 percent for the fiscal year, which ends June 30. But so far collections for the year indicate growth of only 2.2 percent. “So long as the housing sector is soft, that sector of the sales tax is going to be depressed,” he said.

Gov. Martin O’Malley and legislative leaders put off dealing with the budget deficit during the session that ended last month, allowing O’Malley to take time to look for efficiencies in state agencies. But chatter has increased about the possibility of a special session later this year to deal the shortfall. The General Assembly is expected to consider a combination of budget cuts, tax increases and slot machines to raise the money needed to fulfill the state’s spending commitments.

Click here to view source

May 18: Government Contracting Workshop

May 18: Government Contracting Workshop - Sales Strategy
Friday, May 18, 8 to 10 am
Hampton Inn & Suites
124 Womack Drive, Annapolis
$25 members; $40 non-members Register Here

Join the AATC and Chesapeake Innovation Center for our 2nd workshop in our Government Contracting workshop series, Sales Strategy. Hear from experts on how to successfully gain entrance to the government contracting market, or how to drive further sales for companies already in the realm.

Panelists:
Guy Timberlake, The American Small Business Coalition
Mark Amtower, Federal Direct
Lee White, Technology Specialists Inc.
Gloria Berthold, TargetGov

J-Ref’s “Down to Business”

Tune into J-Ref’s new television program “Down To Business.” The program airs on Comcast Howard County Channel 73 with host Michael Mobley on Mondays 12:00 pm, 4:00 pm, and 8:00 pm and Wednesday & Fridays 8:00pm. May’s guests include our very own Gloria Berthold.