Procurement Assistance Center - New Mexico program to aid small and minority businesses

New Mexico Business Journal, Feb, 1991 by Ron Shettlesworth

HELP FOR SMALL BUSINESS

Procurement Assistance Center

The New Mexico Procurement Assistance Center, started nine years ago as the Minority Business Development Program, began as a way to help businesses procure government contracts.

It is still helping businesses with government contracts, but the program now includes women business owners and the owners of small businesses.

In 1986 the program worked with 300 businesses. In 1990 there were over 1,200 businesses in the program.

Steve Griego, director of the program, says the program to helps New Mexico owned and operated businesses in becoming involved in federal, state and local government contracts.

The assistance comes from training and support to the business owners. Businesses must have a product or service which the government buys, so there are some limitations on the types of businesses which qualify.

Government contracts which go out for bid, either through a Request for Proposal or an Invitation for Bid, appear every Thursday in the legal notices of the Albuquerque newspapers.

This information is also kept on a computer database so the program can track bid proposals or invitations.

Business owners who want to work with government contracts need to attend workshops with a counselor to cover from A to Z on contracting with the government, says Griego.

A one day workshop will cover basics, with resources to back up the information, so a business owner can move quickly on a bid or proposal.

The program offers training seminars (hands-on workshops) in the practical requirements of contracting and ongoing technical assistance and guidance in securing and maintaining government contracts.

Griego stresses that business owners need to follow all the techniques taught in the workshops to get the best results. Businesses which are part of the program are entered into a database.

They are matched up with a Federal Supply Group which covers the same category as the business. The program includes a computer search for a match on astatewide or nationwide basis. There are no fees to businesses.

The most important feature of the program is providing business owners with a chance to find out opportunities for bids on government contracts. Business owners are also taught marketing techniques to enhance their ability to win the government contracts.

If a client receives a bid or solicitation from a government agency, a counselor will work with that client to help him or her understand what is required to fulfill the contract.

The business owner is responsible for filling out the paperwork, but the counselor will help check for errors in format, content, language or codes.

The program also assists business owners in how to proceed with bidding information which comes from government agencies, how to get on mailing lists for different agencies, filling out applications for getting on mailing lists, reading and understanding a bid packet and identifying and locating specifications for a project.

The Procurement Assistance Program has recently converted to an electronic version of this bid information, so business owners throughout New Mexico can instantly access the information. The program also maintains a business library for use by business owners enrolled in the program.

On-going training for counselors is a crucial component of the program, according to Griego. Counselors have to be well-versed in what is available and where to find the information for business owners.

Griego says the program is dedicated to doing whatever it takes to get businesses matched with government agencies needing to complete projects.

Griego says during the 1990s it will be imperative for all small businesses wanting to do business with government contracts to have small computers and use them constantly.

It will be the only way for businesses to find the information they need to stay on top of a rapidly changing business climate.

The Procurement Assistance Program receives its money from the general fund through General Services Department of the state; from the Defense Logistics Agency Cooperative Agreement agency; the Department of Labor and the Department of Education, working together on the project; and the in-kind support from the New Mexico Department of Tourism and Economic Development.

The Department of Tourism and Economic Development has given portable computers to the counselors throughout the state, providing office space in each of the Small Business Development Centers, and maintaining program lists in the One Stop Shop project run by the state.

Griego contends that most small businesses lack the financial ability to pay for business consulting, which can run from $80-200 per hour, so the program is not fee supported.

The program strives to give as much assistance as possible to business owners who are enrolled, so they can receive most of the benefits they would if a private consultant had been hired.

The program is also designed to help business owners understand the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) and the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulations (DEFAR) for contract bidding.