You are here: Home / Archives for SmallBiz

GSA Schedules Training Webinar for Small Businesses

January 26, 2010 By Leave a Comment

GSA ScheduleThe GSA Office of Small Business Utilization conducts monthly training on the process of obtaining a GSA schedules contract.

They offer a free monthly webinar designed to support small businesses interested in obtaining a GSA Multiple Award Schedules contract. To attend you will simply need to register.

If you have questions regarding these webinars or would like to register, please visit the GSA Events page: GSA Events

Webinars available on:
2/22
3/15
4/26
5/17
6/14
7/19
8/16
9/20
10/18
11/15

Filed Under: OSDBU Tagged With: , ,

Small Business Industry Day at the U.S. Capitol 2010

January 20, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Capital Visitor CenterThe Architect of the Capitol (AOC) is hosting an event for small business owners at the Capitol Visitor Center (CVC) designed to provide information about doing business with the AOC and the CVC.

The CVC is looking for products that are made in the U.S. and manufactured with U.S.-made materials such as educational toys, jewelry, and souvenir apparel whose product themes are focused on the Capitol for its two Gift Shops.

The AOC is looking for goods and services required to maintain its buildings, such as elevators, escalators, air handling units and electrical systems as well as products and services needed to maintain the landscaping around the Capitol complex and conserve and repair historical objects and artwork.

Why you should attend: You will have the opportunity to speak with representatives from the AOC and the CVC who are responsible for procuring materials for the agency and its divisions.

When: Thursday, February 18, 2010; 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. (Check-in begins at 8:30 a.m.)

Where: U.S. Capitol Visitor Center (the main entrance to the U.S. Capitol, is located below the East Plaza of the Capitol between Constitution and Independence Avenues. For directions and other logistical information, go to www.visitthecapitol.gov.)

Cost: Free – Advance registration is required as seating is limited.

To register online, go to www.aoc.gov. For questions, email SBIndustryDay@aoc.gov or call 202-226-2734.

Filed Under: SmallBiz

DHS OSDBU offers monthly small business vendor outreach sessions

January 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment

The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization offers monthly small business Vendor Outreach Sessions (VOS). These one-on-one sessions enable the small business specialist to meet with small, 8(a), HUBZone small, small disadvantaged, women-owned small, veteran-owned small and service disabled veteran owned small businesses to discuss their capabilities statement, learn about potential procurement opportunities as well as give advice.

The VOS site can be found by going to http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/interapp/editorial/editorial_0524.xml

The DHS organization chart below is linked to a complete version on the GovExec Website. DHS is massive and we believe this one-on-one session provides as good a starting point as any.

Department of Homeland Security

Filed Under: OSDBU Tagged With: ,

DOJ Drops Effort to Go After ASBL

October 21, 2009 By Leave a Comment

The U.S. Department of Justice has dropped its appeal of a ruling by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California awarding legal fees to the American Small Business League.

The ASBL requested the specific names of the firms that were coded as small businesses for FY 2005 and 2006 and the specific dollar amounts that were awarded to those firms from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). The request was made under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

The SBA refused to comply with the ASBL’s request for the data. During litigation, the SBA claimed that it had no information in its possession
regarding the specific names of firms that had received federal small business contracts.

Judge Patel

Judge Marilyn H. Patel

In the court’s ruling, United States District Judge Marilyn H. Patel stated, “The court finds it curious the SBA’s argument that it does not ‘control’ the very information it needs to carry out its duties and functions.”
(www.asbl.com/documents/26-2.pdf)

As a result of Patel’s ruling, the SBA was ordered to turn over the requested information and pay all of the legal fees incurred by the ASBL during the initial litigation process. The information the ASBL finally obtained indicated that the SBA, the General Services Administration (GSA) and virtually every other federal agency diverted billions of dollars in federal small business contracts to Fortune 500 firms and dozens of large businesses in Europe and Asia.
(http://www.asbl.com/documents/20090825TopSmallBusinessContractors2008.pdf)

Some of the firms that received federal small business contracts included Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, General Dynamics, GTSI, Rolls-Royce, Dell Computer, Thales Communications, and British Aerospace (BAE).

The ASBL has estimated that legitimate small businesses are losing over $100 billion a year in federal small business contracts to corporate giants.

For the full press release: DOJ Backs Off

For more information about ASBL: American Small Business League

Filed Under: SmallBiz Tagged With:

The NASBC Goes to Bat for Small GovCons

September 1, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Recently the SBA issued their annual Small Business Procurement Scorecard that let’s us know how federal agencies performed as measured against their small business contracting goals. They focused attention on the impressive growth in the actual dollars spent with small businesses over the prior year, but they’ve received some blowback from several organizations and critics from the small business community for missing the overall goal of 23%.

The National Association of Small Business Contractors (NASBC), which represents over 300,000 small businesses, recently went to bat for it’s members and small government contractors. They pointed out that while the 21.5% that was awarded to small businesses doesn’t appear to deserve a failing grade, it actually represents over $30 billion worth of business that would have gone to their constituents if the goal had been met. They stress that small businesses are suffering far worse than large businesses during this recession and that the federal government can provide badly needed sales to small businesses by not only meeting their commitments, but by exceeding them.

Of the many changes the NASBC is proposing we believe the two most potent changes are likely to be,  1) penalyzing agencies that fall short of their requirement and 2) enforcing fines on large contractors that misrepresent themselves as being “small” or minority-owned businesses. Both are a result of individuals in the supply chain looking the other way when they know the intent of the law is being violated. Penalties might help them become more “diligent” in their contracting process.

NASBC

Filed Under: SmallBiz Tagged With: ,
« Older Posts