1st podcast episode of ‘The Small Business Talk Show’ for VSBA Members

It’s a wrap! 

Here is a link to the innuagural podcast episode of the ‘Small Business Talk Show’. Please join us for Part II of this series where we will discuss ‘the scalable and strategic benefits of using a “Small Business Page” to squeeze more than 24hours out of a normal days work’.

After listening, drop me a line and let me know your thoughts via email @ bizevangelist@vsbaonline.com

Here is the link: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/small-business/2011/11/16/increase-and-market-differentiation-using-social-media#.TsQfhG3-4s4.mailto

Enjoy!

- Rudy Sutherland
Founder, The Voice of Small Business in America
Producer, The Small Business Talk Show

To every Veteran in America: “Siempre Adelante” – Always Forward

To the 24.9 million military veterans in the United States, some of whom I served with – on this Day, I thank you for your service to our country. And, to the 1st Battalion 34th Regiment, where my military career began, I say proudly, “Siempre Adelante” – Always Forward.

‘Who are the real hypocrites here…

So, Mr. Cain allegedly ‘attempted’ to cheat on his wife and family with several White-women through the means of (no less an atrocity) than sexual harassment. If true, he is most certainly a hypocrite (family values advocate, preacher, etc., etc.) – and definitely not suited to be President (history, and Bill Clinton, shows us that it is better protocol to cheat on your wife “after” you have made it to the oval office).

However, further analysis demonstrates a more disturbing trend of issues here…

Besides the fact that the liberal media has all but crucified this “uppity Black-man who had the audacity to leave the liberal Democratic plantation” (yeah, I said it – and most of ya’ll [Black, White, & everything in between] know it’s true even if you’re too afraid to say so), why does it also matter to the ‘sensationalist’ liberal media what race the women he allegedly harassed are? Isn’t harassment still ‘harassment’? Would it be more ‘morally’ acceptable if these women were of a different hue? Anyway, I thought America was ‘post-racial’ since President Obama got into the oval office…

Furthermore, given the opaqueness in the definition of sexual harassment, I would argue that most men AND women with upper-management experience have sexual[ly] harassed (at least verbally) a subordinate (if the perception of the harassed person is what matters) simply by virtue of what has become acceptable behavior within our American culture; the caricature of sex as ‘sexual object’ in and of itself. And, ‘oh yeah, by the way’; how did we get this conditioning? You guessed it, the ‘sensationalist’ liberal media – so, ultimately who are the real hypocrites here?

Meanwhile, in other less important news – “Two people [were] shot behind [a] post office in Canyon Country, Southern California”…

- Rudy Sutherland

“Micro-Business is the Answer!”

Introducing ‘The Micro-Business in America (MBA) Incubator Group’

Goto:  http://linkd.in/mba-incubator

As we have been saying through ‘the Voice of Small Business in America Group’ for more than 3-years now, “Micro-Business is the Answer!”

According to the most recent census data 79% of all firms in the US have no payroll, representing the self employed. another 17% employ less than 10 people, truly small, perhaps micro businesses.  That means that 4% of all firms in the US have more than 10 employees. Thus, the 4% are the firms that are likely to lead to the most jobs, have the highest potential for growth get the lions share of support from the SBA, but – Q: where is the innovation  happening? A focused effort on strengthening this sector may lead to sustainable ventures, ventures that could lead to growth and hiring…imagine if 96% of the firms in the US hired 1 person…

This is where our Mission starts…  ”to assist 79%+ Small & Micro-Business that have ‘zero’ employees with justifying, obtaining, and sustaining at least ‘one’ employee.”

We invite all Micro-Business owners and Entrepreneurs who have ‘zero’ employees to join this Group. We also invite firms that currently have 5 or more employees to join this Group and share their experience and knowledge with their smaller brethren through discussion threads and media sharing. In this way, we maintain our mantra of ‘each one, teach one’. Goto:  http://linkd.in/mba-incubator

This Group is a feeder Group to the ‘Voice of Small Business in America Discussion Group’ @ http://on.fb.me/the-voice-of-small-business

Thank you, and Welcome!

/s/ Rudy Sutherland

BizEvangelist@VSBAonline.com

Founder & Chief Marketing Officer

The Voice of Small Business in America

NOTE: Marketing to our membership is prohibited without certification and reference check. Request a Preferred Vendor Application from BizEvangelist@VSBAonline.com.

Dunn & Bradstreet (DNB) is/has been illegally selling Small Business info input into CCR for years…

10|21|11 – Good Morning Small Business,

It is the beginning of a new fiscal year, and there is uncertainty abound. However, one thing that we know is Small Business is the primary catalyst of disruptive-innovation within the American economy. This said, and in order to protect the rights and privileges of Small Businesses as pursue this oxymoron; or first point of focus will be Dunn & Bradstreet (DNB) – and its illegal, unfounded sale of our company information through its subsidiary, Hoovers.

This exposé is huge, as the very foundation of this company is built on exploiting its GSA schedule along w/FAR 4.11 and 52.204-7. More in the next post.

/s/ R. Sutherland

Fight for your Contract! Introducing ‘Government Contractor Central (GCC) © – ‘The Small Business Pages’© on Facebook by VSBA

BACKGROUND

As all of you know, there has been a major slowdown in government contractor revenue growth because of significant budget reductions. A special note was the muting of the typical fiscal year-end spending surge by federal agencies for 2010-11; and a significant amount of unobligated 2011 budget money – which was very unusual.

With presidential and congressional elections next year, as well as unfinished work on the 2012 spending bills – and the Budget Control Act of 2011; it will probably be 18 to 24 months before we have a good understanding of the budget levels in this new spending cycle. Nevertheless, Small Businesses still need to increase Brand Awareness in order to compete for an ever more anemic pool of contract opportunities.

Given this context, our goal is to help our VSBA membership to be more efficient in their marketing efforts without sacrificing ‘impact’ in building solid sales-pipelines.

The use of Web 2.0 tools and social media can significantly enhance your Small Businesses’ ability to communicate with the federal, state, and local government agencies about its mission. They can also assist you with marketing to the major prime suppliers of these same agencies.

CHALLENGE

Government procurement personnel require specific information to make purchase decisions. The current method used by Small Businesses to market their capability to government agencies is generally as follows:

1. Prepare a Marketing Plan
2. Setup a Company Website
3. Setup your company profile in CCR
4. Setup your company profile in ORCA
5. Develop a Capability Statement (CS)/Briefing
6. Develop Line-Card (products-only)
7. Develop an eMarketing Brochure
8. Prepare a Prospect List/Sales Pipeline
9. Implement the Marketing Plan
10. Contact, Agency Small Business Liaison (SBLs) and Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBUs)

Current challenges with these mediums are as follows:

1. Market differentiation – developing a consistent Branding message is virtually impossible;
2. CCR – maintains a lifeless generic presentation of company information;
3. Company Websites – inconsistent presentations make it very unlikely that Customers/COs will take the time to review all Brand messaging;
4. PDF CS/Line-Card – version control challenges and static presentation; and
5. eMarketing Brochure/Capability Briefing – large files sent via email may be blocked since many agencies limit the size of email messages they can receive

SOLUTION

To resolve the above outlined problem-set and help Small-Business Government Contractors adapt social media to their marketing strategies and business processes, The Voice of Small Business in America (VSBA) has created ‘Government Contractor Central (GCC) ^© – Custom Pages’ on Facebook.

‘The Small Business Pages’^© on Facebook provide a dynamic 3-for-1 value by virtually eliminating the need for the legacy CS/Briefing, Line-Card, and eMarketing Brochure while providing your firms the opportunity to present its capability.

Please see the ‘Sample Capability Statement’ link @ http://on.fb.me/sample-facebook-capability-statement to get a better idea of how your firms’ information will be presented and read the ‘Info’ page for detail on how this tool will heighten your brand awareness with Contracting Officers.

Don’t be left behind.

 

-          Rudy Sutherland

Founder & Chief Marketing Officer

The Voice of Small Business in America

 

P.S. Make sure to check out the “All New” VSBA platform on Facebook! Now, you can get to all of our media content from one place… One Voice…

Goto: http://on.fb.me/the-voice-of-small-business

The annual agency report card issued by the SBA has become the best kept joke in DC

Joe Jordan, associate administrator of government contracting and business development at SBA is a PR plant by the Obama Administration, and everybody in the House & Senate small business subcommittees knows it. We now know that his job was to come into SBA and assist management with agency “spin”. You need only look at the current agency report car to get this gist.

Many experts say the grades aren’t accurate because the businesses that are winning the contracts often aren’t small. Agencies routinely get credit for awarding contracts to small businesses that have outgrown that status or been bought by large corporations. Therefore, in many cases, a small business is no longer doing the work.

This position has bipartisan support; both Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), ranking member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee’s Contracting Oversight Subcommittee and Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), the subcommittee’s chairwoman agree. Yes, the program follows the rules and might be technically correct; but that only speaks to how shady the rules are in the fist place.

I don’t expect to hear from any of you “flies on the wall” who’ve been parading your SBA acknowledgement as if it really means something…

8mC-JV: The Premier Woman-owned small business Joint Venture

 

Looking for a reliable, experienced multi-disciplined ED/WOSB firm to subcontract work too? Look no further than the 8(m) Consortium Joint Venture. Upload your requirement or cape statement @ http://8mc-jv.com .

 

So, just what is the 8(m) Consortium Joint Venture?

Good question.

 

Using a shared services back-office model to scale marketing, finance, administration, operations, and human resources; the 8(m) Consortium Joint Venture (8mC-JV) leverages the disparate past performance and collective capacity of its members to competitively pursue opportunities that are both SBA 8(m) set-aside as well as full & open at the federal procurement level.

 

Our primary goal is to create new and lucrative revenue streams together through cross promotion of expertise; increased geographic foot-print; and, creation of new and innovative products and services – to grow our member businesses strategically. Our members have capability and past performance in the following diverse and complementary disciplines and business sectors:

 

Accounting • Architect • Construction • Editing • Education • Engineering • Graphic Design • Information Technology • Legal • Marketing • Organizational Leadership • Program Management • Quality Management • Staffing • Statistical Analysis • Transportation • Travel Management • Waste Management

 

In addition, our program portfolio management team has many years of experience in crafting collaborative strategies to help teams of business owners, at various sizes and scales – to achieve their goals through innovative joint ventures. And, although governance normally follows equity, we did not ask our members who contributed assets to the joint venture to give up control of those assets. In the 8mC-JV, shared governance is the prevalent element. Furthermore, the 8mC-JV is structured with flexibility to allow joint venture member firms to participate in projects and contract opportunities according to their individual capability and availability.

 

LATEST FEATURES

 

1)      The Teaming templates are now available for download by firms (large & small) looking for an 8(m) Certified teaming partner on Federal opportunities that fit within the capability parameters of the 8mC-JV membership.

 

2)      Under the ‘Partners’ drop-down; prospective subcontractors can now upload their capability statements for review; and federal agency personnel can upload RFQ, RFI, and RFP offerings to the 8mC-JV membership for response. Phase II development will involve expanding the content under the first layer of links under the ‘Services’ drop-down.

 

So what are we doing next? We plan to begin publishing a whitepaper series, restart taping our podcast series “For Women Only” on Blog-talk Radio, aggressively advertising and marketing our capability to friends within the federal agency community – as well as with our major prime contractor relationships.

 

So, if you are interested in working with us, need support on a current contract, or are interested in becoming a member of the 8mC-JV (you must have a capability not possessed by our current membership) upload your Capability Statement @ http://www.8mc-jv.com/index.php/partners.

Update on the ANC 8(a) Prostitution Ring: Sen. Claire McCaskill sells out the SBA 8(a) Program

In short, prostitution is still legal in the 8(a) Program.

Senator Claire McCaskill sold out the SBA 8(a) Program to the Alaskan Native Corporations (Super 8(a)’s). If you live in Missouri, make sure to show your heartened concern at the polls.

Please read the below link shared by one of our members.

http://aprn.org/2011/05/11/8a-limiting-attempt-fails-in-senate/

\\ rudy

Smalls: Know your rights in dealing w/the SBA; and if you don’t know…Ask

“Let me tell you small business owner, despite anything you might hear to the contrary – your SBA district office does not have the power to unilaterally do anything to you without justified cause backed up by statutory regulation.” If you have a problem or issue in dealing with the SBA at any level; I and my firms’ legal clerks & counselors are available to assist you.

Many in the SBA 8(a) Program struggle with, or outright do not know their rights in the Program and as a result are not able to represent or defend them at the district office level when they believe they are unjustly being asked for information or to provide documentation that they feel crosses the threshold of reasonableness.

So, how do you find out?

Well, I recently made an inquiry of the SBA Office of General Counsel (OGC) regarding the following three questions; and received the following corresponding answers. I am posting this information in order to empower those of you who are afraid to ask out of misplaced fear of being penalized or kicked out of the program.

Let me tell you small business owner, despite anything you might hear to the contrary – your SBA district office does not have the power to unilaterally do anything to you without justified cause backed up by statutory regulation. So, stop being afraid to ask (and sometimes demand) about you rights and recourse. This said; what will follow are verbatim responses from the SBA-OGC to my queries:

• (R.Sutherland-Q1) Please provide the citations for the circumstances by which an SBA District Office Legal Counsel may request to review [documents] put in place between an SBA 8(a) participant and an outside consultant:

- (SBA-A1) Sections 8(a) and 7(j) of the Small Business Act grant SBA, and only SBA, the authority to certify firms for participation in the 8(a) Business Development (BD) program. [15 U.S.C. § 634(b)(6), § 636(j), § 637(a), § 637(d). Through that authority, SBA determines eligibility and continued eligibility for program participation. See 15 U.S.C. § 637(a)(1)(C). In addition to the authority granted through the Small Business Act, SBA has properly promulgated regulations that notice the participant of its responsibilities for participation. See 63 FR 35739 (June 30, 1998) and 76 FR 8253 (Feb. 11, 2011). One such responsibility is to cooperate with SBA when it requests information regarding its activities as a business. The Associate Administrator for Business Development is tasked with the responsibility of administering and maintaining the integrity of the program. The district offices are delegated certain functions with regard to administering the program at the district office level. The district directors, business development specialist and district counsel all bear the responsibility of monitoring, oversight, and fraud detection in the 8(a) BD program.  In order to maintain the integrity of the program and to ensure that only qualified participants receive the benefits of the program, cooperation between the 8(a) firm and the SBA is critical. That cooperation includes providing information to SBA so that a determination as to continued eligibility is possible. SBA has the authority to request information SBA deems necessary in order to determine whether or not the firm meets the requirements for continued participation in the program. See 13 CFR § 124.112.

When there is the appearance or potential of lack of continuing eligibility SBA is required to perform its due diligence in determining whether or not a concern continues to meet the eligibility requirements of 8(a) certification. As you know, only those firms that are owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals who are citizens of theUnited States, possess potential for success and demonstrate good character are eligible to receive the benefits of the program. In cases were a non-disadvantaged individual appears to exercise control over a disadvantaged owner or the potential to control a participant SBA will require the 8(a) certified firm to demonstrate that there is not negative control.

As an additional reference, please note that on March 14, 2011 changes to SBA’s regulations governing the 8(a) BD program took effect. A new § 124.4 addresses applicant and Participant representatives retained to assist 8(a) applicants and certified firms.

• (R.Sutherland-Q2) What process or steps (if any) must the District Counsel follow to insure that the request for information is being made is reasonable?

- (SBA-A2) District Counsel review the facts available to them, in the light of applicable law and regulations, to determine if requests made by them for further documents or information are reasonable.  [See (A1) above for thorough discussion of the pertinent legal framework for such decisions.]

• (R.Sutherland-Q3) What right(s) of protest and/or denial (if any) does the 8(a) participant have if s/he does not believe the request for the stated information is reasonable?

- (SBA-A3) In general, 8(a) firms may not refuse to provide information or documents pertinent to their eligibility or continued eligibility to participate in the 8(a) program, or respecting their compliance with applicable rules and regulations governing the program. [See (A1) above.]   A firm which disagrees with the Agency about a particular document or information request should, in the first instance, discuss the issue with the Business Development Specialist assigned to that firm; and then, if there is an unresolved issue, with that employee’s supervisors and the District Director for that firm’s District.  Further unresolved disputes, if any, may be directed to the Associate Administrator for Business Development, Mr. Darryl Hairston, whose office is in DC.

Should a program suspension or termination action be commenced against a Program Participant for refusal to cooperate in eligibility or compliance efforts by the Agency, then the procedures set forth in the regulations governing such matters (including opportunities for the affected firm to object and to set forth its views and position) will govern.

Any program participant may seek and obtain independent legal advice on its rights and remedies generally relating to objecting to government decisions which it believes adversely affect it.

• (R.Sutherland-Q4) What rights does [a] consulting firm have (if any) to insure that the content of [documents it shares] are not made public or disclosed to outside parties?

- (SBA-A4) The Agency’s duties involving maintenance of information and materials received from federal program participants, and its various duties and obligations involving protection and disclosure of such information and materials (including exceptions to disclosure), are governed by various statutes and regulations, including the Privacy Act, the Freedom of Information Act, etc.

So, stop being afraid to ask (and sometimes demand) to know your rights and recourse.

\\ rudy

Contact Rudy Sutherland

More to come… One Voice…

Hot-Link to Discussion forum

Red Herring | The White-male VP syndrome

If I am ever going to accomplish my goal of eliminating the apprehension that societal Minorities and Women small business owners communicate about joint-venturing with White-Male owned small business, for the purpose of exploiting our collective economic capacity; we I must have a grown-up conversation about this issue (read below).

If I am ever going to accomplish my goal of eliminating the apprehension that societal Minorities and Women small business owners communicate about joint-venturing with White-Male owned small business, for the purpose of exploiting our collective economic capacity; we I must have a grown-up conversation about this issue (read below).

To be certain, there have been many 8(a) – minority, 8(m) – women owned, and some Service Disabled veteran owned firms that have been exploited by white-males acting in the capacity of Vice President, while truly being the owner in principal of the entity. And, I offer no excuse for this prostitution, other than to say that I believe capitalism, rather than racism, is/was the driving force behind the exploitation. Moreover, if the relationships were not symbiotically and mutually beneficial – would the exploited party have participated? I think not.

What you can be certain of about our capitalistic society, by any measure, is that every action in pure commerce is driven by a desire for increase. Of course, it is common knowledge that race, gender, and religion have been used as a collective red herring by those of a more aggressive capitalistic bent (Bigs) – in order to dissect and keep apart what represents a truly formidable competitive collective (Smalls). Have you ever wondered why the restricted competitions and silos/sectors of the small business community are permanent and presumptive in federal procurement? While at the same time, contract bundling – which would not affect a fluid and dynamic small business community – is the Achilles heal of a fragmented one?

Wake Up – We are cutting off our individual noses despite our collective faces; it’s about profit margin, stupid!

To be sure there will be those small business owners who believe with conviction that the semantics of race, gender, and religion are enough to principally deny ones’ own firm the opportunity for growth and expansion – and to you, I say “you are a damned fool, and I personally would not chose to do business with one so ignorant, either”. However, to those who truly embrace free-enterprise, and understand the big picture of what is truly our collective barrier to entry, I say “let us be at home with our truest and most core motivation – the desire for increase”. I challenge you, as my main man Hank Wilfong would say, to address that “skunk in the room” and recognize how much competition we could represent to the Bigs if we as Smalls could give each other the benefit of the doubt – that, agnostic of the above stated semantics, we are all purely motivated by a desire for one thing – the desire for increase.

Look, I ain’t no fool – we ain’t gotta live together; but can we at least make money together?

Get at me, if you’re ready to change the subject and do some real hunting.

One Voice…

\\ rudy

New SBA District Office Rating System

My firm’s (ALJUCAR & Co.) agency relationship managers & consultants collectively work with more than 80% of the SBA district offices across the country each year; we are now going to translate that experience into a rating schema to let you know who the good, the bad, and the ugly are in supporting small businesses. Still working out the kinks, but stay tuned… (thx for the suggestion Jenn).

\\ rudy

If you are waiting on Business Development assistance from the SBA, you’re wasting your time & resources…

Friday, April 22, 2011

Dear SBA 8(a) certified business owner:

Over the last few months, VSBA has received many posts from 8(a) certified firms (some newly minted others having been in the program for some time; stating that they are unable to obtain any [substantive] support from the SBA Business Development Specialist (BDS) assigned to them… that, all they have received to date is an orientation, a schedule of generic & basic 7(j) business training, and a schedule of documents that need to be submitted with their annual review – and in many cases don’t hear from their BDS again until it is time to conduct their annual review. And, they are asking , “where is the supposed business development?”

Well, here is the absolute sober truth – the SBA 8(a) program has been reduced to hawking business loans (debt) and making sure you have filed your annual paperwork to stay in the program. In fact, because it is such a lucrative point of origination for some lenders; they have taken up lobbying to insure former banking personnel are in leadership positions in many of the regional and district level management positions (ask the management personnel at your district what they did prior to coming to the SBA). Although the SBA 8(a) program was the reason that all of the district offices were put in place, they no longer measure the success of the district by the number of successful firms in their portfolio; but rather, they measure success now by how me loans (debt) they can put on you books.

As far as the SBA Business Development Specialists goes, they are that now in name only. Many of them don’t have a business background to speak of and know nothing about running a business. That’s because they don’t have to anymore – they are hired to be administrative scorekeepers – to keep [you] the “heard” in line. Because you see, you are the lifeblood—without your firm doling around in the program, they wouldn’t have a job. In fact, many career folks in the government look at getting assigned to a district office as a means of completing there last few years in a manner that will require little effort on there part.

To be clear, you and your firm are by-and-large on your own.

From an accountability perspective, the SBA is 2 years behind in reporting to Congress how the district offices are performing, and this is by internal design. You see, by the time Congress gets the 408 Report it is so outdated that it is insubstantial anyway. Moreover, most of the people responsible for the lack-luster performance would have moved on to another post by then. To be fair, there are still some district offices who try to do what they were initially mandated for; but they are becoming more and more a rarity.

What does this mean for you? Since the SBA expects you to self-perform your business development – you need to be mindful of the following in order to maximize the utility of your tenure in the program:

1.  Make no assumptions about ANYTHING; verify everything you are told by [ALL] SBA personnel through objective sources (written if possible) e.g., FAR, US Code, etc.
2. Make sure that your BDS and District Director are both aware that s/he ultimately works for you and that your time is valuable
3. Make sure you understand clearly what services your district office is supposed to provide to you firm
4. Make sure you understand the recourse your firm has if you do not receive a reasonable service level
5. If you do not understand the federal landscape, hire someone who does to help you navigate it
6. Take the time to, or hire someone to, develop a clear “realistic” market penetration strategy for your firm

In closing, Robert E. Wood, an Army general who led Sears in its heydey wrote this about the importance of having a sound strategy, “Business is like war in one respect. If its grand strategy is correct, any number of tactical errors can be made and yet the enterprise proves successful.”

As a small business trying to navigate the federal landscape, you will definitely need this implied insurance policy; in sum, make sure your strategy is sound.

\\ rudy

*************

If you would like to know what services your district office is supposed to provide you and your firm, you may drop me an email at rudy.sutherland@aljucar.com

Woman-owned Joint Venture Discussions: Inaugural

As we are getting closer to the Federal Acquisition Regulation provisions concerning the WOSB Program being finalized, and finalizing the list of firms we plan to approach for our membership JV; I have decided to start this inaugural discussion thread of a multi-part series because of the many questions that I have gotten from Woman-owned firms.

These questions have allowed me to see that, outside of core competency, many WOSBs don’t have a clue about what a Joint Venture really is or how and when the structure might benefit there firm. And, plain and simply I don’t have the time or inclination to educate individually.

So, let me start by killing a few boogeymen before we get into meat-and-potatoes:

I. It is natural that you would want to discuss profit share – but, let’s focus our attention on the creation of profit… first; shall we? In my experience, Democracy does not work well with full alliances – there must be a dominant partner. Shared-equal management structures simply do not work.

II. The choice of collaborative relationship can be critical. Before I take a deep dive in the JV, it is important to note that it is not always necessary, or desirable, to form a joint venture company. Moreover, besides the more commonly known partial alliances, e.g., Subcontracting, Licensing, and Franchising: there are 10 more that should be taken into consideration, see below:

1. Informal or semi-formal agreement
2. Project-focused alliance
3. Product-focused alliance
4. Service-focused alliance
5. Joint design-research-development
6. Joint/parallel production
7. Cross-invested operations
8. Joint-marketing
9. Joint-branding - and my favorite…,
10. Supply-chain linkages

Whichever you choose, there should be a clear strategic and operational rationale for doing so.

III. Before deciding whether or not a Joint Venture is the best approach to developing & exectuing your business strategy, you should determine if either of the following four vehicles are better suited to accomplishing your strategic directives:

1. Organic Growth
2. Merger
3. Acquisition
4. Divestment and/or re-investment

There are specific business conditions that will make each of these vehicles more attractive than the others. I will adress the approriate conditions for each in subsequent posts. I am taking the time to go through these as many times firms have come to me with a desire to form a JV, only to realize upon further review that one of these was better suited. It’s a win-win because it saves firms’ like mine billable time, and it saves firms’ like yours money and collateral opportunity costs.

Many more topically individualized discussion threads to come….

There will be no limit to the number of new discussion threads for this discussion series; as I feel it absolutely necessary that you be fully informed about the JV structure before deciding whether to be part of one or not; particularly the one I am currently setting up to compete in the SBA WOSB program. however, if you choose to simply be a fly on the wall, so be it. At any rate, it is my hope that you all benefit from my “thinking out loud”.

\\rudy

Update: Suspected ANC 8(a) Prostitution Ring busted

In a highly anticipated interim rule change published in the Federal Register, the Federal Acquisition Regulation Councils determined that contracts in excess of $20 million issued to companies in the 8(a) small business development program now must include written justification and approval by a senior agency leader. The approval would then be made public.

See link: http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2011/2011-5554.htm

Ostensibly, the rule is designed to prevent Alaskan Native Corporations (ANCs) from passing most of the work on big-budget contracts through to large subcontractors.

Please look-back at our stated goals for 2010; with this rule, VSBA has effectively accomplished 2 of its three goals – parity & 8(a) fairness in competition. The 3rd, an increase in agency goals as a % for all groups is still in the works.

Although we certainly cannot take credit for these accomplishments; we did contribute constructively to the conversation. It is amazing what simply talking to folks (without pomp & circumstance) can, over time, accomplish.

One Voice…

//rudy

The Economist’s International Franchise Online Fair | March 24-25

Elizabeth Pace, with the Economist, has asked me and The Voice of Small Business in America to help get the word out to Woman-owned business owners in regards to its International Franchise online fair.

If you are interested in buying a new franchise or expanding your ownership, please consider attending the Economist’s free International Franchise Fair on March 24-25, you can meet leading franchise brands and explore business opportunities.

Browse virtual booths and speak to representatives from franchises including:

Carl’s Jr. ®, Hardee’s ®, Maid Brigade ®, Express Employment Professionals ®, Carvel ®, Auntie Anne’s Pretzels ®, Cinnabon ®, Moe’s Southwest Grill ®, Schlotzsky’s ®, Seattle’s Best Coffee ®, The UPS Store ® … and many more.

Admission is free– you only need to register at http://register.internationalfranchisefair.com/?source=VSBALinkedIn.

Elizabeth has joined VSBA on LinkedIn, so feel free to post your questions to this thread for her response.

One Voice…

\\rudy

Corporate Management vs. Small Business Management

Recent experiences have prompted me to write the following, as I have concerns about the way some small business owners may manage the growth of their business. Many of the bad habits that permeate corporate America, and many government agencies, can and do devastate the operational efficiency of a small business; where efficiency and accountability is mission critical….

First, you can not manage your small business by committee and expect to gain operational efficiency. Many of you realized early on in your corporate careers that shared decision making would help you stay off of the chopping block long enough to collect a pension. That ideation won’t work with your small business. You must make tough decisions, sometimes without any support from your hired management team. This is the price of your independence and freedom.

Secondly, If you do delegate tasks, make sure that you have single points of accountability at all times. Again, unlike corporate America, you must be able to hold individuals (not groups) accountable for key tasks that need to be accomplished. Finally, stay away from hiring friends to work for you, unless the economic discount that normally accompanies such an arrangement is absolutely necessary.

In summary, please be mindful of the fact that a successful corporate or government manager does not necessarily equate to a successful small business owner, and the tactics you used to cya in the former may devastate your prospects of success in the later.

- Rudy Sutherland

Small Business Architect

Subject: Social Media Marketers are NOT WANTED in VSBA Discussion Group or its Sub-Groups

Social Media Marketers please be advised:

If you are a social media marketer, please leave our main and any sub-groups IMMEDIATELY. If you post a link-back to a website, blog, or other media content – you will be deleted summarily.

If you are a small business owner and your reason for joining our group was to market your services (rather than discuss small business issues) please be advised that you will need to be vetted by me first, and you will pay a fee for that vetting to occur. Please review our group rules for the process – the link is in the upper-right-hand corner of the site. Do note that these rules apply to our sub-groups as well.

Finally, please let your friends and colleagues know, as courtesy and to manage expectations, that we monitor posted content actively in order to police adherence to these policies.

Thank you,

- Rudy Sutherland

to Veterans, 8(a), and; Women-owned businesses – Be Aware: GSA Application Services is a FRAUD!

Get the word out, GSA Application Services (a Florida based robo-call firm) is a scam.

Several VSBA members have been duped; DON’T GIVE THESE FOLKS YOUR MONEY! The website is: http://www.gsaapplications.com.

Be advised that you will receive robo-calls from an “813″ prefix phone number selling GSA application services – DO NOT entertain this company’s sales pitch.

If they continue to call you, after you have requested them to cease and desist, email us @ BizEvangelist@VSBAOnline.com -

As spokesperson for Small Businesses across America, I am committed to making sure that these scam companies are stopped dead in their tracks.

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- Rudy Sutherland

Small Business Evangelist & Architect

VSBA is looking for small woman-owned firms, with little to no government past performance, to compete in the 8(m) Program

As most of you are aware, the new Women-Owned Small business preference Program (WOSB) – is called the 8(m) program by the Small Business Administration (SBA) after the section number of the enabling legislation, just like the small disadvantaged business program is called the 8(a) program – goes live in February 2011.

BUSINESS CASE

Most of the insiders in DC have circled the wagons to develop Women-Owned Small business postures that will leave most of you in dust wondering what happened come June 2011. We recommend that micro & small – WOSBs act now to be competitive in the program by forming JVs with other firms  in categorically restricted competition programs like HUB-Zone, 8(a), veteran-owned, etc., to increase and diversify capability; and obtain relevant government past performance where none currently exists.

SHORT-TERM COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

Year after year federal agencies have been unable to meet their WOSB goals because WOSBs did not have a preference position in making contract awards like disadvantaged, veteran owned, and HUB Zone small businesses.

With aspirations towards a second presidential term, The Obama administration will highlight the significance of the new program for obvious political reasons, not to mention the fact that the Bush administration did everything in their power to scuttle the program.

RISK PROFILE FOR THE 8(M) PROGRAM

We anticipate that there will be a short-term flurry of WOSB contracting awards in 2011 followed by a steadier state where the agencies meet their women-owned goals on a more regular basis in 2012 thereafter. However, since WOSBs can self certify as to their eligibility, we anticipate long procurement cycles and frequent post-award protests.

Be advised, that In the event of a contract protest or program review, the SBA has the authority to request substantial additional documentation from the WOSB to establish eligibility. On a positive note, the SBA intends to pursue vigorously punitive action against ineligible firms which seek to take advantage of this program and in so doing to deny its benefits to the intended legitimate WOSBs.

VALUE PROPOSITION

VSBA will work with ALJUCAR & Co. to provide strategic support to manage a select group of 8(m) Joint Ventures in pursuit of sole-source and competitive price to win federal contracts. If you are a small woman-owned firms with little to no government past performance, please forward your summary capability statement and contact information to teaming@aljucar.com. Please put “8(m)” on the subject line.