Small Business Conference in nation’s capital brings together subject-matter experts in the veteran-owned business world.
Current or prospective small business owners who attended The American Legion-Small Business Administration (SBA) Small Business Conference Feb. 21 in Washington, D.C., were provided a wide range of information, including advice on gaining access to capital, navigating difficult times as a business owner and choosing a franchise over starting a new venture.
They also learned about a program whose graduates have gone on to achieve billions of dollars in contracts for their businesses. And that program is free.
Veteran Institute for Procurement (VIP) was referenced throughout the day-long conference, from both its leadership and veterans who have gone through the program. VIP training programs are designed to teach veteran-owned small businesses how to increase their ability to win and manage government contracts.
VIP trains 750 companies a year, at no cost to the veteran. The cost of meals and hotels for attendees also are covered through working with SBA and other partners. The program offers six curriculums, three of which are sector-specific: international, aerospace and corporate.
VIP National Director Barbara Ashe said VIP has nearly 3,000 graduates from all 50 states, as well as Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and Guam. Those graduates have won $39.1 billion in federal prime contract awards and nearly $13 billion in sub-contracts since 2010.
VIP is currently accepting applications for its training program here.
Ashe also was tasked with sharing insights into mastering federal contracts during her time at the podium. But she said they also apply to local, state and private sector contracts, “Because if you can do business with the U.S. government, most likely you’re able to support your local and state procurement opportunities.”
Ashe said business owners seeking federal contracts need to stay abreast of any changes in rules or regulations and also continue to educate themselves on best practices and other area. “The successful business owner always feels that there’s more to learn,” she said. “They’re never quite there.”
Knowing your competition in your respective market is critical, as is knowing the buyer/user. “And, more importantly, do they know you?” Ashe asked. “Do you have customer intimacy, which also means will that customer return your phone call? You can have their number, but will they call you back?”
Ashe likened developing a relationship with a potential customer with sports teams being picked at recess in the schoolyard. “Didn’t the captain pick the person they knew how to play the game, knew the rules and performed the best?” she said. “The old adage exists: People do business with (people) they know, like and trust. Less risk. That, in essence, is being procurement-ready, and what you need to master to be successful in government contracting and, I would venture to say, in every business that you pursue.”
Ashe also urged attendees to not be afraid to ask for assistance from those more experienced. “The veteran community that I know probably best of all is very good about reaching back and helping the next veteran,” she said. “You need to find those coaches and advisors because you’re at a competitive disadvantage if you don’t have that, if you don’t have that expertise. If you don’t have it, seek it out.
“Mistakes are expensive, and if you’re working on a mistake, you’re not working on the next client or the current one. It’s going to slow you up. That’s the benefit of going to training like VIP, is that we give you some speed of play. Mitigate those risks so that you can focus on moving forward vs. going backward and fixing something that didn’t need to happen.”
A roundtable featuring four veteran business owners touched on some of the challenges those veterans faced both starting out and currently with their respective businesses.
“As a business owner, and being a woman, I’ll tell you that the greatest challenge was being a female veteran,” said U.S. Navy retiree Erica Dobbs, President & CEO of Dobbs Defense Solutions, LLC. “People don’t realize that women veterans are scrutinized and redlined just because we’re women veterans. As a result of that, I was denied access to capital because I was a female veteran. I was denied contracts because I was a girl. I could go on and on. My journey hasn’t been peachy keen … it has been a real journey.”
U.S. Army and Army Reserve veteran Lewis Runnion, Managing Partner of Eleven09, faced growing his fledgling business during the coronavirus lockdown. Army veteran Michael Lamb, CEO of Semforex, said being a part of the ballistics industry, one that he called a “closed industry”, was a difficulty he faced.
“It’s not like going out and demonstrating commercial products,” Lamb said. “There’s a limited audience. It was a dry run trying to find where do you position, who do you go to to get into the markets. And being able to grow in the market is another challenge.”
And Army veteran R.J. Blake, president & CEO of the Blake Willson Group, added that there is no finish line when it comes to owning a small business. “Every day’s a struggle,” he said. “You think you’ve reached the summit, and there’s another.”
Another roundtable featured two SBA employees and focused on navigating government programs for business growth. During the discussion, Larry Stubblefield – Deputy Associate Administrator in the Office of Government Contracting and Business Development – had praise for the relationship that has developed between The American Legion and his agency.
He noted that years ago SBA had two Veterans Business Outreach Centers (VBOCs) in the nation. American Legion Veterans Employment & Education Division Director Joe Sharpe, Stubblefield said, said the Legion had a goal of having one in every state.
“Here we are, today, years later, partnered with The American Legion, we have 31 (VBOCs) … and are constantly looking to expand the program,” Stubblefield said. “That’s the kind of relationship at SBA we have with The American Legion.”
Stubblefield briefly talked about SBA’s MySBA Certifications platform, a new, upgraded single application for SBA federal contracting certifications. “This is probably one of the smartest things we’ve done, something we probably should have done 20 years ago,” he said. “Before we stood up the unified certification platform, if you were a business owner … and wanted multiple certifications, you had to go to four different offices. Four different platforms. With the unified certification platform, it’s a single portal entry, a single log-on, and everything is there at one time.”
Francine H. Morris, SBA’s Director of the Government Contacting Office of Government Contracting and Business Development, said her job is to ensure that veteran-owned small businesses have the opportunity to compete for government contracts.
“I didn’t say award. I said to complete. Open the door,” Morris said. “Because we know that’s an issue right now. You can get all the certifications you want, but what good are they if you don’t have anything to compete, to make money. I take my position very seriously, and I am passionate about it.”
Morris also urged attendees to consider sub-contracting to get into the prime contracting field, and that SBA does support those efforts. She encouraged business owners to visit SBA’s SubNet website, which bridges the gap between businesses seeking small businesses and small business seeking contracting opportunities.
“SubNet has a list of large prime contractors … that they normally can post when they’re looking for small business for opportunities,” she said. “If you need support, we will help you get that.”
Also during the conference:
· Charles Fowler, The American Legion Small Business Task Force Chairman, noted that on the Legion’s legislative agenda is expanding the Vets First Contracting Program that currently exists within the Department of Veterans Affairs into the Department of Defense. The purpose of Vets First is to ensure that legitimately owned and controlled veteran-owned and service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses are able to compete for VA VOSB and SDVOSB set-asides and are credited by VA's large prime contractors for subcontract plan achievements. Doing so, Fowler said, “will have unprecedented impact on our nation’s service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses. We’ve seen this program’s success in the VA. Now imagine extending it to the DoD, one of the largest buyers in the world. This is just about policy. It’s about creating generational opportunities for both current and future veterans alike.”
· Elias Hernandez, in his third week as SBA’s Associate Administrator in the Office of Veterans Business Development, used the conference to introduce himself to the Legion and those in attendance. “This is a passion of mine,” said Hernandez, a retired U.S. Army sergeant major. “I’m not just a figurehead of the program. I’m here to work. Roll my sleeves up and get to know the associations, the groups and the stakeholders in support of veterans and military spouse, so we can work together. Maximize our resources. Find new initiatives. Really support the entrepreneurs.”
· Retired Army Lt. Col. Rhonda Snipe spoke about the advantages of opening up a franchise, rather than building a business from the ground up. Snipe is the first Black owner of a Dale Carnegie as managing partner of North Florida Southeast Georgia Dale Carnegie.
· Retired Army Col. Tom Bartow, the CEO of Iron Eagle Logistics, shared tips on working with Amazon as a small business.
· Brenda Doles, president of HealthCare Resolutions Services, Inc., gave an overview of compliance and the consequences of non-compliance of key regulations with business owners working in cybersecurity.
· David Vardeman, senior vice president at Capital Bank, provided advice in choosing financing options and also shared his work as a military and veteran advocate in his role as the bank’s Not for Profit and Global Business Development director.
· Elizabeth Sullivan, president of Madison Services Group, Inc., provided an overview of how legislation in the 119th Congress, as well as budget or staffing cuts and executive orders from the administration, could impact small businesses.
- Careers