Seminar to help small businesses navigate maze of government contracts

University Park, Pa.— Billions of dollars in Pennsylvania government contracts are available to small business owners each year, but knowing how to successfully bid on them can be a difficult job.

The Penn State Small Business Development Center (SBDC) hopes to make the process easier by offering a free seminar called “Working with the Commonwealth” next month.

The seminar will focus on contracting with the state and the qualifications for minority business enterprises (MBEs) and women business enterprises (WBEs). It will be held from 9 a.m. to noon on Nov. 10 at the State College Municipal Building.

More than $4 billion was spent on government contracts in 2008 by Pennsylvania’s Department of General Services, according to Curtis Burwell, seminar quest speaker and equal opportunity manager for the Bureau of Minority and Women Business Opportunities. Burwell said that MBE/WBE government contracts have risen from 2 percent to 10 percent for minority and women business owners in the last six years.

Linda Feltman, senior business analyst with the Penn State SBDC, encourages all small businesses to attend—especially those offering a business-to-business product.

“This isn’t just ‘we’re buying office supplies,’” Feltman said. “The government buys anything from toilet paper to frozen peas. They use everything.”

While government contracting can be lucrative, Feltman said it can also be a difficult process that involves lots of paperwork.

“There’s competition, lots of it. All your ‘I’s’ need to be dotted, all your ‘T’s’ need to be crossed,” she said. “It’s a maze. But this seminar is like having someone to help you through the steps.”

The Penn State SBDC provides no-cost, one-on-one consulting, as well as low-cost training in proven management fundamentals. It also sponsors numerous seminars and special events at low-cost fees. Since its founding in 1997, the SBDC has assisted more than 1,000 new and established businesses. Clients have reported a $1.9 million increase in sales in the first half of 2009, the creation of 14 new businesses and 77 new or retained jobs, thanks to the SBDC.

The SBDC is funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania through the Department of Community and Economic Development, through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration, as well as through support from Penn State.

To register for the free seminar, go to http://www.sbdc.psu.edu/seminar-registration.asp online. For more information, contact the Penn State SBDC at sbdc@psu.edu or 814-863-4293.

About Penn State SBDC
Penn State Small Business Development Center (SBDC) is part of a nationwide network of more than 1,000 centers. The Penn State SBDC provides free business assistance to small firms and business start-ups in Centre and Mifflin counties, enabling them to compete and grow in today’s highly competitive global economy. For more information, visit www.sbdc.psu.edu online. Penn State SBDC is part of Penn State Outreach, the largest unified outreach organization in American higher education. Penn State Outreach serves more than 5 million people each year, delivering more than 2,000 programs to people in all 67 Pennsylvania counties, all 50 states and 114 countries worldwide.