Small Business Information Newsletter Jan 08

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Welcome to the second edition of the Brevard Small Business Assistance Council’s (BSBAC) electronic newsletter – our new tool designed to assist small businesses in gathering business information in one easy location. We hope that it will be of help in both your planning as well as your day to day operations.

As you can see in the first edition, we have LOTS of great information to share with you so I don’t want to take up too much space with my remarks, I just want to assure you that every quarter will have some new and exciting information that you will want to know about. Check out the membership list just to see what companies are providing input and substance to the newsletter, as well as all of the articles. BSBAC has a long and impressive history in Brevard County of helping small businesses.

We hope you are as excited about our newsletter as we are, and please, be sure to let us know if you have any ideas that will make this a better tool for you. Enjoy!

Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast – Economic Outlook

The EDC will be hosting an Economic Outlook on Wednesday, May 28, 2008 at the King Center for Performing Arts. The program will be held from 11:30 am to 5:30 pm.

If your business wants the latest economic data from some of the nation’s top business leaders, make plans to attend the EDC’s Economic Outlook 2008 on May 28, 2008. This year’s theme surrounds the volatility in the current economy and how to expand your businesses reach with new opportunities for growth. Prominent national and regional presenters will provide forecasts regarding some of the most vital components in our area including housing, commercial real estate, investments and workforce. Cost is $50. Register now at http://www.spacecoastedc.org/Events/EventDetail.aspx?Guid=7607c8749d69471d8b00147427d17f36

Guided by its “First in Florida” strategic plan, Brevard Public Schools (BPS) is the tenth largest of 67 school districts reporting to the Florida Department of Education, and employs more than 9,600 people. With 85 schools, 17 special centers, 8 charter schools, and a $570 million operating budget, the District educates more than 75,000 students in 17 different municipalities across the county. By using data-driven decision making, systematic approaches, and 21st century technology, its goal is to lead a generation to first in the nation using national benchmarks for organizational effectiveness and student performance.

Brevard Small Business Opportunities
    The Office of Purchasing Services mission is dedicated to providing professional and efficient procurement services and supports the activities of the School District, which includes: education, financial responsibility and community service through contracting for all commodities and services. We accomplish our mission by maintaining procedures which foster fair and open competition, inspiring public confidence that all contracts are awarded equitably and economically; and by acquiring the greatest possible value and quality in the services and products, with timely delivery.
     This past year Purchasing Services processed over 34,000 purchase orders for the district. Competitive bids are utilized for all commodities and services over $25,000.00. We currently have approximately 84 Continuing Services contracts in place of which 46 are contracts for Facilities, Maintenance and trade related services as well as supply of construction, maintenance and trade related materials and supplies with 154 contractors awarded. Twelve of the contractors are awarded on multiple contracts. The balance of the continuing contracts are for a variety of product and support required by not only the many BPS Student Services and educational elements but support services operations and departments such as Transportation, Food & Nutrition, Educational Technology, and the School Supply Warehouse. The majority of these BPS Continuing Contractors are Brevard based firms utilizing local resources.
    We take pride in our ability to educate vendors about our purchasing processes to ensure they have what they need to do business with the School Board of Brevard County. Our expertise resides in our business processes and our exceptional vendor attention.

Brevard Public Schools is currently utilizing Onvia DemandStar, an Internet based public entity bid distribution service, to advertise all formal sealed Invitation to Bid (ITB), Request for Proposal (RFP) and Request for Qualifications (RFQ). Potential vendors can review District bid activity at any time by visiting our web-site at http://novusites.adm.brevard.k12.fl.us/purchasing/index.html. Although vendors and contractors are encouraged to register on-line at Onvia DemandStar (go to this link for more information) registration is not required to procure solicitations which can be

downloaded for a minimal fee from Onvia DemandStar. Subscribers to Onvia DemandStar receive automatic notification of public entity bid opportunities. Onvia DemandStar offers various distribution area coverage options such as bid notifications for a single county, central Florida, Florida and National plans.

Many other opportunities exist for local businesses through major projects managed by Brevard Public School’s Facilities Department. These projects include new school construction, major renovations and major additions to existing District facilities. For these projects the District utilizes either Construction Manager or Design-Build Professionals. These professionals are selected though an advertised RFQ procedure as outlined in Florida Statute which includes an evaluation and ranking process based on specific criteria to include the presentation of a ‘Local Business Participation Plan’ as one of the selected firm’s various project responsibilities will be to bid out the project with a focus on recruitment of local resources.

We are recruiting subcontractors / suppliers for a recently awarded project from the Army Corps of Engineers located at Patrick Air Force Base, FL in Brevard County called the Child Development Center. This project is a 30,768 sf single story, masonry construction with stucco finish, metal roof - New Construction. Sauer Incorporated is a General Contractor that works directly with the Federal Government and as such, we must comply with specific laws and regulations.

We currently are searching for All Construction Trades for this project. Please notify us of any subcontractors or organizations that would be interested in doing business with us on this project in the State of Florida. For more information contact:

The Air Force is starting a new way to do business, regionalism with a transformation process that will occur out of Warner Robbins AFB, GA. This will affect how base level contracts are awarded. These changes will take place beginning in 2010. For more information, companies will need to visit the website: www.selltoairforce.org.

· 71 buying organizations (Contracting Squadrons and Specialized Squadrons) are currently focused on providing tactical – not strategic – support to installation customers

· Each buying organization is aligned to one of six CONUS MAJCOMs (stateside Major commands)

· To take advantage of strategic sourcing, saving the Air Force – and our nation – valuable dollars

· The deployment will follow a structured approach to ensure positions and workload migrate in a disciplined manner

· Staff will receive training on strategic sourcing concepts and new business processes

· Implementation will be self-funded as the cost of realigning is offset by reduced sustainment costs

· The Installation Acquisition Transformation will net additional contract savings/cost avoidance from efficiency gains and strategic sourcing

· The transformation will create a more efficient and effective organizational structure

· The transformation enables realization of strategic sourcing objectives and leverages the buying power of the Air Force

· The regional construct balances resources across the Installation Acquisition community

The Office of Management and Budget has rolled out the public website for the reporting of all federal spending activities by Department/Agency and Congressional district. It is based on a variety of data sources, primarily drawn for information in FPDS-NG and feeds from the grants and assistance communities. Currently, the site does not contain all of our data, so be extremely cautious in the interpretation of any result, more data will be added over time as we scrub our numbers in NG and other reporting tools that feed this site. This site is the OMB response to 2006 Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act. www.usaspending.gov

VETERANS BUSINESS NETWORK OF CENTRAL FLORIDA (VET NET)
Brevard Community College Melbourne Campus
April 16, May 21 & June 18 - Program is free - reservations are required
Contact Gary Beckert at Gary@QualityU.com, 724.9875, or
Sandy Pfrimmer at pfrimmers@brevardcc.edu, 433.5570

August 7, 2008 at Florida Tech Clemente Center. Sponsored and hosted by Women’s Business Center.

TRDA Business Innovation Center
'Roadmap to Success' Workshop Series
(For schedule information contact Bonnie O'Regan at 321.872.1050, Ext 107 or e-mail boregan@trda.org)
(Center Information at http://www.trda.org)

University of Central Florida (UCF) Small Business Development Center Seminar Schedule
SEMINAR SERIES - "Government Contracting (Selling to the Government Made Easy)" all seminars 6 – 9 pm
Seminar #1 - Intro to Federal Government Procurement--Where do I Start? - Apr 1, Seminar #2 - GSA & Multiple Award Schedules – Apr 8,
Seminar #3 - Subcontracting & Teaming – Apr 15,
Seminar #4 - Bids & Proposals – Apr 22,
Fee is $30 per seminar or $80 for all four
~ Seating is limited - please register early ~
(Information/registration - call UCF SBDC at (407) 420-4850) or visit http://www.sbdcorlando.com,
http://www.bus.ucf.edu/sbdc)

FOUNDERS FORUM
Innovative Methods for Growing Your Business
Crowne Plaza Melbourne Oceanfront, Indialantic, May 20, 6:00-9:00 PM
(For information/registration, call the FSBDC at (321) 433-5570 or visit http://www.foundersforum.com)

8^th Annual Veterans Conference Wednesday, September 24, 2008, King Center for the Performing Arts Contact the FSBDC at Brevard Community College at 321-433-5570 for more information

"EXPO 2008" NASA/45th SPACE WING SMALL BUSINESS EXPO
Cruise Terminal #3, Port Canaveral, Oct 21, 2008
(For information/registration visit http://expo.ksc.nasa.gov/index.htm)

For a full listing of members and companies, visit our website at http://www.bsbac.org

The website contains outreach events, activities, and government contracting information, member lists with email and phone numbers and much more!

Look for updates on these events, activities & opportunities in the July 2008 edition