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	<title>The Voice of Small Business in America®</title>
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		<title>The Voice of Small Business in America®</title>
		<link>http://8vsb.wordpress.com</link>
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		<item>
		<title>Are the benefits of contract award bias towards ‘Bigs’ worth more to our country than Job Creation by ‘Smalls’?</title>
		<link>http://8vsb.wordpress.com/2012/01/26/are-the-benefits-of-contract-award-bias-towards-bigs-worth-more-to-our-country-than-job-creation-by-smalls/</link>
		<comments>http://8vsb.wordpress.com/2012/01/26/are-the-benefits-of-contract-award-bias-towards-bigs-worth-more-to-our-country-than-job-creation-by-smalls/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:22:02 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>: Jim Thompson, VSBA Editor</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[SBA]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Small Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[agency management]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[budget dollars]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[business goal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[empirical proof]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[federal accountability act]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Government Contract]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[H.R. 3779]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[linkd]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Rep. Bill Owens]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://8vsb.wordpress.com/?p=2901</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Are the known benefits of job creation by ‘Smalls’ more valuable to our country than the perceived savings achieved through contract award bias towards ‘Bigs’? BACKGROUND There has been tremendous fallout over the Bill introduced by Rep. Bill Owens (D-N.Y.) on Jan. 18 titled “the Small Business Growth and Federal Accountability Act” (H.R. 3779) http://thomas.loc.gov/home/gpoxmlc112/h3779_ih.xml [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=8vsb.wordpress.com&amp;blog=2026779&amp;post=2901&amp;subd=8vsb&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://8vsb.wordpress.com/2012/01/26/are-the-benefits-of-contract-award-bias-towards-bigs-worth-more-to-our-country-than-job-creation-by-smalls/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	
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			<media:title type="html">: Rudy Sutherland, VSBA Editor</media:title>
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		<item>
		<title>ALJUCAR &amp; Co. is vetting individual firms to joint venture for Department of State &#124; Worldwide Design-Build Construction and Construction Projects</title>
		<link>http://8vsb.wordpress.com/2012/01/19/aljucar-co-is-vetting-individual-firms-to-joint-venture-for-department-of-state-worldwide-design-build-construction-and-construction-projects/</link>
		<comments>http://8vsb.wordpress.com/2012/01/19/aljucar-co-is-vetting-individual-firms-to-joint-venture-for-department-of-state-worldwide-design-build-construction-and-construction-projects/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 19 Jan 2012 14:37:16 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>: Jim Thompson, VSBA Editor</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[8(a)]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[8(m)]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SBA]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SDVOSB]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Small Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ALJUCAR & Co.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Civilian Contracting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Construction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Department of State]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[design build construction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[facility clearance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fcl]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[idiq contracts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[open competition]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://8vsb.wordpress.com/?p=2896</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The U.S. Department of State (DOS), Office of Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO) is seeking to prequalify firms for Design-Build Construction and Construction projects at various Department of State Foreign Service Posts and other facilities worldwide.  The Department of State anticipates awarding 25 IDIQ contracts. Depending on the availability of qualified offerors; set asides for specific [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=8vsb.wordpress.com&amp;blog=2026779&amp;post=2896&amp;subd=8vsb&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://8vsb.wordpress.com/2012/01/19/aljucar-co-is-vetting-individual-firms-to-joint-venture-for-department-of-state-worldwide-design-build-construction-and-construction-projects/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	
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			<media:title type="html">: Rudy Sutherland, VSBA Editor</media:title>
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		<item>
		<title>Small Businesses spend an average of $103,827 to win initial federal contract: Statistics</title>
		<link>http://8vsb.wordpress.com/2011/12/28/small-businesses-spend-an-average-of-103827-to-win-initial-federal-contract-statistics/</link>
		<comments>http://8vsb.wordpress.com/2011/12/28/small-businesses-spend-an-average-of-103827-to-win-initial-federal-contract-statistics/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 28 Dec 2011 18:42:44 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>: Jim Thompson, VSBA Editor</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Small Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[VSBA]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Business Development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Government Contractor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marketing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://8vsb.wordpress.com/?p=2892</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8220;On average, small-business owners submitted 4.4 bids in order to secure their first federal contract&#8230;&#8221; As the United States government decreased contract spending in the past year, small businesses opened their wallets wider to do business with the world&#8217;s largest consumer of goods and services. According to the second annual American Express Open Government Contracting [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=8vsb.wordpress.com&amp;blog=2026779&amp;post=2892&amp;subd=8vsb&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://8vsb.wordpress.com/2011/12/28/small-businesses-spend-an-average-of-103827-to-win-initial-federal-contract-statistics/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
	
		<media:content url="" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">: Rudy Sutherland, VSBA Editor</media:title>
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		<item>
		<title>2-Part Information Series – Doing Business in Afghanistan</title>
		<link>http://8vsb.wordpress.com/2011/12/20/2-part-information-series-doing-business-in-afghanistan/</link>
		<comments>http://8vsb.wordpress.com/2011/12/20/2-part-information-series-doing-business-in-afghanistan/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 20 Dec 2011 17:48:53 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>: Jim Thompson, VSBA Editor</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Afghanistan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Small Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ALJUCAR & Co.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Government Contractor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Rudy Sutherland]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://8vsb.wordpress.com/?p=2888</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[‘Due Diligence &#38; Risk Management for Small Business Government Contractors’ Host: Rudy Sutherland Most US Small Businesses in the Construction &#38; Engineering disciplines are leery of doing business in the middle-east because they must not only manage sometimes unfamiliar commercial, political, and legal environments in these countries but must also concurrently maintain compliance with U.S. [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=8vsb.wordpress.com&amp;blog=2026779&amp;post=2888&amp;subd=8vsb&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://8vsb.wordpress.com/2011/12/20/2-part-information-series-doing-business-in-afghanistan/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	
		<media:content url="" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">: Rudy Sutherland, VSBA Editor</media:title>
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	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Request for content contribution from VSBA members who Blog</title>
		<link>http://8vsb.wordpress.com/2011/12/08/request-for-content-contribution-from-vsba-members-who-blog/</link>
		<comments>http://8vsb.wordpress.com/2011/12/08/request-for-content-contribution-from-vsba-members-who-blog/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 08 Dec 2011 14:14:22 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>: Jim Thompson, VSBA Editor</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Blogging]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bloggers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Small Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[VSBA]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://8vsb.wordpress.com/?p=2885</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[We receive many link-backs to VSBA member Blogs despite the following rule being present in the &#8216;Group rules&#8217; section: &#8220;2. DO NOT post job orders or link-backs to websites or blogs in the discussion section of our Group. &#8220; However, given that much of this content might otherwise be beneficial to our membership, we are [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=8vsb.wordpress.com&amp;blog=2026779&amp;post=2885&amp;subd=8vsb&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://8vsb.wordpress.com/2011/12/08/request-for-content-contribution-from-vsba-members-who-blog/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	
		<media:content url="" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">: Rudy Sutherland, VSBA Editor</media:title>
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		<item>
		<title>Open Letter to VSBA Members: Adhering to &#8216;Direct Sales&#8217; fundamentals are more important to Smalls now than ever before&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://8vsb.wordpress.com/2011/12/02/open-letter-to-vsba-members-adhering-to-direct-sales-fundamentals-are-more-important-to-smalls-now-than-ever-before/</link>
		<comments>http://8vsb.wordpress.com/2011/12/02/open-letter-to-vsba-members-adhering-to-direct-sales-fundamentals-are-more-important-to-smalls-now-than-ever-before/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 02 Dec 2011 13:58:33 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>: Jim Thompson, VSBA Editor</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Small Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sales & Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Entrepreneurs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Government Contract]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Direct Sales]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Federal Agencies]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://8vsb.wordpress.com/?p=2882</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Friday, December 02, 2011 Dear Membership, In light of the calls and emails that I have been getting from our Members regarding the lack of direction that would allow for sound strategic planning right now, I am compelled to respond openly. Whether you know the budget status of an agency, or whether your contract is [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=8vsb.wordpress.com&amp;blog=2026779&amp;post=2882&amp;subd=8vsb&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://8vsb.wordpress.com/2011/12/02/open-letter-to-vsba-members-adhering-to-direct-sales-fundamentals-are-more-important-to-smalls-now-than-ever-before/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	
		<media:content url="" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">: Rudy Sutherland, VSBA Editor</media:title>
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		<item>
		<title>For New and ‘Old’ Heads: The Absolute Truth about Selling to the Federal Government</title>
		<link>http://8vsb.wordpress.com/2011/11/30/for-new-and-old-heads-the-absolute-truth-about-selling-to-the-federal-government/</link>
		<comments>http://8vsb.wordpress.com/2011/11/30/for-new-and-old-heads-the-absolute-truth-about-selling-to-the-federal-government/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 30 Nov 2011 18:24:18 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>: Jim Thompson, VSBA Editor</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Capitalism & Finance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sales & Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Teaming]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ALJUCAR & Co.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Business Development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Direct Sales]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FAR]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Federal Government]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[OSDBU]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://8vsb.wordpress.com/?p=2875</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8220;Whether you are new to federal procurement, a ‘head-banger, or one of the lucky; you must be prepared to commit significant resources (Time + Money) to your firms’ sales program and also be prepared to wait at least one year for your first (or next) dollar of federal revenue. You are going to need a [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=8vsb.wordpress.com&amp;blog=2026779&amp;post=2875&amp;subd=8vsb&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://8vsb.wordpress.com/2011/11/30/for-new-and-old-heads-the-absolute-truth-about-selling-to-the-federal-government/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
	
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			<media:title type="html">: Rudy Sutherland, VSBA Editor</media:title>
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		<item>
		<title>DNB &#124; Pimps, Preachers, and Prostitutes: How your small business info, with the help of FAR regulations, is being ‘Pimped’ by Dun and Bradstreet, and what you can do about it</title>
		<link>http://8vsb.wordpress.com/2011/11/29/dnb-pimps-preachers-and-prostitutes-how-your-small-business-info-with-the-help-of-far-regulations-is-being-pimped-by-dun-and-bradstreet-and-what-you-can-do-about-it/</link>
		<comments>http://8vsb.wordpress.com/2011/11/29/dnb-pimps-preachers-and-prostitutes-how-your-small-business-info-with-the-help-of-far-regulations-is-being-pimped-by-dun-and-bradstreet-and-what-you-can-do-about-it/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 30 Nov 2011 02:13:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>: Jim Thompson, VSBA Editor</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Federal Regulation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Government Agencies]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Small Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[D&B]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[DNB]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dunn & Bradstreet]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FAR]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Federal Acquisition Regulations]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[GSA]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://8vsb.wordpress.com/?p=2873</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[[This is Part I of a 2 Part series. Part I covers the background, acquisition &#38; illegal use of small business contractor information, and aggressive sales tactics used by DNB to peddle the same information. Part II will cover the steps VSBA plans to take to bring this illegal activity to light in order to [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=8vsb.wordpress.com&amp;blog=2026779&amp;post=2873&amp;subd=8vsb&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://8vsb.wordpress.com/2011/11/29/dnb-pimps-preachers-and-prostitutes-how-your-small-business-info-with-the-help-of-far-regulations-is-being-pimped-by-dun-and-bradstreet-and-what-you-can-do-about-it/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
	
		<media:content url="" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">: Rudy Sutherland, VSBA Editor</media:title>
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		<item>
		<title>&#8216;Roll Tide&#8217; &#8211; VSBA invited to view Iron Bowl rivalry</title>
		<link>http://8vsb.wordpress.com/2011/11/28/roll-tide-vsba-invited-to-view-iron-bowl-rivalry/</link>
		<comments>http://8vsb.wordpress.com/2011/11/28/roll-tide-vsba-invited-to-view-iron-bowl-rivalry/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 29 Nov 2011 01:56:07 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>: Jim Thompson, VSBA Editor</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Small Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Alabama]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Iron Bowl]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Roll Tide]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[VSBA]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://8vsb.wordpress.com/?p=2870</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I want to thank the State of Alabama Small Business contingency for hosting me during the Iron Bowl rivalry w/Auburn &#8211; I am now a full fledged &#8216;Good ol&#8217; boy&#8217; (my Mother is rolling in her grave) and an avid University of Alabama fan; I have a new found respect for the small business community [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=8vsb.wordpress.com&amp;blog=2026779&amp;post=2870&amp;subd=8vsb&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://8vsb.wordpress.com/2011/11/28/roll-tide-vsba-invited-to-view-iron-bowl-rivalry/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	
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			<media:title type="html">: Rudy Sutherland, VSBA Editor</media:title>
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		<item>
		<title>We&#8217;re No. 1!</title>
		<link>http://8vsb.wordpress.com/2011/11/21/2863/</link>
		<comments>http://8vsb.wordpress.com/2011/11/21/2863/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 21 Nov 2011 13:26:11 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>: Jim Thompson, VSBA Editor</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Small Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Congress]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Democrat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Facebook]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[LinkedIn]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Republican]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://8vsb.wordpress.com/?p=2863</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Voice of Small Business in America (VSBA)® Discussion Group We&#8217;re the No. 1 discussion &#38; information group for Small Business Government Contractors on LinkedIn, join our 5,900 Small Business membership in the Washington DC Metro Area and around the country and see if it&#8217;s right for you and your firm. Link: http://linkd.in/OneVoice  One Voice&#8230;<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=8vsb.wordpress.com&amp;blog=2026779&amp;post=2863&amp;subd=8vsb&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	
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			<media:title type="html">: Rudy Sutherland, VSBA Editor</media:title>
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