The Longview Small Business Development Center (SBDC) will host a government contracting workshop featuring Henry Vinson on Friday, Sept. 27 in Longview. Vinson served as a consultant for 14 years with the APEX Accelerator, a program funded by the Department of Defense to help small businesses navigate government procurement processes.
“We are excited to bring Henry to Longview to teach local small businesses how to contract with federal, state, and local governments,” says Day Shelmire, director of the Longview SBDC. “He is one of the foremost experts in the field and small business owners in East Texas need to know how to take advantage of these available opportunities to generate more revenue.”
Federal agencies are required to award 23% of prime contracts to small businesses. There are additional contracting requirements for prime and subcontracts to be awarded to women-owned, small disadvantaged, HUBZone and service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses. There are sole-source and set-aside contracts available to small businesses, as well. State and local government agencies typically follow federal guidelines for small business contracting.
“Not enough small businesses in East Texas engage in government contracting,” says Shelmire. “Owners don’t know about the opportunities available to them or how to go about it. This government contracting workshop will help small business owners understand how to take advantage of these potentially lucrative opportunities.”
For more information on attending the Longview Government Contracting Workshop please call the Longview SBDC at (903) 757-5857 or register at https://tinyurl.com/3wbr9dds. The workshop is limited to 50 participants and is free of charge. Lunch will be provided by the Longview Economic Development Corporation.
Vinson is considered one of the foremost experts on government contracting and procurement having spent more than 14 years at the APEX ACCELERATOR, a program funded by the Department of Defense to help small businesses navigate federal, state, and local government procurement processes. Prior to that, Henry possessed an unlimited Contracting Officer’s Warrant with the Army & Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES). He served as Chief of the Construction & Equipment Division and attended the Masters Institute in Government Contracting. Henry recently published a book entitled “Federal Government Contracting: Classified” available through Amazon and other book retailers.
The Longview SBDC is a Small Business Administration resource partner and is tasked with helping entrepreneurs start businesses and small business owners grow their businesses. The center provides advising and consulting services, at no cost, to small businesses and entrepreneurs in Gregg, Harrison, Marion, Panola, Rusk and Upshur Counties. For more information go to longviewsbdc.com or call (903) 757-5857.