Marketing your business to Federal, Corporate or State Customers
There are organizations whose mission is to help small businesses market their services and products to the Federal government.
- Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs)
Small Business Development Centers provide management advice and assistance to small businesses. They can help you incorporate, setup your accounting system, write a business plan, etc., but most of them do not know much about Federal contracting. You can locate an SBDC near you on the Association of Small Business Development Centers Web site.
- Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTACs) Procurement Technical Assistance Centers teach small businesses how to sell to Federal government customers. You can locate a PTAC near you on the Association of Procurement Technical Assistance Centers Web site. Many PTACs sponsor small business conferences and matchmaking events.
- Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) Each Federal agency has a small business office that is the advocate for all small businesses selling to that Federal agency. The first point of contact for a small business selling to a Federal agency is the small business specialist. The headquarters small business offices are typically called the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) or the Office of Small Business Programs or something similar. The majority of field contracting activities have small business specialists to help small businesses selling to that contracting activity.
The Federal agency OSDBU directors have a Web site at www.osdbu.gov with more information.
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