By Gina Blitstein

There is some huge help to women-owned small businesses on the horizon, courtesy of the Small Business Administration. Come February 1, 2011, their Women’s Procurement Program – also known as the 8(m) program - will take effect, impacting the 79,800 women-owned small businesses registered to do business with the federal government.

The goal of this program is to provide a boost to the federal government’s efforts to finally reach its procurement goal to award 5% of all contracts to women-owned small businesses (WOSBs). To put that percentage into a dollar perspective, that 5% represents $30 billion; in 2009, while significant, only $16 billion of the earmarked amount was awarded to WOSBs.

What does the SBA’s Women’s Procurement Program mean for women-owned businesses? Lourdes Martin-Rosa has over two decades of experience in helping small businesses navigate the government procurement landscape and serves as American Express OPEN Advisor on Government Contracting. Lourdes says the program will permit an increase in contracting opportunities and fair competition allowing WOSBs to capture the full $30 billion of the federal procurement pie. She goes on to say that women can expect some significant advantages once the program takes effect.

Specifically, what advantages can women expect come February 2011 when the program takes effect? Lourdes reports that when the program takes effect in early February, it will allocate contracts to WOSBs within 83 NAICS (North American Industry Classification System) codes, giving WOSBs within these industries a significant edge in government contracting.

They also anticipate a “trickle-down effect” that will benefit both WOSBs and other businesses as well: As the federal government begins seeking WOSBs to fulfill their federal procurement goal, WOSBs will become an attractive commodity for teaming and subcontracting opportunities with other non-WOSB firms.

Lourdes offers the following example of how the program will provide greater opportunities for the industry-mates of WOSBs: If a large Advertising Agency (Advertising, Public Relations and Marketing are among the 83 NAICS codes) wanted to tap into the federal procurement market for the first time, they could team with a WOSB within the same industry. Both companies would share the contracting opportunity creating a win - win situation for everyone.

In this example, Lourdes points out, the WOSB wins because they have the backing and guidance of a large corporation. The federal agency wins because they’ve met their WOSB procurement goal and have a larger firm mentoring the smaller firm. Since in most NAICS categories, the WOSB must self perform at least 51% of the contract’s value, the prime contractor is the WOSB, so she will be handling all of the finances and submitting payments to the larger firm.

Why is government contracting a significant issue to WOSBs? Lourdes does the math for us, explaining that, were the $30 billion earmarked for contracting with WOSBs divided equally among the 79,800 registered businesses, each business would receive approximately $380,000 in contracting opportunities. That’s a pretty convincing reason to take note!

Here are two important reasons you may want to consider government contracting as a source of income for your business:

1. The federal government is a solid business partner, for any company wanting to secure a stable long-term customer. The chances of the federal government bouncing a check, paying late and/or not paying at all are very unlikely.
2. Most government contracts are one year contracts with 4 year options to renew, meaning woman-owned businesses will have the opportunity to win a 5-year contract. In today’s economy, a 5-year contract represents stability, constant cash flow and an opportunity to plan and grow for any small business.

Clearly, the opportunities for successful government contracting as a women-owned small business have never been brighter. Once the Women’s Procurement Program is launched on February 1, 2011, contracting officers will be able to set aside specific federal contract requirements to be competed only among WOSBs, opening the door to new contracting opportunities.

Lourdes’ advice: “The business opportunities are enormous and WOSBs can not let this one pass them by!”

Are you planning to take advantage of the Women’s Procurement Program to claim your piece of the federal procurement pie?

By Gina Blitstein

Whether your business is a one-person operation or a large and far-flung team, scheduling your work time to insure that tasks are being completed is one of your top priorities. Orchestrating different people, schedules, work flow and needs is a challenging prospect. Even within the same company, workers’ schedules can vary widely so it’s not always easy to arrive at a consensus on convenient meeting or working times and dates. When you add the element of scheduling appointments with customers into the mix, scheduling can potentially become a real headache.

Do you and your co-workers need to collaborate on a project? Do you need to find a time when several clients are available for an update? Do you need to be certain that you have enough employees available at a busy time of day? Do customers need to make an appointment with someone in your organization? Any of those scenarios require a strong scheduling tool to keep track of who’s doing what when. As in most cases today, technology can provide the solution to your scheduling needs. There are many options available that can make scheduling employees’ time easy and convenient. How do you choose among them to find the one that best suits the needs of your business, your work style and budget?

Here are some suggestions for making the most prudent choice in scheduling software, provided by Eric Richard, Senior Public Relations Specialist for StormSource Software, makers of Appointment-Plus scheduling software:

• Cloud-based vs. traditional software. Cloud-based scheduling software is accessible online from a secure location in the same manner as any web site, versus the more traditional "boxed" software typically purchased at a retail outlet or electronics store. Cloud-based scheduling software typically requires only an Internet connection to utilize, with no installations, downloads, additional hardware or IT support necessary.

• Accessibility. Having the ability to access your appointment calendar from anywhere and at any time is crucial. Some scheduling programs are confined to a single computer or network, making off-site access difficult. Consider a cloud-based scheduling application that allows you to access your customer appointments and reservations from a Smartphone, PDA or other mobile device.

• Online customer self-scheduling. Today's consumers do everything online, including schedule their appointments and reservations. A business that does not offer this benefit puts them at a competitive disadvantage, as some individuals may choose another business provider that does offer it. Additionally, it keeps your business open 24 hours a day and gives customers the option of scheduling their appointments when it 's most convenient for them, not just during normal business hours.

• Automated email and text message reminders. Service-based business that require customer appointments and reservations can benefit tremendously from e-mail and text message reminders, which can reduce the "no-show" rate by over 50 percent. A system that automatically sends a reminder via e-mail or text can give you the peace of mind that most of your customers will make their scheduled appointment times. (And it's one less thing a business owner and her staff have to worry about sending to customers.)

• Software support. Customer appointments and reservations are vital for the success of service-based businesses, and you don't want to get left in the dark when it comes to your scheduling software. Choose a service provider or software application with a proven client support department that you can easily and quickly contact when issues or questions arise. Some service providers offer different support tiers, which are worth examining, especially if you may need to contact someone at any hour of the day.

In addition to those factors Eric mentions, your ideal scheduling software should offer these features:

• User-friendly - Consider who will be using the system and make sure that it meets their needs without being more complex than is necessary.

• Expandable - At the same time, don’t lock yourself into a product that is so basic that it can’t grow along with the needs of your business.

• Shared access among users - Consider the importance of shared access to other’s calendars in order to schedule according to availability.

• Mobile-accessible - It is common practice to access one’s calendar from a mobile device. Make sure your scheduling system integrates with the mobile tools your business uses.

• Cost-effective - As with any business solution, weigh the benefits of your scheduling software against your budget to find the most cost-effective choice for your situation.

• Flexible scheduling - Chances are, your scheduling needs are unique in some respects to your business. Make sure the system you choose is flexible enough that it can be customized to support your particular type of scheduling.

These factors are important to consider when choosing scheduling software. Collectively they represent a game plan for taking control of your business’ scheduling needs. When each employee and customer can easily access and manage his or her schedule and each customer can schedule the time he or she needs with your business, you know you’ve chosen your scheduling tool wisely.

Does your business schedule it’s employees’ time in the most efficient manner?