The National Park Service pulled out the rug from under the display in the dining room of the Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial late last year and replaced it with one replicated by a New Hampshire rug company.
The Country Braid House in Tilton has been in business for close to half a century creating custom braided rugs found all over the country and featured in magazines, from Architectural Digest to Country Living and the New York Times magazine.
There have been a variety of customers over the years, said Jan Jurta, but never the federal government.
“I never in my wildest dreams imagined they would contract for a braided rug,” she said.
When the National Park Service decided to replace the 21.5-foot braided rug that had been in the Nancy Hanks Memorial Hall in Lincoln City, Indiana since 1943, Jurta knew this was a project for the Country Braid House.
“The U.S. government is one of the largest buyers of goods and services in the world,” said Jane Brezosky, who worked with Jurta on the successful bid. “It’s easy to think of it as only needing items related to defense, electronics and medical supplies, but federal and state governments have the same needs as any customer.”
While the contract for the braided rug was very specialized, Country Braid House’s experience illustrates the kind of opportunities there are in government contracting for New Hampshire businesses, from firewood for campgrounds and road repairs in the White Mountain National Forest to flooring and furniture for military bases and government agencies.
NH GovCon’s services are offered to New Hampshire businesses at no cost. Once you sign up as a client, you will receive notifications of bid opportunities and our staff will work with you to guide you through the process. In addition to this specialized assistance, we offer training seminars throughout the state.
Government contracting is a $2.5 billion business in New Hampshire. If you think your business doesn’t have a product the government needs, you probably do.
Is your business one of the hundreds that brings in billions in federal contracts to New Hampshire every year?
Government contracting offers New Hampshire small businesses a way to expand their customer base selling goods and services to local, state and federal governments. The catch is that doing business with the government has a few more layers that traditional business-to-business.
“Every year, hundreds of New Hampshire companies receive between $1.5 billion to $2 billion in federal contracts alone, with hundreds of millions more from state and local government contracts,” said Dave Pease, program manager for the New Hampshire Government Contracting Assistance Center, part of the state’s Division of Economic Development. “New Hampshire businesses are very successful in winning these types of contracts, ranking 7th in the US and #1 in the Northeast in per capita federal small business contracts.”
No business is too small to get into government contracting, he said.
“Uncle Sam is like any other consumer – it needs the sames services, equipment, supplies that other companies order from your business,” he said.
Winning Federal Contracts – A Great Business Opportunity or a Nightmare will explore how doing business with the government is different than private business; what kind of opportunities there are and where to find them and the resources available for guidance through the process.
Suppliers and service providers that are part of the defense supply chain will be required to protect certain unclassified information by the end of year, as part of the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation System.
To assist New Hampshire businesses meet that requirement, the New Hampshire Government Contracting Assistance Center and the New Hampshire Manufacturing Extension Partnership will host the DFARS Cybersecurity Conference from 8:30 am to noon, June 29 at Nashua Community College.
“These requirements have been on the books for several years, but the implementation deadline is Dec. 31,” said Dave Pease, program manager of NH GovCon. “There are clauses in your contracts and subcontracts that will require you, your subcontractors and suppliers to protect controlled unclassified information.”
Companies at any tier in the defense and homeland security supply chain should plan to attend. The seminar will cover information on the rule and the NIST standard; challenges discovered and solutions developed by large prime contractors; insights on the flowdown requirement and commercially available services and solutions.
Jane Brezosky ~ NH Government Contracting Assistance Center
The government marketplace presents contracting opportunities to all kinds of businesses because it buys more than just ball bearings, weapons systems and engineering services. In fact, there is great variety in the products and services federal, state and local governments need.
We recently assisted a small New Hampshire business respond to a RFP from the National Park Service for a replica of a 21-foot long braided woolen rug for the Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial in Lincoln City, Ind.
How unique – and how interesting – that a small New Hampshire company is able and well-qualified to bid on such an unusual contract.
Luckily, the business heard about this opportunity by word of mouth, but small businesses can’t count on luck to grow.
This is why you need to take a few moments and connect with us. You never know what the government is looking to buy and you may well be eminently qualified to do the job or provide the service.
When you sign up for our client services, you will receive notifications of bid opportunities. You don’t go it alone after that. My colleagues and I provide free assistance to you to help you bid on, and win, a contract.
Our clients sell an array of products to federal, state and local governments, from firewood to flooring to furniture and much more.
I’ll bet your product or service would fit into a government market. Give us a call today.
The cost to attend is $20 (including breakfast) and you do not have to be a member of the BIA to attend. This is a popular event; be sure to register early!
7:30 a.m. Registration & Continental Breakfast
8 a.m. Welcoming Remarks Governor Chris Sununu
Senate President Chuck Morse
8:15 a.m. Financing Options for Small Business
Learn about traditional and alternative (non-traditional) options for financing your small business from a panel of experts – Gary Barr, TD Bank; John Hamilton, Community Loan Fund; and Greta Johansson, U.S. Small Business Administration.
9:10 a.m. SmallBusiness Boosters! Accessing global markets, bidding on, and winning, government contracts, and putting the state’s Job Training Fund to work are ways to boost your small business’s competitiveness. These programs are offered for free through the NH Division of Economic Development. Presenters: Tina Kasim, Office of International Commerce; Dave Pease, NH Government Contracting Assistance Center; Michael Power, Office of Workforce Opportunity.
10:15 a.m. Affordable Care Act Under Attack: Implications for Small Business
Hear about how changes to the ACA may impact your business and employees. Presented by Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health and New Hampshire Medical Society.
11:10 a.m. Taxing Issues for Small Business Whether it is “reasonable compensation,” apportionment, or taxes relating to the Affordable Care Act, there has never been a time more complex for the small business owner when it comes to taxes. We have assembled a panel of New Hampshire’s finest tax accountants and attorneys who will present on recent state and federal tax changes affecting the small business community and respond to your specific questions on taxes impacting your individual businesses. Presenters: Karl Heafield, Baker Newman Noyes; Kevin Kennedy, Maloney & Kennedy; John Rich, McLane Middleton; and Steve Lawlor, Nathan Wechsler
