{"id":9682,"date":"2018-03-18T18:00:15","date_gmt":"2018-03-19T00:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/financenewmexico.org\/?p=9682"},"modified":"2018-03-12T13:44:42","modified_gmt":"2018-03-12T19:44:42","slug":"workshop-points-small-businesses-toward-government-contracts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/financenewmexico.org\/sandbox\/articles\/starting-or-growing-a-business\/workshop-points-small-businesses-toward-government-contracts\/","title":{"rendered":"Workshop Points Small Businesses Toward Government Contracts"},"content":{"rendered":"
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F-35A Lightning II aircraft receive fuel from a KC-10 Extender from Travis Air Force Base, Calif., July 13, 2015, during a flight from England to the U.S. Courtesy U.S. Air Force \/Staff Sgt. Madelyn Brown<\/p><\/div>\n

By Finance New Mexico<\/span><\/p>\n

The federal government is the world\u2019s biggest customer and a major driver in New Mexico\u2019s economy.<\/p>\n

While only a fraction of the $8.2 billion that Uncle Sam spent in New Mexico in fiscal year 2017 benefitted local companies, advisers at the state\u2019s four Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTACs) work to increase the flow of federal dollars to small businesses that offer products or services the government wants.<\/p>\n

To that end, the Clovis PTAC is hosting a workshop March 20 at Clovis Community College for entrepreneurs who want to learn more about becoming a government contractor.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe workshop is to educate business owners on how to do business with Cannon Air Force Base and other government agencies,\u201d said Jonnie Loadwick, procurement technical adviser at the Clovis PTAC and a certified VA verification counselor. \u201cCannon has been growing the last few years, and there is a lot of opportunity for government contracting in this area.\u201d<\/p>\n

Obtaining government contracts can be just as onerous as securing contracts in the private sector: Businesses must aggressively market themselves, because competition is fierce.<\/p>\n

As with all prospecting, it\u2019s up to the seller to research what the buyer needs, prepare a quote and present an offer \u2014 a process the seller might have to repeat numerous times before signing a deal.<\/p>\n

But PTACs, operated by the Procurement Technical Assistance Program (PTAP), are there to help in Clovis, as well as Albuquerque, Las Cruces and Santa Fe. \u201cPTAC assists businesses with information and one-on-one counseling appointments free of charge to help [\u2026] cut through the red tape of government contracting in general,\u201d Loadwick said.<\/p>\n

As workshop participants will learn, before registering as a federal contractor with the System for Award Management or SAM at https:\/\/www.sam.gov\/portal\/SAM\/##11<\/a> the business must:<\/p>\n