Conference for companies wanting to do business with the government | Business

The Columbia Area, Small Business Development Center ( SBDC) will be conducting two one-day conferences, “Government Contracting – A Place at the Table for S.C. Small Business.” The July 11 conference topic is “Working with Prime Contractors.” The July 12 conference topic is “Government Set-asides.”  Both conferences will be held from 8:30 am – 12:30 pm at the Lumpkin Auditorium, 8th Floor, Darla Moore School of Business, 1705 College Street, Columbia, S.C., 29208.

The cost for attending a single day conference is $50.00 or $75.00 for both days. To register for the conferences, go to our website:

http://uscregionsbdc.com/columbia_seminars.php

Reserved parking is included in the fee.

The first day will emphasize small businesses acting as sub contractors to prime contractors. This will include finding work opportunities and marketing your business to a prime contractor. There will be a question and answer session for participants to interact with state-wide prime contractors.

The second day will have an emphasis on government set-aside opportunities and working with government contracts. This will include marketing your business to government entities and pre-solicitations. There will be a panel discussion for participants to ask government agencies about the bid and award process.

The Columbia Area, Small Business Development Center will have participants from the private sector, government sector and SC SBDC to participate in this conference. All presenters are very knowledgeable about working with prime contractors and government contracting. For the year 2011, South Carolina, Small Business Development Centers assisted local small businesses receive over 1 billion dollars in federal contracts.

For further information, please contact Pete Oliver, 803-777-4550 at the Columbia Area, Small Business Development Center. 

Day 1 - Working with Primes

8:30 am      Welcome

      Michele Abraham, SC SBDC State Director

8:35 am      Opening Remarks

      Scott Adams, VP, Prysmian Group, NA

8:45 am      Contracting Principles - Scott H. Bellows

      Fair and Reasonable

      Responsive and Responsible

9:30 am      Registering as a Contractor (city/state/federal), an Overview

      Scott H. Bellows

9:45 am      Finding Work Opportunities - Sherry Pittinger

      Prime Contracting & Subcontracting

10:15 am    Marketing Your Business to the Government and Primes

      Sherry Pittinger

10:30 am    Break

11:00 am    Working with the Prime Contractor Community

      Introduction by Mr. Butch Wallace, Cong. Joe Wilson's Office

      Moderated by Greg Davis: S.C. Department of Commerce

      Prime Contractors: Brad Burton, Shaw Construction Group;

      Scott Spigener, M.B. Kahn Construction Co., Inc.

The panel will field, first-hand, questions from the audience along the following lines:

- In the context of government contracting, how does your subcontracting program work?

- What are some do's and don'ts for subcontractors seeking work with your company?

- For those who have been awarded contracts with your company, what makes some stand out and others fade into the background?

- What is your anticipation of government buyer needs (next year and beyond) and how might this affect the subcontractors you work with?

12:15 pm    Closing Remarks and Exhibitor Tables

Pete Oliver, Area Manager, Columbia SBDC

Day 2 - Set-asides for Small Business

8:30 am      Welcome & Opening Remarks

                              Michele Abraham, SC SBDC State Director

                              Daulton Tresvant, Cong. James Clyburn's Office

8:35 am      An Overview of Set-aside Programs - Steve Taylor

                              Set-aside Implementation, a Matter of Consideration

8:50 am      Where and How to Apply - Steve Taylor

                              Identifying Set-asides

9:00 am      I've got my certification, now what?

                              Scott H. Bellows

                              Marketing to the government

                              - Role of the Small Business Specialist, Corporate Profiles

                              Fair & Reasonable, Responsive & Responsible

                              Pre-solicitations and Sources Sought

                              Networking (and timing), Website, etc.

                              Mentoring-Protégé agreements

                              Mike O'Neill, US SBA,

                              Cecil Hannibal, OBO Administrator, City of Columbia

                              Enhancing performance (and support services)

                              James Giffin

10:00 am    Prime and Sub-contracting (for the certified vendor)

                              Scott H. Bellows

                              Finding Primes to Work with

                              The Small Business Prime Contractor

                              - Prime Work Requirements (as a percentage)

                              Non-manufacturer's Rule, Teaming Agreements

10:30 am    Break

11:00 am    Set-asides and Working with Your Government

                              Introduction by Eric Bedingfield, Deputy Cong. Mulvaney

                              Moderated by Greg Davis

                              Panelists: James Giffin, Linda Blanton,

                              Cecil Hannibal, OBO Administrator, City of Columbia

                              Chappelle Broome, Director of HR/DBE Liaison Officer, CAE Airport

                              Brenda Parnell, SC DOT Certification, SC Dept. of Transportation

                              Keith Friot, Pre-award Division Chief, Ft. Jackson,

                              Randall May, Dir. of Bus. Oper. & Small Bus. Specialist, Shaw AFB

The panel will field, first-hand, questions from the audience along the following lines:

- Describe your procurement operations and what you feel that you do to identify and bring on first-time contractors?

- Describe what, if anything, you do to encourage your prime contractors to bring on new sub-contractors?

- How do small businesses learn about smaller contracting opportunities that are not published in SCBO, FedBizOpps, etc.?

12:15 pm    Closing Remarks and Exhibitor Tables

                              Pete Oliver, Area Manager, Columbia SBDC