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Posts Tagged ‘Rachael Roderick’

Small Business Roundtable: “Everything You Want to Know About Government Contracting But Were Afraid to Ask!”

Monday, November 28th, 2011

Have you ever wondered about how a competitor received a contract with a federal or state agency?

Does the thought of selling your product or service to state, local or government agencies cause you to sweat and worry about an endless stream of expensive and complicated paperwork?  

If you wanted to begin, where would you even start and who could you ask for honest advice?

On December 15th, the New Hampshire office of the U.S. Small Business Administration  (SBA) and the NH Procurement Technical Assistance Program (NH-PTAP) will present their first of several “Everything You Want to Know About Government Contracting But Were Afraid to Ask!” roundtable sessions for small business owners or key employees in small businesses who are thinking about  joining the hundreds of New Hampshire small businesses who sold over $275 million dollars in goods and services to federal agencies. 

According to Dave Pease, Program Manager of the NH-PTAP, “The companies that have achieved success in selling to federal or state agencies or large federal contractors have several things in common.  They all have asked questions, they all have experienced frustration at some point and they all have persevered with a winning bid or proposal.” 

At the upcoming roundtable business owners will hear contracting specialists discuss real and perceived barriers that businesses encounter as well as strategies and supportive resources you can use to overcome barriers and gain access to these opportunities. 

Thursday, December 15, 2011
1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
The New Hampshire Innovation Commercialization Center Conference Room
75 Rochester Avenue
Portsmouth, NH 03801

This session is offered free of charge, but space is limited. Please contact  Rachael Roderick at 603 225-1603 or  rachael.roderick@sba.gov  to register.

Workshops Announced to Help Veteran Owned Small Businesses Sell to the Government

Thursday, October 20th, 2011

Is the federal government one of your customers?  

Last year more than 80 federal agencies and departments purchased in excess of $275 million in goods and services from 235 New Hampshire based small businesses.  109 of these companies were owned by veterans and they accounted for sales to federal agencies totaling more than $50 million.  These purchases had values from the hundreds of dollars up into the millions. 

As the world’s largest buyer of products and services the U.S. Government is committed to purchasing a portion of these from veteran owned and service disabled veteran owned businesses.  How do veterans get to participate in marketing and selling to federal agencies?  While it can seem like a daunting task to add the federal government as a key customer, it is being done by more and more businesses each year.  More importantly, help is available to guide you through the process of identifying and responding to sales opportunities. 

To help you get started in the right direction in navigating the government contracting process, representatives from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) along the NH Procurement Technical Assistance Program (PTAP) will be presenting an overview of how the government contracting process works and how YOU can get started.   These presentations will be made at four – two hour seminars in the months ahead.  The seminars are presented for free to participants however due to space limitations pre-registration is required.

Join us, and discover the programs and services available to help you win in the world of government contracting.

Dates & Locations:

November 9, 2011           Hesser College – Manchester     (1:30 – 3:30 p.m.)

February 1, 2012               Hesser College – Salem                 (1:30 – 3:30 p.m.)

May 2, 2012                        Hesser College – Portsmouth     (1:30 – 3:30 p.m.)

June 20, 2012                     Hesser College – Nashua              (1:30 – 3:30 p.m.)

For registration, questions or additional information contact Rachael Roderick at the U.S. Small Business Administration office in Concord 603-225-1603 email: Rachael.roderick@sba.gov  or  Miguel Moralez – Miguel.Moralez@sba.gov or 603-225-1601.

Small Business Matchmaker Scheduled for Nashua

Tuesday, May 3rd, 2011

On Monday May 9th at the Nashua Technology Park from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. there will be a Business to Business Matchmaker that will bring together over 150 small business owners with procurement representatives from more than 25 federal agencies and private prime contractors.  

small-business1Last year, hundreds of New Hampshire small businesses were awarded over $438 million in contracts by federal agencies.  This number grows significantly when you consider all of the awards made to small businesses as subcontractors to private prime contractors.  Small business owners throughout New Hampshire have discovered that adding the federal government to their customer list can be a smart business decision. 

Rachael Roderick, Business Development Specialist at the NH district office of the U.S. Small Business Administration, one of several co-sponsors of the event commented, “This is a great opportunity for NH companies to meet directly with several of these organizations to have that initial meeting that can sometimes takes weeks to set up individually.  It is a great way to find out where the opportunities exist for each individually company and who they should follow up with in the future.” 

On May 9th, the majority of the day will be filled with time for small businesses to meet one-on-one with representatives these agencies and prime contractor to explore if their company has a market to pursue future contracting opportunities.    A basic government contracting training session will be available in the afternoon for those new to the subject. This one hour session is designed to demystify the federal procurement process and alert business owners to the one-to-one business support available through the New Hampshire Division of Economic Development’s Procurement Technical Assistance Program, the SBA and its resource partners.   

Online pre-registration is required and available now at www.nhsbdc.org with a fee of $25.00.   

Small businesses that register for the event will be provided a list of the confirmed exhibitors before the event to help them tailor their presentations and target specific agencies or contractors they wish to meet.

Exploring Government Contracting Subject of Small Business Roundtables

Thursday, February 24th, 2011

In FY 2010 New Hampshire small businesses were awarded over $438 million in contracts by federal agencies, state agencies and as subcontractors to prime contractors.  These contracts represent awards to hundreds of small businesses in New Hampshire, who have often worked with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and the NH Division of Economic Development’s Procurement Technical Assistance Program (NH PTAP) to realize increasing success and profits.  

small_business1As more small business have entered the arena of selling their goods or services to government agencies or prime contractors, a common thread has emerged with successful companies.  The businesses that understand how the process works and how regulatory requirements can be met, are the same businesses who receive contracts in the government contracting marketplace.   

On Wednesday March 9, 2011, in Manchester and Thursday March 17th in Keene, representatives from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), the NH Procurement Technical Assistance Program (PTAP), and SCORE will host a roundtable discussion with area businesses who want to learn more about the process of selling product and services to federal government agencies and their large business prime contractors.  Business owners will also receive an introduction to the resources and services provided by the SBA, NH PTAP and SCORE to assist them if they decide to pursue government contracting with their companies. 

Wednesday March 9, 2011 from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
The Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, 54 Hanover Street, Manchester, NH

or 

Thursday March 17, 2011 from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
The Hannah Grimes Center, 25 Roxbury Street, Keene, NH

Each session is free of charge, but attendance is limited and pre-registration is required.

Please contact Rachael Roderick at (603) 225-1603 or Rachael.roderick@sba.gov for additional information or to register.

Construction Bonding for Federal Contracts Workshop Planned

Monday, January 24th, 2011

The New Hampshire Procurement Technical Assistance Program (NH-PTAP), a program of the New Hampshire Division of Economic Development, is offering an informative seminar, “Construction Bonding for Federal Contracts,” for contractors, builders and tradesmen who are or want to become government contractors on February 16th from 9 a.m.-noon at the New Hampshire Division of Economic Development offices at 172 Pembroke Road. Pre-registration for the event is required as seating is limited.

CB040563According to NH-PTAP Program Manager Dave Pease, “The Miller Act of 1935 requires performance and payment bonds prior to any award made for federal construction projects over $150,000. Businesses that have never been through the bonding process can find this process daunting. That’s why we’re pleased to have Bill VerPlanck of The Rowley Agency and Rachael Roderick of the Small Business Administration (SBA) present this training. They’ll take attendees through what contractors, subcontractors, builders and tradesmen need to do in order to be in compliance with the FAR (Federal Acquisition Regulations) Part 28, which outlines detailed requirements regarding bonds and insurance.”

The Miller Act was put in place to protect the interests of the federal government, taxpayers, suppliers and subcontractors. Bonding ensures that the construction contractors are qualified to perform their contractual obligation to the federal government, that taxpayer dollars are protected through third-party guarantees of contract performance and payment, and that suppliers and subcontractors have a payment remedy should the prime contractor become insolvent or fails to pay them.

VerPlanck, who will lead the training, will explain the differences between various bonds, why they exist and who uses them and how to get bonded; while Roderick will explain the SBA Express and Contract Line of Credit programs that can assist small businesses.

Bill VerPlanck joined The Rowley Agency in 1985 after serving seven years as the Hartford Insurance Company regional bond manager for northern New England. A graduate of Cornell University, he earned his Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU®) designation in 1992 from the American Institute for Chartered Property & Casualty Underwriters. He is an active member of a number of industry associations including the National Association of Surety Bond Producers, New England Surety Association, Associated General Contractors of NH (past board member), NH Good Roads and Associated Builders & Contractors.

Rachael Roderick has worked for the SBA for 23 years.  As a Business Development Specialist, her responsibilities include administering the SBA’s 8(a) Business Development Program and marketing and outreach of the SBA’s programs including government contracting programs, loan programs, and business development assistance through resource partners.

All registrants for the free training must be NH-PTAP clients. For more information about this event and the free services that NH-PTAP provides or to sign-up as a NH-PTAP client, visit http//:nhptap.ecenterdirect.com.

For questions, contact Amanda Duquette at 603-271-7581 or email amanda.duquette@dred.state.nh.us. Please note that the conference room does not have wireless Internet connection for personal laptops.