GOED’s One-Stop Shop

Getting small business help from the Governor’s Office of Economic Development.

by Heather King

Does the sound of a $180,000 contract to build fall protection systems for F-16s at Hill Air Force Base interest you? How about an $8.7 million task order at Dugway Proving Grounds? These government contracts and many others were secured with the help of the Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) through the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED).

As fiscal year 2009-2010 comes to a close for the state of Utah and GOED, there is much to cheer about says Fred Lange, the state’s PTAC director. “We are having a record year and we are very proud of the fact that we’ve brought half a billion dollars’ worth of contracts to small businesses here in the state of Utah. It’s a big year for us.”

The PTAC’s main function is to help existing small businesses find — and ultimately win — government contracts for products and services. “Our niche is to help companies that have been in business for a couple of years or more find opportunities to extend their marketing into the government sector, whether it’s federal, state or local contracts,” explains Lange. Particularly in an economically challenging time such as the country is now facing, the government is an excellent customer for any business because they often purchase items in bulk, put large contracts out to bid and, most importantly, pay their bills on time.

Lori Durrant, operations manager for Alpine Industries, a machine shop in Richmond, says, “With the help of Utah’s procurement team, we have been able to meet new potential customers and expand our business. They are always willing to help us any way they can and that makes them a tremendous asset to us and other small businesses in Utah.” GOED’s PTAC program helped Alpine Industries win eight new contracts with Hill Air Force Base and nearly double their annual government contract revenue to just under $1 million.

Who can use PTAC?

The PTAC program is funded by the federal government, the Department of Defense, the Utah State Legislature and GOED. While many programs have complicated requirements or restrictions in order to qualify for assistance, the PTAC program, as well as many others offered through GOED, is available to anyone who requests assistance. For example, when a small business owner expresses interest in the program, they begin by meeting with a PTAC counselor who helps identify particular market segments to pursue and advises on the necessary documentation required to begin doing business with the government. Once the paperwork is complete and businesses have received a DUNS number and have registered their NAICS codes with CCR, the real advantages of PTAC begin.

“Probably the most popular service that we offer is Bid Match,” Lange says. “We have a proprietary database that we use to describe a company’s product or service. The database searches on a daily basis for government agencies that are looking for companies to bid on products or services and then generates an e-mail describing the opportunity.” E-mails are then sent to small businesses with all of the information regarding each request so they can begin preparing proposals.

Steve Kyriopoulos, vice president of Great Western Park & Playground, headquartered in Wellsville, says, “The procurement team’s resources have allowed us to be very productive in the time spent looking for new jobs. We routinely utilize their Bid Match service and have turned many of these leads into contracts. It has allowed our company to grow and that growth has given us the resources to add additional employees to our workforce.” Great Western Park has now been awarded 52 contracts to supply playground equipment throughout the western United States worth nearly $2.5 million.

The distinguishing element of the PTAC program is that any small business, regardless of product or industry, can expand their business with government contracts — from Morgan Valley Manufacturing, which makes something as niche as stairs for F-16s, to Raass Brothers construction company, which won a five-year, $65 million contract of which the $8.7 million task order at Dugway is just the first assignment.

In addition to counseling services and Bid Match, the PTAC program also offers numerous outreach events throughout the year that give small businesses the opportunity to network with large vendors and learn about specific contracts available. And for the fifth year, there will be a full-day procurement symposium held October 21 at the South Towne Expo Center that includes breakout sessions, keynote speakers and vendor booths — all of which are designed to help small businesses succeed.

One-stop shopping for Utah’s small businesses

In addition to the PTAC program, GOED offers even broader benefits to small businesses in the form of business resource centers. In 2008, the Utah State Legislature signed into law the Utah Business Resource Centers Act which helped fund the creation of several of these centers in locations across the state.

Business resource centers are designed to be “one-stop shops” for small business assistance — everything from how to write a business plan to human resources and accounting help. So instead of a small business owner having to make multiple phone calls and visits, they can instead go to one location and have all of their questions answered by experts in that particular business specialty.

Gary Harter, GOED’s business creation managing director, explains, “We originally started with three business resource centers three years ago and there are now eight of them throughout the state. We worked hard to colocate all of the service providers that would allow small businesses to be successful and flourish and grow throughout the state of Utah.”

Additionally, Harter says, “Each one of the BRCs has their own flavor,” and are tailored to the needs of the local community in which they are located. But no matter the type of business services or products a company offers, he continues, “They can find assistance by going into the business resource center and if it’s not available at the one that they are at, they can reach out to others that are in the network and find the answers to those questions.”

While small business owners may sometimes feel as if they are taking on the world alone, GOED has designed a variety of programs to not only support Utah’s small businesses, but also to help foster their success. “We’ve really provided some great services for small businesses,” Harter concludes. “They’re taking advantage of it and we are really seeing participation numbers go up.” In fact, in 2009, more than 1,000 of Utah’s small businesses took advantage of these services and nearly 2,500 people attended some type of event at the business resource centers. Visiting one of the eight business resource centers should really be at the top of every small business’ to-do list.

Resources:

There are several ways for small businesses to get the help they need from GOED. The PTAC website is a good place to start. There you can find information about Bid Match, counseling, workshops and other useful programs. Alternatively, visit
one of the BRCs listed below for
in-person assistance.

• goed.utah.gov/contracting/PTAC/


• North Front BRC
  
  450 South Simmons Way, Suite 300
  
  Kaysville, UT 84037
  
  801-593-2104


• Southern Utah University BRC
  
  77 North Main Street
  
  Cedar City, UT 84720
  
  435-865-7707

Utah Valley University BRC

800 West University Parkway, 239

Orem, Utah 84052

801-863-8230

• Cache BRC
  
  1410 North 1000 West, Rooms 1901-1905 (Northwest entrance)
  
  Logan, Utah 84341
  
  435-213-8713


• Salt Lake Community College Miller BRC
  
  9750 South 300 West
  
  Sandy, UT 84070
  
  801-957-6076


• Dixie Business Alliance
  
  1071 East 100 South
  
  St. George, UT 84770
  
  435-652-7754


• Carbon Economic Development
  
  375 South Carbon Ave.
  
  Price, UT 84501
  
  435-637-5444 x408


• Six County Association of Governments
  
  250 North Main Street
  
  Richfield, UT 84701
  
  435-893-0710

— HK