Sharing the wealth: Procurement fair seeks to match small businesses with big opportunities - Memphis Commercial Appeal

Photo by Mike Brown

U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen sponsored a procurement fair Monday at the FedEx Institute of Technology at the University of Memphis.

Small business can mean big dollars, at least for savvy entrepreneurs who bid on and win lucrative government contracts.

To help local small-business owners capitalize on the process, U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen on Monday sponsored a procurement fair at the FedEx Institute of Technology to explain the process. More than 150 area entrepreneurs were on hand for the public forum.

Photo by Mike Brown

Leslie Shankman-Cohn (left) and Jill Hertz, with Jill Hertz Interior Design, were among more than 150 entrepreneurs at the fair.

In addition, representatives from nine federal agencies discussed offerings and options available to small-business owners who are interested in becoming government vendors.

"The federal footprint and its potential impact on small businesses is significant," said Eric Terrell, customer service director at the U.S. General Services Administration. "The government spends more than $600 billion every year on goods and services. How can you not tap into that?"

Saundra Jackson, state deputy director for the U.S. Small Business Administration, agreed.

"The government buys everything from paper clips to armored tanks, so there's a good chance that whatever goods or services you're selling, the government buys it," Jackson said. "Nearly 25 percent of the government's purchasing is targeted to small firms, so we encourage owners to learn the system and become involved in it."

The problem many small-business owners face is not knowing what's out there, Cohen said.

For example, fewer than 50 vendors in Memphis have secured government contracts to provide IT services, but thousands of those contracts are awarded every year. Other needs include food vending services, office furnishings and floor coverings, facilities maintenance and management, and advertising and integrated marketing solutions.

Monday's event followed the recent announcement that Memphis will be home to the state's first Minority Development Business Agency center -- funded by a $1 million federal grant to be paid out over four years -- that is set to open in about six weeks. It will be housed Downtown at the Mid-South Minority Business Council Continuum's small-business incubator at 158 Madison.

Minority and female business owners are encouraged to contact MMBCC leaders at (901) 525-6512 to learn more about accessing government contracts, said Luke Yancy III, president and CEO of the MMBCC. And all small-business owners should contact the local SBA office at (901) 526-9300, Jackson added, to find out about its free programs and how to work with federal agencies.

"Small businesses are the heart of our economy and of our middle class," Cohen said. "It's important to move forward and help those businesses grow and this is one way we're trying to do that."

-- James Dowd: (901) 529-2737

Learn more about small businesses and entrepreneurship in Memphis at The CA's startupmemphis.com

Federal Agency contacts for small business owners

Dept. of Energy: energy.gov

Dept. of Homeland Security: www.dhs.gov

Dept. of Transportation: www.dot.gov

General Services Administration: gsa.gov

Minority Business Development Agency: www.mbda.gov

National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency: www.nga.mil

Small Business Administration: sba.gov

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: usace.army.mil

View the original article here

Bob Johnson unveils website to match minorities, business opportunities

27th February 2012   ·   0 Comments

(Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from Target Market News)—Robert L. Johnson, founder and chairman of The RLJ Companies, in collaboration with Ariel M. Friedler, president of Symplicity Corporation, the market leader in online career tools, today announced the launch of OppsPlace.com. OppsPlace provides companies with the best opportunity to find qualified, minority job seekers and minority businesses in one online destination. OppsPlace is free of charge for job seekers and minority firms and allows corporate human resources and procurement executives to easily access qualified job seekers and qualified minority businesses for openings to provide the best opportunities.

“I created OppsPlace for several reasons,” said Johnson. “First to reduce the disparity in unemployment for minority Americans and to increase access for vendor services and supplier contracts for minority businesses. Second, I also created OppsPlace to provide corporate America with a targeted destination to identify and interact with minorities for employment and business opportunities. With over 30 charter member companies who have joined OppsPlace, it clearly demonstrates their commitment to diversity and inclusion,” he added.

“As more U.S. companies, large and small, become OppsPlace members, OppsPlace will help reduce unemployment for millions of minority Americans, will provide access to capital to thousands of minority businesses, and will help drive the economic recovery of this country by giving minority Americans a fair shot which they deserve to participate fully in the American Dream,” Johnson concluded.

Unique to OppsPlace is the profile builder which allows companies to focus on their diversity initiatives, mentorship programs, business match-making as well vendor/supplier opportunities,” said Friedler,” said Ariel Friedler, president of Symplicity Corporation and co-founder of OppsPlace. “OppsPlace is not a destination to simply upload a standard resume, but it is a platform that allows job seekers and minority businesses to network with each other and interact with professionals at hiring companies,” he concluded.

“OppsPlace is much more than a jobs board,” said Kelli Richardson Lawson, president and COO of OppsPlace. “It is a diverse online network that aggregates rich content and resources in one destination and is dedicated to helping job seekers and minority business owners engage directly with key decision makers in corporate America,” she added. “It is the only place on the web that aggregates job seekers and minority businesses in the spirit of helping communities of color enhance their lives and financial well-being,” she concluded.

For many years, Johnson has been focused on creating opportunities for minorities and recently announced the RLJ Rule for public and private sector businesses. The RLJ Rule is an adaptation of the National Football League’s (NFL) Rooney Rule, which requires the 32 teams, to interview at least one qualified minority candidate whenever a head coaching or general manager position become available. The RLJ Rule is designed to encourage companies to voluntarily establish a “best practices” policy of diversity and inclusion by identifying and interviewing minority candidates or vendors that are often overlooked under traditional hiring or procurement practices.

OppsPlace and the RLJ Rule are two solutions where Johnson believes businesses both large and small can take direct action to increase employment and business opportunities for minority Ameri­cans.

To date, more than 30 companies have joined OppsPlace as Charter Members: Automatic Data Processing, Inc.; Giant Eagle; State Farm; Aflac; HBO; State Street; Avery Dennison; KB Home; Strayer Education, Inc.; BNY Mellon; Kimberly-Clark; Textron; Capital One Financial Corporation; Lowe’s; Toyota; Colgate-Palmolive Company; McDonald’s; Travelers; Dell; New York Life; United States Steel Corporation; Education Manage­ment Corporation (EDMC); Northern Trust; UPMC; EMC; Penn Mutual; Vibrant Pittsburgh (VP); FedEx Corporation; PNC Financial; Visa; General Motors; PPG Industries, Inc.; YUM! Brands; Prudential Financial, Inc.

For more information visit www.oppsplace.com.

This article was originally published in the February 27, 2012 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper

View the original article here

Dayton event to match businesses, opportunities - Columbus Dispatch

The Columbus Dispatch Monday January 23, 2012 4:35 AM

window.fbAsyncInit = function() { FB.init({ appId : '124304607604927', // App ID channelUrl : '//www.dispatch.com/content/digital/config/channel.html', // Channel File status : true, // check login status cookie : true, // enable cookies to allow the server to access the session xfbml : true, // parse XFBML oauth : true }); }; // Load the SDK Asynchronously (function(d){ var js, id = 'facebook-jssdk'; if (d.getElementById(id)) {return;} js = d.createElement('script'); js.id = id; js.async = true; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js"; d.getElementsByTagName('head')[0].appendChild(js); }(document));

Registration has opened for the Ohio Business Matchmaker Conference, March 20 and 21 in Dayton. The event is designed to bring together contractors and government agencies with contract opportunities.

The event will run from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Wright State University’s Nutter Center, 3640 Colonel Glenn Highway, Dayton.

The deadline to register is March 9. Information about fees and registration is available through http://www.ohiobusinessmatchmaker.com/ or by calling 614-466-2711.

View the original article here