Q:  What do you do at your organization?

In 2004 Senate Bill 914 passed. It mandated that public, state, and local municipalities do a certain amount of business with Minority- and Women-owned businesses. So that’s how a lot of the business diversity programs really got their start.

I am the MWBE Administrator at Guilford County Schools. My job is to make sure that that we are diversified on the business side of what we do. Within GCS minority covers a number of categories: African American, Asian, Hispanic, Native American, Disadvantaged businesses and women-owned businesses as well.

Q: Can you talk a little bit about the bidding process?

One process that we are really proud of is called the PRRT process which is used for contracts that are $30,000 or less. We are able to focus on the small business community through those smaller projects. We hope to be able to work with small businesses through those projects and help them grow their businesses and build their capacity so that they will be in a position to bid on bigger projects in the future.

Our informal bidding process, according to State statutes, includes projects up to $100,000. We typically bring in three or four businesses, always making sure that we’re inclusive and using a range of firms, and then they competitively bid on the project. That way the District gets the lowest cost for the taxpayers.

On formal projects, so anything over $100,000, we use a Construction Manager At-Risk type of delivery method. What that means is that we’ll hire a big firm that has the capability of bonding and insuring a large project. They then manage the project and bid out the various components of the project to diverse companies.

Q:  Where is your office located?

I’m located at the Administration Building at 712 North Eugene Street. Email is probably the best way to get in touch with me, but certainly our office is open to the public eight hours a day.

Q: How does someone take advantage of your organization’s services?

We do networking and outreach events on a regular basis throughout the year. We do some on our own; we have done some in partnership with East Market Street Development Corp. We did our first annual Gate City Expo in February that included the City of Greensboro, UNCG, NC A&T, and Guilford County. We all came together to showcase all of the projects available for the year of 2012. It was an absolute success.

Also, a great way to stay up to date on what we’re doing is through GCS’ website. Our website links to all of our sister entities where other opportunities are available.

Q: What is your background?

I have an undergraduate degree in Business Administration from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, which is a Historically Black College. I am still involved there; I am on the alumni association board.

Most recently I came from the Wake County Public School System. Before that I spent a majority of my professional life on Capitol Hill or in the District office working with a US Senator. I got into the Supplier Diversity profession in 2003 through a position in the UNC system.

Q: Any advice for businesses operating in the current economic crisis?

My one piece of advice is: Don’t be afraid to try something different. We’ve asked that our small businesses think about trying something new to match a skill set GCS so that we can use them for more projects. That could be a skill set that you used years back that could be re-energized to meet the needs of GCS. When push comes to shove, we can all recreate and reinvent ourselves.

We know that there are certain fields where it is hard to find MWBE businesses to work with. We would love for existing businesses or new businesses to start working in fields such as mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and HVAC. We have actually started looking at how we can pool our resources to get the training and certification needs met.

List of services offered by your organization:

On the procurement side there are needs in goods and services, professional services, normal commodities such as furniture, pens and pencils, supplies, paper, etc. On the construction side, we have a huge construction project that’s been ongoing in the District as a result of the 2008 bond referendum. So we have tried to make sure that we are very inclusive in using businesses within our community.

A few numbers: on the construction and design side of our program we have spent over $72M, of that our MWBE businesses have been awarded a little over 28% or about $37M of that work.

In June we will be at the Grandover Resort with the Executive Network Conference. We bring in MWBE firms from all over the country. The event will feature networking and outreach events as well as workshops and other training sessions.

This economy has really taken a toll on our small, minority-, and woman-owned business community – but if we look at the statistics, those have been the businesses that have really, at the same time, strived next to the big businesses. I think that that as the big businesses have had to let people go, those people have gone out and created their own jobs. Those new ventures have been able to slowly but surely put others back to work as well.

Read the full article HERE.

I started my role here at Greensboro Chamber of Commerce in February as the Manager of Entrepreneurism and was asked if I wanted to participate in the Biscuitville Bowl as a judge. Judging new product ideas that involved biscuits? No brainer.

Then I got the list of entries: over 70 different teams from 7 different local colleges and universities entered ideas in to the Brand Your Biscuit Competition! I am pretty sure I gained 10 pounds simply reading the delicious ideas these students suggested. What surprised me, though, was the number of entries since this is only the first year of this competition. I have been teaching marketing for over 10 years at the collegiate level- getting students engaged in ANY idea competition has always seemed like pulling teeth. Something must be in the water here in Greensboro.

Finalist teams from each of the 7 local colleges were announced at the Biscuits and Business Breakfast that brought together the finalist teams of students and local entrepreneurs. Three teams got top billing because having only one winner just did not cut it for the Biscuitville executives (kudos to them). GTCC won Honorable Mention for Best Non-Biscuit idea for Fried Pickles. Elon won Honorable Mention for the Most Unique Product and Video with a biscuit that included Nutella, Fluffernutter, and cinnamon. And finally, Greensboro College took home top billing and $5000 for Greensboro College with the Buffalo Chicken Biscuit. Everyone had the very fortunate opportunity to taste the winning biscuit – I suggest you go try it when it hits Biscuitville this summer.

So why are events like this so important for entrepreneurship? Well, I think the winners of the competition- Albert Hovhannisyan and Davit Avagyan from Greensboro College- said it best in their remarks. They made the case that students often do not get hands on experience inventing new ideas and products- especially not with corporate entities like Biscuitville- and hoped that there would be more idea competitions in the future. (As an aside, we will be featuring Albert and Davit in the newsletter next month.)

On a final note – the entire experience from the Brand Your Biscuit Competition to the biscuit-themed 5K race held the next day was an incredible celebration of the entrepreneurial spirit that exists here in Greensboro. If you have never slid your way through a pit of jelly at the end of a 5K race, I highly recommend you join in next year.

Kristin Trask joined Greensboro Entrepreneur in March 2012. Learn more about Kristin on our Staff Page.

The Biscuitville Bowl will be held April 16-21, 2012. There are several opportunities for entrepreneurs to support and participate in the event. During the Scratch-Made Success Week entrepreneurs can join Triad InternNet and network with potential interns from campuses around the city and on Saturday, April 21st individuals or teams of four can compete for the Golden Rolling Pin in the 7 Campus Scramble, running through biscuit-themed obstacles in Center City Park.

Learn more at www.BiscuitvilleBowl.com

Q: What do you do at your organization?

I am director of the North Carolina Entrepreneurship Center (NCEC) here at UNCG. I’m responsible for a majority of the co-curricular and outreach efforts around entrepreneurship for The University. It’s helpful to distinguish between the academic side that my colleague Dianne Welsh heads up through the Cross-Disciplinary Entrepreneurship Program. We’ve got 2 areas of responsibilities and we coordinate and collaborate on both of those.

Q: Can you give us a general overview of what the Center does?

We have 2 main target audiences. One is obviously students and that includes all college, high school, and non-traditional students in Greensboro. Our other primary audience is local entrepreneurs – particularly start-up businesses. We try to work with both to help them get to the next level. Our unofficial mantra is ‘Inspire, educate, connect, and create.’

Q: What types of businesses does your organization help?

That’s very broad and it really depends on the individual. As you might expect we talk to people from a variety of areas: anything from a retail business to an internet start-up and everything in between.

Q: How much do your services cost?

Most of what we do is free. We occasionally do some fee-based programs; if we do fee-based programs it’s really just to cover our costs.

Q: Where is your office located?

We are on campus in the Moore Humanities and Research Administration Building at 1111 Spring Garden Street. I always tell people that we’re right next to the Old Town Draught House; people tend to know where that is.

Q: How does someone take advantage of your organization’s services?

Anyone can call and set up a meeting so that we can sit down and talk about their idea. We get a lot of very early-stage entrepreneurs. A lot of what we do is connect the dots – so maybe we have a conversation and help them develop their idea, but then put them in touch with other people in the community.

The other way people can take advantage of our services is to participate in our events. We do a monthly speaker series called Entrepreneurial Journeys, where established and successful entrepreneurs from our community come and tell their stories. Almost everything we do is open to the public.

Q: What is the NCEC focused on right now?

We’re launching a program called Growing Entrepreneurs by Mentoring Students (GEMS). We want to find the 20 most entrepreneurial students in Greensboro (the students can come from any of the seven institutions of higher education) and invite them to participate in a year long program that will start in the Fall of 2012. We will very intentionally pair those 20 students with entrepreneur mentors that will be great fit for the individual student. The matchmaking process will take into account things like industry background and personality. We want the students to gain not only a mentor, but also an expanded network.

Q: What is your background?

I started out as a computer programmer, went back to school and shortly after graduate school I started my own business. We were the Macintosh experts in Atlanta when Macintosh first came out back in 1985. There wasn’t anyone else like us because the rest of the world was focused on the PC-compatibles. I grew that company to 25 employees and we eventually worked with a lot more than Apple. Ultimately I sold that company.

I was intrigued with the idea of bringing more of the ‘real world’ into higher education. I started teaching some classes, developed some programs, and found a position at Appalachian State University. We started an entrepreneurship center at Appalachian State that’s now six years old. The opportunity to be the Director of the NCEC is great because there are 6 other campuses within Greensboro. Collaborating across campuses is something that is very appealing to me.

Q: Any advice for businesses operating in the current economic crisis?

I think now is actually a very good time to launch or try to grow a business for a couple of reasons. Resources are cheaper, so you’ll get more bang for your buck. It is tough to get money, but if you can find the money you’ll never get a lower interest rate. Finding capital is always a major hurdle for entrepreneurs. As the comedian Bob Hope said, “A bank is a place that will lend you money if you can prove that you don’t need it.”

Ask questions and seek help. There are a lot of individuals and support organizations in our community that want to see entrepreneurs succeed. Every entrepreneur talks about luck, but I think you put yourself in a position to be lucky. Luck won’t find you if all you do is sit at home and wait for it, but if you get out there and make connections you’ll put yourself in a position to find luck.

Q: What’s unique about UNCG’s Entrepreneurship Program?

One thing that makes us unique is that we’re not housed in the Business School. Recognizing that 70% of the entrepreneurs that come out of universities don’t have degrees in business, we’re really trying to reach out to the non-business students and sometimes that can be easier if you’re not administratively located in the business school.

Q: How do you define an entrepreneur?

I really like Ryan Allison’s definition. He is a young entrepreneur who started his company while he was a student. His definition of entrepreneurship is, “Taking action to improve the world.” I love that definition because it’s so inclusive. Most business owners do believe that – they’re offering something cheaper, faster, higher-quality. They’re improving the lives of their customers.

Through a competitive application process, top entrepreneurial students will be selected to be matched one-on-one with experienced entrepreneurs who will serve as mentors. The inaugural class of up to 20 students will be selected this spring and the pilot program starts this fall, to run throughout the 2012-2013 academic year. The application deadline is Friday, April 13, and applications may be sent to ncec@uncg.edu. More information can be found at http://entrepreneur.uncg.edu..

In addition to one-on-one mentoring, the program will also include activities to encourage networking and information sharing among mentors and students, along with dinners and receptions. Generous support from the Stanley and Dorothy Frank Family Foundation, the Greensboro Partnership Entrepreneurship Initiative, the Proximity Hotel and Print Works Bistro, there is no cost for either students or mentors to participate in the pilot program.

Bryan Toney, director of the NCEC, started a similar program, the Dale Tweedy Mentoring Program for Entrepreneur Scholars, while he was at Appalachian State University. “We’ve found that one of the best ways for students to pursue their entrepreneurial dreams is through meaningful engagement with successful role models,” Toney said. “GEMS will allow a very select group of Greensboro area college students to learn from top entrepreneurs in our region and gain an instant network that can help accelerate their entrepreneurial careers.”

GEMS is designed to benefit students, mentors and the greater Triad community. Students will receive a personal coach to explore business opportunities, evaluate career options and develop professional skills. In addition, they will join an exclusive network of experienced entrepreneurs and peers. Mentors will experience meaningful engagement with the some of the brightest, most entrepreneurial college students in Greensboro and gain access to future talent. The greater Triad community will benefit from having a new talent pool that can create new businesses and help existing businesses grow.

A maximum of 20 students will be selected to participate in the inaugural program. Applicants should be able to demonstrate entrepreneurial passion either through their academic and work experiences, programs and ventures they have helped to create and lead and/or their career plans. To be eligible, students must be currently enrolled in any full-time undergraduate or graduate program in Greensboro and plan to graduate no earlier than spring 2013. Participating schools as part of Opportunity Greensboro include the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, North Carolina A&T State University, Guilford College, Greensboro College, Elon University, Bennett College and Guilford Technical Community College.

Preference will be given to students at the rising junior level and above, but rising sophomores with exceptional qualities and motivation may apply. Students from all academic disciplines are encouraged to apply by submitting a current resume, photograph, letter of recommendation from a faculty member, and a three page essay describing their entrepreneurial interests and why they would like to participate in GEMS

The North Carolina Entrepreneurship Center (NCEC) at UNCG provides co-curricular and outreach programs to help entrepreneurs start and grow their businesses, and to serve as a catalyst for the creation of sustainable and globally competitive enterprises in the Piedmont Triad, North Carolina, and beyond. For more information, visit the NCEC’s website at http://entrepreneur.uncg.edu or call 336-256-8649.

Q: Tell us about the new EDBS division:

The whole idea behind this new office is to co-locate all the resources offered by the City that small businesses might be able to take advantage of, whether they’re starting a business, expanding their business, or just need assistance operating within the city. EDBS includes me, the Small Business Coordinator; John Shoffner, the Economic Development Program Manager; and Kathleen Smith, the M/WBE Manager.

Small Business Coordinator is a newly created position; I joined the City in November of 2011. Now there is a dedicated staff member to address the needs of small business who can give time to walk-ins and general inquiries; so services haven’t changed other than there will be more capacity for and attentiveness to the needs and concerns of small business.

Q: What do you do within EDBS?

As Small Business Coordinator, I deal with issues related to City regulations that are affecting the way that people are doing business, talking to people about what the City requires, answering general questions about how to start a business, and pointing people in the direction of existing resources available in the community.

Q: What types of businesses does EDBS help?

Any type of business is welcome here; both existing and potential businesses.

Q: How much do your services cost?

City services are free.

Q: Where is your office located?

We’re located at 300 W. Washington Street, right at the front entrance of the Melvin Municipal Office Building. There are free parking spots for anyone using our services in the lot located at the corner of West Washington and South Eugene Streets.

Also, conveniently located across the hall from our office is Development Services and just down the hall from us is the Business Privilege License Office. Anyone should be able to take care of the main things they need to do without leaving the first floor near the entrance of the Melvin Municipal Building. It was set up that way to ease doing business with and in the City.

Q: How does someone take advantage of the City’s services?

The first step would be to call 373-CITY. There is an option on that line, Option 2, exclusively for business related issues. There are four individuals answering those calls that are knowledgeable of most things that a business will need. They are also great connectors to get you headed in the right direction. For example, if you need a phone number to reach someone at the County, they’ll be able to get you that information.

If 373-CITY can’t answer a question, they will call the EDBS office and connect you with one of the members of our division. We can also set up an appointment to come in and sit down with one of us. We also see walk-ins. I encourage business owners and other entrepreneurs to come in and meet us even if you don’t have an issue at the moment. There’s no need to wait for a problem before you come and introduce yourself to us.

Q: What is the focus of the new EDBS division?

There isn’t a specific flagship program being administered the office at the present time but there are quite a few services that we provide. There are so many great small business resources through the Greensboro Small Business Consortium that the last thing we want to do is replicate something that already exists. We’re going to be working on improving the reach and effectiveness of our communications this year. We’ll be launching social media efforts from the City side that could be YouTube how-to videos, for example “how to register for the e-procurement system to do business with the city”. There is a TV show in the works that Kathleen Smith will be working on that will give a spotlight to small businesses and provide more information. That will go out over Channel 13.

Q: What is your background?

I have an undergraduate degree in Business and then I went to graduate school for City Planning, but I focused most of my coursework on economic and community development. I fell in love with the Triad area and its great people when I attended Wake Forest University. Though I departed for a few years to pursue further education I always knew it was where I would return to build my career and to raise a family. The opportunity to work for the City of Greensboro and to serve in a capacity where I can positively impact the lives of my fellow citizens and play a part in improving the local economy is very exciting.

Q: Do you have any advice for businesses operating in this current economic environment?

I would encourage businesses to come in and ask questions and make sure all your ducks are in a row from the beginning and ask for help. Even if it seems like more work, it’s a lot easier to do things the right way on the front end. You don’t want to be caught down the line doing something that’s out of compliance and then have to suspend operations or go through a lot of channels to resolve the issue. Even if you think everything is fine, feel free to come in and make sure. We’ll be sure to get everything squared away so that you don’t have any problems with the City.

List of Services offered by EDBS:

• Face-to-Face consultation
• Compliance Assurance
• Connection to City and Community Resources
• Business Resource Information Station

As an active member of the US Chamber of Commerce Small Business Council, I would like to address the question of why small businesses should be applying for government contracts. In fact, small businesses can offer a significant benefit to the Federal government in terms of cost savings. In the face of current budget cuts, they can potentially rescue the Federal Government.

The Government Needs Small Businesses

The Federal Government requires 23% of its contracts be set aside for Small Business, but agencies have consistently missed this set-aside and most other set-aside goals. In 2009, this shortfall represented nearly $5 billion of missed revenue opportunities for small businesses. I believe this happened for two reasons:

1. Small businesses aren’t registered in the federal contracting databases and therefore aren’t easily visible, or “on the pre-approved list”.

2. Contracting offices are only required to do minimal “market research”.  They don’t know what they don’t know.  Thus, regular contact with agencies at several levels is paramount.

The Advantages Small Businesses Can Offer the US Government

Small businesses are inherently more competitive and innovative. Where a large defense contractor would prefer to be awarded more battleships worth several billions of margin, small businesses are working to develop alternate-fuel-powered Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV’s), which can deliver payloads across the Atlantic at an infinitesimal fraction of the cost of fuel, parts, maintenance, and human life versus a battle ship. The difficulty will be changing the operating system – and the mindset – of the Department of Defense that bigger is not necessarily better.

Small businesses are inherently lean and used to existing on thin margins and small budgets. Just a few weeks ago, a 10% cut across all federal agency budgets was handed down by the administration, but those cuts have yet to be implemented.  As an example, The Veterans Administration might consider preventive programs to help vets maintain their wellness, thus avoiding expensive heart surgeries and other procedures to fix preventable problems. The VA should put more emphasis on innovative technologies that come out of Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) grants, Army Medical Command’s Small Business office, etc. because, consistent with Moore’s Law, big expensive medical equipment is getting smaller, faster and less expensive every development cycle.

Small Businesses Need to Recognize Their Power

Small businesses are currently unaware of the power they can yield in Washington. Congress gave up earmarks as a “thank you” to successful businesses in their districts. Bureaucrats in agencies now decide what budget goes where; however Members of Congress (primarily lawyers) must be taught how to provide business development services to the small businesses in their district. Lockheed Martin will survive just fine without earmarks. However, Small Biz, LLC would benefit greatly if their Congressman who chairs the Transportation Committee calls DOT Secretary LaHood and notes that a great Florida small business needs an introduction to the right point of contact at the Department of Defense. Members of Congress must be taught how to be small business advocates.

Small business for the most part has no desire to remain small. Thus the tenacity of a successful small business owner, the dedication to detail, the knowledge that hiring one wrong person may make the whole company go under, the recognition that they must be more than competitive on margins, the incentives to be rewarded for success -  all these compel the small business owner to go forth, grow and create jobs. Jobs you said? Yes, and those folks pay taxes, buy houses, earn advanced degrees, etc. – all of which are sustained sources of income for the federal government (versus the “stimulus” measures which only provide for expensive non-reoccurring revenues).

Small business must be allowed to prosper.  We can do this together, with expanded efforts on our part to educate our legislators, be vigilant in our efforts to lead contracting officers to water and help them drink.

Elvis Oxley
Oxley Consulting

NCCTW is an excellent way to serve these second-stage entrepreneurs and bring attention to their work. In order to make this program successful, and truly statewide, nominees are needed from across North Carolina. Companies interested in participating in North Carolina Companies to Watch must meet certain minimum qualifications as a second-stage company.

In order to be considered for the Award Program, a company must meet the following criteria for the year ending 2011:

1. Be privately held (not publicly traded and not a subsidiary or division of another company).
2. Be a commercial enterprise, not a nonprofit.
3. Be past the startup stage.
4. Be facing issues of growth, not survival.
5. Employ 6 to 99 full-time equivalent paid employees, including the owner.
6. Have between $750,000 and $50 million in annual revenue or working capital in place from investors or grants.
7. Be headquartered in North Carolina.
8. Have not won this award in the past.
9. Demonstrate the intent and capacity to grow based on evidence such as Employee or sales growth,  Exceptional entrepreneurial leadership, Sustainable competitive advantage, Other notable factors that showcase the company’s success

To nominate a company or register your company, go to:

http://northcarolina.companiestowatch.org/index.ctw?page=formnom

2011 North Carolina Companies to Watch

Bennett Aerospace, Inc.

BioAgilytix Labs

BioResource International. Inc.

Chimerix, Inc.

Dorsett Technologies, Inc.

Dry Corp, LLC

Emergency Technologies, Inc.

Expression Analysis

Figure Eight Technologies

FLS Energy

Geomagic

Hickory Nut Gap Farm

Ignite Social Media

Jackrabbit Technologies

K3 Enterprises, Inc.

LoneRider Brewing Company

MercuryGate International

Moog Music, Inc.

Replay Photos, LLC

Riley Life Logistics

Skookum Digital Works

Southern Energy Management

Spoonflower

TransLoc, Inc.

Varrow, Inc.