Helping Each Other Succeed

What does it matter if I invest time talking with business owners? It's not my business. Why should I care?

What a delight to talk with a young woman yesterday. She was demonstrating her product. "These are my grandmother's recipes" she said with pride. Little did she know I had spoken to another family member three weeks ago. I learned that they used to do all the manufacturing themselves, but their product has made it into several national grocery chains, so they have outsourced manufacturing locally which has created jobs. Again I listened, then asked "are you interested in a government contract"? At first she appeared disinterested. After all she doesn't know me or my motivation for asking this. Then I explained we had participated in the 2013 Governors Roadshow, and that GCAP is currently teaching a series on Federal contraction. I asked two more simple questions: are you certified as a Women Owned Business or as an Emerging Small Business. No, she said, I'm not. "Did you know the prison system is one of the largest purchasers of food?" Again, she said no. I hadn't even thought about it.

What started off as an aloof response, turned to a serious conversation. A five minute conversation may prove life changing for her. She thanked me profusely. And she is not alone. Our goal is to share information, create partnerships, build relationships and help others grow. In turn, we hope they will do the same for others.

Government Contracts: Assessing the Learning Curve

After wading through information on the Small Business Administration's website, one thing is clear. Contracting with the Federal government requires the ability to navigate several processes. They do offer a mentor-protege opportunity for businesses that meet certain criteria. Doing business at the State level appears more manageable. Having a contact that can answer questions really helps a lot. We spent half a day combing through details. We have found that anything worth doing requires a learning curve. From a practical stand point we are interested in staying local and desire to focus on relationship-based services. Our desire is to learn about these processes so we can be a resource for other companies that want to move in that direction too. Helping others through the process is rewarding and reinforces our own learning processes.