Ask SCORE -- Southern Utah

Working with the Federal Government

2010-09-20T10:46:00.000-06:00

The Federal Buyer's Guide has an online buyers guide on which you may list your business and all of its products for FREE.

Every Fall, you are offered the opportunity to edit and update the list.

Go to http://www.industrialbuyersguide.com/index.cfm to view the website and list your business.

Working With the Federal Government

2010-07-16T08:17:00.002-06:00

Working With the Federal Government©

There are many Federal Government opportunities for small businesses. It is required to allocate a certain percentage of its business to small business enterprises, disadvantaged, and minority/women owned enterprises. The process of bidding and soliciting opportunities with the Federal Government is not difficult, but it helps if one knows how to get set up and how to pursue the opportunities.
Central Government Contractor Registration
Before you can bid on or submit proposals for Federal Government work, the first step is to register your company at the Central Government Contractor Registration site. (www.CCR.Gov). The registration process is easy and the site guides you through it step-by-step. Your company can be any type of corporation, partnership, or sole proprietor. You will be required to get a DUNS (Data Universal Numbering System) number from Dun & Bradstreet. At CCR.Gov, the homepage has a link to get the number. The number can be obtained in 24 hours if needed.

To start the process on CCR.Gov, click on “Start New Registration” and the website will walk you through the registration process. Questions such as whether you are a small business minority, veteran owned, number of years in business, etc., and financial questions. These are not audited, they are just estimates, so don’t worry about perfect accuracy.

There will be a section that asks what NAICS (North American Industry Classification System) codes you want to list. Again, this is not critical. The CCR website has a link to a list of these codes. The codes are classifications for work your company may be interested in. Such as, machinery repair, office supplies, janitorial services, and so forth. You can pick as many as you want for anything that may be something your company has an interest in. The reason you want to list the codes is for the government buyers; they may do a search on a certain code to see what companies may be interested in a given solicitation.

Once all questions are answered the registration takes about 48 hours. The status of your registration can be checked simply by logging in. If it is not approved, the web site will tell you which questions need to be answered or clarified.

Federal Business Opportunities Website

The Federal Business Opportunities Website (www.FBO.Gov) is a searchable data base that lists thousands of government solicitations (RFPs, RFIs, RFBs). The site can be viewed and searched without registering on the site, but it is best to register to take advantage of the enhancements, such as search agents. Now that you have set up your company on CCR.gov, simply go to FBO.gov and click on “Register Know”. It will ask you for your DUNS number and the DUNS number will link to your CCR registration.

The FBO.gov website is good as a search tool. If you find a solicitation that is interesting, click on it and it will give you information (Scope of Work) on that solicitation. It will also tell you who the Contract Specialist/Officer (Buyer) is. It will give contact information for that officer and details on submitting your price or proposal.

FedBid.com

The Federal Government is using a “Reverse Auction” process for many of its solicitations. Www.FedBid.com is a non-governmental agency that the Federal Government uses to manage the Reverse Auction process. Again, as before, you must register. Go to FedBid.com click on “Seller Login” and then “Create Account”. It is a very simple process. After you enter a little information the site will find your company in the CCR database. In this Reverse Auction, the bidding will be open for a given amount of time that can vary depending on the Federal Government contracting officer. It is usually open for at least 24 hours and may be open for days. You will not know other bidder’s prices. When you enter your price, you will only be told if yours is the high or low bid. You have the opportunity to bid many times, but they do watch for bidders that start unrealistically high and try to work their way down. Your bids must at least be reasonable.

Some responses will not go through FedBid.com, but will go directly to the Federal Government Contracting officer. For instance an RFI (Request for Information) may not even include pricing and would go directly to the contracting officer.

Working with Federal Agencies and Unsolicited Proposals

FBO.Gov lists the solicitations that are already approved and looking for responses. As with any business, it is advantages to start talking with the Users (not Buyers) in a given Federal agency to understand their needs and to see if there is any way your company can be of assistance. For instance, let’s say you had a product the Department of Defense (www.DOD.gov) may be interested in. There may be no solicitation on FBO.Gov, but you may have something that is unique and you want to try and sell it to DOD. The first step is to go to the DOD.gov website and search for contact info for the Program Officers (Users) who may be interested in your product. This is a real sales effort and it may take months or even a year to get in the door. The Program Officer may decide to check out your product and take it to the next step. If it is high dollar cost item it may have to go through the FBO.gov solicitation process, but if your company is the only one that offers this product, it could be considered a “Sole Source” and the bidding process would be eliminated.

Small Business Administration

The Small Business Administration (SBA.gov) is a valuable source for help for the Small Business Owner. The SBA can help with advice on setting up a corporation and administering your corporation. The SBA also has workshops online and throughout the country that are geared toward small businesses in general as well as specifically for Federal Government work. The SBA may also be able to help with funding your enterprise with an SBA backed loan.

Summary

Getting work with the Federal Government may take some time. The key is persistence and maximum sales effort. Consider it a business development effort over time. Once your company has a track record with a given agency you may be able to set up a Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA). This BPA will allow a Buyer to purchase your product or service directly from you at a prearranged price. For instance, if your company had an hourly rate for janitorial services the agency may contact you directly for certain ongoing hourly work.

©2010, Thomas Zanowski
The preceding material was prepared by Thomas Zanowski, a consultant having years of experience preparing and responding to bids, in and out of Federal, State, and Local governments. He may be reached at tzanowski@att.net

Communications Program Outline

2010-06-14T13:30:00.000-06:00

TOPIC: PR/MARKETING Communications Program Outline

The following is the general outline I follow when designing PR & Marketing Communications programs.
While comprehensive Public Relations and Marketing Communications programs need the same information, advertising, direct marketing, and other marketing tools use only portions of this information.

FOREWORD
SITUATION
Consideration: The challenge
Response: The strengths
OBJECTIVES
Marketing objectives
Marketing communications objectives
Goals
Tasks to achieve goals
STRATEGIES
Short-term strategy
Long-term strategy
DISCUSSION
Program components
BUDGET
APPENDICES
A. Public Relations
B. Advertising
C. Direct Marketing
D. Trade Shows
E. New Product Development
F. Sales Literature

The following paragraph, adapted by me from a definition of public relations, succinctly describes how I believe fine marketing communications and public relations programs unfold.

“By identifying the company’s or product’s publics first, we can then plan on using the various communications tools to reach those audiences, either educating them, or reinforcing or changing their perceptions. Publicity, advertising, direct mail, trade shows, internal communications, financial relations, trade media relations, and government lobbying are a few of the tools used to achieve the common marketing goals.”

Discussing Proprietary Information with SCORE Counselors

2010-06-01T13:59:00.003-06:00

Discussing Proprietary Information with SCORE Counselors
As a small business owner or entrepreneur, you have some great ideas that could be moneymakers. However, you have questions. You would like to discuss the ideas with someone, yet you are hesitant about revealing what you believe are novel ideas.
You have heard about SCORE, but are hesitant to discuss the ideas in person or via email.

Be assured that, just as doctors or lawyers, SCORE counselors are bound to secrecy and cannot divulge any information obtained during an in-person or email session with a client.

If I had what was an idea for a novel product or service, I too, might be hesitant to discuss it with someone I barely knew or with whom I was ‘talking’ via email. I think I would choose to have an in-person meeting, where I could get a good feel for the person with whom I was dealing, and reveal information as I became more comfortable.

In the past, I have provided consultations via both in-person and email to entrepreneurs or small business owners who felt comfortable revealing proprietary details to me.

Buyer's Guides -- An overlooked marketing tool

2010-04-23T13:58:00.001-06:00

Buyers Guides – An overlooked promotional tool

Are you selling into a commercial, industrial, or retail market? Do you constantly seek new avenues in which to promote their products?

Old timers are familiar with the Buyers Guides frequently found in trade magazines, but they frequently are unknown to newcomers or companies marketing their products on a shoestring.

Many trade magazines publish within their pages a Buyers Guide once a year. These Guides list suppliers to the magazine’s audience in both Alphabetical and Product Differentiated listings.

Three or four months before publishing these listings, publications send forms to all known suppliers in that arena, requesting current contact and product information. There is no charge to be included in these Guides.

How do you uncover these opportunities?
First, are you aware of all the trade publications read by your target audiences (customers)? If not, go to your library and search through the Standard Rate and Data Services (SRDS) books. These consist of compilations of every newspaper and magazine published in the US, and list all major trade shows, by industry.

Also listed are the editorial schedules for every publication. Spend some time perusing each appropriate schedule to learn when it publishes a Buyers Guide. Contact each publication to obtain and submit the proper forms to be included in their Guide.

Business How-To Book Available from SCORE

2010-04-20T15:01:00.000-06:00

Attention Entrepreneurs and Small Business Owner

Business How-To Book Available from SCORE

St. George, Utah - - - The just published How to Start a New Business is designed both as a roadmap for starting a new business, as well as an in-depth review for owners of small businesses.

Southern Utah SCORE Chapter Director Byron Theurer points out that while “owning one’s own business is an extremely exciting and gratifying experience, there also are many serious pitfalls.

“Our How To booklet takes its readers through the necessary start-up process, pointing out those dangers. Further, our one-on-one counselors can help the business owner or entrepreneur with real life experience with these hazards.”
How to Start a New Business is available from SCORE, at the address below, from the St. George Chamber of Commerce, and will be available in Utah at most Washington County Libraries. The cost is $12.00 per copy; $15.00 if mailed.

Further information about SCORE or its free counseling is available at: Dixie College, University Plaza, 1071 East 100 South (Building C), St. George, UT 84770; phone: (435) 652-7741; email: SCORE@dixie.edu.

SCORE St. George Offers FREE Consulting

2010-04-16T11:11:00.002-06:00

Attend Our Small Business Workshops
Our workshops cover such topics as business start-up, financing, the acquisition of existing businesses and franchises, and business exit strategies. Past attendees have given them rave reviews. more>

Lay the Right Foundation Before You Open Your Home Office

2010-01-07T13:25:00.002-07:00

Lay the Right Foundation Before You Open Your Home Office

Ah, the luxury of having a home-based business. No office leasing costs, no frustrating daily commute, and no disturbances from noisy co-workers. Although these and other advantages have enticed many people to start their own businesses, your home office should reflect the same level of commitment, professionalism, and dependability customers would expect if you set up shop on main street. These seven tips will get your home office started on the right track:

1. Legalize it. Check with your local zoning office about zoning regulations in your area. Some communities, neighborhoods and apartment complexes may have covenants that restrict certain types of businesses. Requirements for licensing also vary among jurisdictions. Some require a fee or tax, based on income, while others simply want to know that your business exists.

2. Establish a business address. Not all customers look favorably on a business with an obviously residential address. Many home-based business owners rent a post office box and use that address on their business cards and stationery.

3. Get the right equipment. The cost of electronic equipment continues to decline, and such devices as an all-in-one fax machine, printer, scanner and copier increase efficiency while conserving space. You may need more than one phone line as appropriate to accommodate your personal and business needs. Cable modems can provide continuous Internet access without the need to add or tie up a phone line. Make sure your phone has voicemail that enables a client to leave a message while you are on the phone.

4. Organize for productivity. Carefully design your workspace around your business tasks but in accordance with your work style and habits.

5. Establish contacts. Working from home can limit your ability to network. Make an extra effort to connect with potential clients and colleagues by joining a professional association. You may want to consider meeting with clients at their office or in a rented conference room for a more professional environment.

6. Keep careful records. The Internal Revenue Service tends to audit home-based businesses more frequently, especially when they claim business expenses such as writing off a portion of the mortgage payments for the home office. You can choose from many different systems to document all your business expenses. Your accountant can advise you on claiming deductions.

7. Discipline yourself. With so many distractions in your home (children, pets, delivery people, telemarketers), you must be strictly disciplined in order to get any work done. It may be tempting to take advantage of quiet time for personal chores and errands, but time away from your office during business hours is time and money lost.

If you would like to discuss setting up a home-based business, contact SCORE “Counselors to America’s Small Business.” SCORE is a nonprofit organization of more than 10,500 volunteer counselors who provide free, confidential business advice to veteran entrepreneurs and those just starting out. For the SCORE chapter nearest you, call 1-800/634-0245, or find a counselor online at www.score.org.

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Small Business Counseling

2009-10-25T12:06:00.000-06:00

SCORE business counselors have particular expertise in business planning and help numerous business start-ups through the detailed and time-consuming task of preparing a business plan, complete with financial projections. Often, start-up companies need to seek out sources of capital. SCORE business counselors will assist the aspiring entrepreneur with the preparation of the loan application package, which includes a business plan. Many clients request team counseling, in which several counselors with varied business experience will meet with a business owner to review strategies and plan for future business growth.

All SCORE counseling is offered as a free and confidential community service. There are 389 SCORE chapters around the country assisting entrepreneurs. While counseling is always free-of-charge, local SCORE chapters also offer small business workshops and seminars for modest fees.

In southern Utah, SCORE is a member of the Dixie Business Alliance, 1071 E 100 S, First Floor, Bldg. C, St. George, UT 84770. Phone (435) 652-7741, or sign up for E-mail counseling at www.score.org.

Ask SCORE for Sound Small Business Advice

2009-10-07T14:54:00.000-06:00

If you have dreams of someday owning your own business, or if you’re already an entrepreneur and want to sharpen your management skills, keep an eye on this space. Here, you’ll find concise answers to common small business questions, tips on finding new customers and keeping old ones happy, plus insights into business-related issues you may never have thought of, but should.

In addition to the advice found on this blog, visit our website at In addition to the advice found on this blog, visit our website at http://www.southernutahscore.com/ .

Purpose of AskScore

2009-10-05T13:02:00.000-06:00

Our Chapter wishes that by sharing with Blog visitors some of the advice we have provided, we can help others.

At the same time, we hope to encourage more inquiries.

Visit our website.

First Impressions ARE important

2009-10-05T12:58:00.002-06:00

As a former small businessman, and frequent recipient of email, I am quite disappointed of the content of so much written and even printed material. The grammar is bad, but most noticeable is the lack of spelling abilities and non-use of spell checkers. Lately, in on-line help requests forwarded to me by SCORE, it seems only to have declined further.

Everyone, but especially entrepreneurs and people in business, please spell check everything you prepare.

First impressions ARE quite important.

Visit our website: http://www.southernutahscore.com/

Young Business falls on Hard Times, due to Failed Promises

2009-10-05T12:56:00.001-06:00

SITUATION: A retail specialty shop, offering a singular line of foreign products in an area where many people have visited these foreign areas.

Associates not following through on promises, including sharing client lists; illness in family; business slow to pick up; quickly running out of funds and may need to get another job.

Internet site still under construction at present.

NEEDs to do something fast.

RESPONSE: There is no doubt you’re in a difficult situation. Whoever might solve most of your issues, could become quite rich! But, I do have two suggestions:

First, contact the SCORE Chapter in your area and ask to meet for a free consultation. As many times as you might meet with one of their volunteers, it is no cost to you. Its website is: http://www.saltlakescore.com/

Next, this is one marketing effort that could bring some quick results with a minimum of effort and no cost.

I suggest you set up a Blog for each of your product lines. What will this do?

For each product type, present several paragraphs describing the history and variety of this product line. Discuss the uniqueness of each, the artisans, where appropriate, and the background or history.

For example: if you were selling imported, exotic lumber from Brazil, you might begin with a history of the demand for that export, describe the quality, grain, color, and use for each type. Once your website is functional, you will embed a link to your website somewhere within the text.

The idea is to get the attention of people interested in this subject and then give them something interesting to read. Then, ideally they will click on your link, or for the present, come into your store.

However, your website is not yet functional. That is priority one for this scenario to be most effective. I hope you’ve found a way to get a low-cost site implemented fast. At the start of a local business like yours, even though you might get some distant business, there is no need to spend thousands of dollars for the perfect website.

In the meantime, a boilerplate paragraph at the bottom of each Blog entry would invite folks to visit your store or call, to learn more and to see examples of this product.

(“Boilerplate paragraph” is a paragraph giving a short description of your organization, along with the name, address, email address, and website address. I.e., “XYZ is a retail specialty shop located in My City that offers an assortment of Commonwealth wares. Included are Artworks, Glass, …It is located at …Mention this Blog and receive our everlasting gratitude!)

This will be doing something very positive for your future, and you may benefit from the feeling that you’re preparing some good foundation material.

Setting up a blog is simple. Go to: https://www.blogger.com/start

When setting up each blog, use the same user ID and Password for each. Each will be a stand-alone page, but by using your same name and ID, the name of all of your Blogs will appear on each Blog.

I wish that I could help more, but I know you’ll be able to get some good mentoring from your local SCORE office.

Visit our website: http://www.southernutahscore.com/

Thanks

2009-09-02T19:32:00.000-06:00

I'm impressed with the Blog already. Nice work and so fast!

Taking a Web Business to a New Level

2009-09-02T17:03:00.001-06:00

REQUEST: Taking a web business to the next step.
Client request first; counselor reply italicized.

I have a few small businesses on the go (in Australia), however I am at a standstill with one of them. I have a few websites but one in particular is very popular and makes good money, but has more potential. I cannot seem to get it to the next step. If you visit it, you will see that it has been built using frontpage and it kind of an outdated design and layout. Not to mention the html is a mess. There are a few things that I would like some advice on.
• Should I repair this mess or is it ok to go along as it is?
• How can I make it easier for people to find what they want?
• How can I optimize this site to make more money from adsense?
• What is wrong with my landing page for my book?
• Should I take the whole site and put it into a wordpress template?
There are so many questions but I am sure you do not have time for all of them.

The aim of the website is to help people and make money at the same time. Creating an investment. Passive income would be nice, but it will not function without me posting articles to it..

I hope that I may be able to answer a few of your questions, but overall it looks like you need some ideas or obtaining broader publicity, perhaps a public relations effort. Do you have a PR program in place?
First, a few comments. You mention using FrontPage. That is OLD technology with which I built my websites. Today, my web hosting sites no longer support the FrontPage Extensions, and many features that use those extensions no longer work. At some point, you may want to look into a replacement for FrontPage.
Next, you feel XXX has more potential. That is why I brought up the subject of public relations. One of the basic purposes of PR is to address the following question:
“What do my audiences feel about my product (company), and how can I change, correct, or improve that picture.”
The audience you want to address is potential customers, but don’t forget current users of your book. And, there are others who can influence the purchase of your book, into which fall current owners. We call this audience The Influencers, and I’ll get into that more later.
I see you already use Twitter. Do you also have a blog? Did you choose Twitter over a blog, and if so, why?
Now, let’s address your questions, in reverse order.
WORDPRESS – This looks like a very capable, free package, and I might try it. It states it is for Blogs, but I assume it is for websites as well. It will also address your question about ‘repairing the mess,” to which I say Yes.
LANDING PAGE – By this, I imagine you mean Home Page. It’s used the proper fuel ‘til now, but now you need higher octane. Yes, a redesign will help – a little.
ADSENSE – I’m not the one to ask about having ads on a site. I’ve never done this. I see you do have links to friendly sites, too. Does this mean you have resellers for the book?
EASIER SEARCH – Your search capability looks good. I would suggest highlighting “Type in Here” as soon persons click in the box, to preclude the need for deleting that text.
PR IDEAS
I mentioned The Influencers earlier. Audiences that can influence further purchasers of your product(s) include current customers, people who deal with senior citizens, even children whose parents know nothing about computers, and editors of printed and online publications addressing any audience that may contain quantities of computer illiterate readers. Independent computer resellers and service companies in smaller towns would be good partners or resellers of your book.
Do you have Senior Citizen Centers in your area? If so, offer to speak about computer phobia, and so forth. I’ve taught beginning computer users at two such senior groups. The publicly financed Centers can always use new ways to make money to support their services and might be willing resellers, if they have computer labs.
I’m probably beginning to get off on tangents, so should close for now. Please feel free to continue this conversation if you have follow-up questions.
(Counselor did not suggest in-person meetings with SCORE counselors, since request came from outside America.)

Second Session:

Dear Richard
An existing client, has sent you a response:
And I see you confirmed that Frontpage is old news. I really want to change the site into something more organized but I am also worried about losing PR and traffic if I change the urls of the pages. It would be a huge job to keep them all the same because they are such a mess…This is why I have avoided it. I really don’t know where to start.
There is no reason to change urls. Build your new site without uploading it. Then just upload/change one page at a time, as you are satisfied with its appearance. You can still do the basic changes with FrontPage. Can you also work offline with Wordpress?

When you mentioned the Senior Citizen Centers I couldn’t believe it. I have actually been sending my mother to these centers. She is 75 and she wants to help me so I suggested that. She hasn’t done much though..but every bit helps. This has just been to promote the website, not sell the book.
I’d contact as many Senior Citizen Centers a possible, and determine which offer computer training or have computer labs. Offer to donate one copy of your book to those that do. Perhaps even offer a discount to those who purchase after seeing the book at a Center.

Do you think the navigation on the site is ok. YES. What do you think when you get there. Are you confused at first glance or is it easy? What did you think when you went to a page. Did you get the information you were after.
Yes to all, however, as you already feel, the look is a bit tired. Change the graphics and perhaps the layout to your satisfaction, then address these issues. They are not serious.
Going off on another subject now….
Also I was wondering if you would like to review my book. It is only in pdf form as I haven’t bothered with a publisher as that will mean even more work for me. My aim is to sell this book online as a passive income now. I am also going to write a networking book and a bigger word 2007 book. Do you think I am on the right track with the books? The subjects that people want?
The WORD 2007 book may be a good bet, if what I’ve seen with people upgrading to VISTA. Microsoft changed everything, getting away from the old style menus, toolbars, and etc. Why do vendors have to make such drastic changes at one time? Why don’t they explain that the Classic View is still available (if it is)? Everyone is confused, especially those who do not need to use the computer more than a few times a day. And more especially the older people I deal with, who also have memory issues.
I also have the book lined up to be used in a college computer course next year.
That is a great PR/income program. Try the local technical colleges, too.

Visit our website: http://www.southernutahscore.com/

How to take a successful retail online/wholesale small business to the next level

2009-09-02T16:52:00.003-06:00

Request: How to take a successful retail online/wholesale small business to the next level

Requestor’s comments precede; counselor’s advice italacized.

Last summer I started a small business making and selling XXXX. I sell retail online, as well as wholesale to several high end XXXs in the US and Canada. have a contract worker making my XXX, and I fulfill all the custom orders. I am adding another contract worker this fall to keep up with orders.
First, I agree that Contract workers are the way to go at this time, as long as they work out of their own premises. You’re already aware of the 1099 requirements, I assume.

I want to take it to the next level, but I don't know where to begin. I have an art and journalism background, but never took a business class at all while in college.
The art and journalism backgrounds should be useful. News Releases to all of the Retailer, Wholesaler, and manufacturing publications in the appropriate areas can help get your name known among the prospective customers you seek. Pictures should accompany the news releases, the latter of which should present news, not disguised ads.
A Direct Marketing program aimed at the manufacturers and large retailers purchasing departments, might also be useful, though be careful not to pass along useful competitive information. Teasers indicating product compatibility with their products might be the message. Plus, statistics showing how your sales have grown, plus projections and naming your customer sections. It would be impressive if you pulled the Summary from your business plan, as it would discuss some of these points.
If you don't have a current business plan, do nothing until you update or create one. Samples can be downloaded from the SCORE website.
If you’re not aware how to find these publications, the libraries in larger cities should have the Standard Rate and Data Sources (SRDS) books which list thousands of US publications, by categories.
I know you’re busy, but night classes in business, if only one per semester, will help. They say the busy person is the better person!
Are there Manufacturer’s Reps in your industry? If so, they could help present your products to prospective clients.
One point I’ve learned is that larger businesses like Sears will not add a line until that product has proven highly successful.
What I'd love to happen is to make a deal with a larger XXX manufacturer so that I get a percentage of sales and get to design future products in my line, but that they would provide their name, marketing, manufacturing, and distribution.
What you’re looking for are royalties.

How would I get something like that? I know that my product really isn't a business... it's just one product. How would I go about setting up a meeting with a larger toy manufacturer, and how would I find out about companies that may be interested in my product?

An established company would set up a meeting, take along its lawyer, and have iron-clad non-disclosure or non-compete contract(s). Manufacturers dealing with a company your size will never sign such a contract, as they might already have such a product in the pipeline.
What would be ideal for you for your product to attract inquiries from larger companies. They then would be in the right frame of mind to sign the non-disclosure/non-compete contracts.

Thanks so much for your help!
I’m afraid I haven’t been too much help relating points you may already know.

(Counselor might also have suggested in-person meetings with SCORE counselors.)