Florida PTAC: A Business Cure for Hard Times

Posted July 9, 2009
Filed under: Doing Business in NWFL | Tags: business, business success, government, government procurement, military buying, procurement |

A couple weeks ago I sat at a meeting of IT professionals next to a man named Richard. Richard is an IT specialist who presently works as a civilian for the military. Richard’s dream is to eventually start his own business, contracting government work. I will tell you what I told him: Richard! You are in a perfect position to go into business for yourself…what is stopping you? Richard explained that he just doesn’t know how to get started and finds the whole procurement process a bit intimidating.

Down the hall from my office is the office of Laura Subel, Program Manager for Florida PTAC. PTAC, loosely translated, stands for Office of Doing Business with the Government. Laura is the one who will lead you down the path. The Florida PTAC Office educates businesses on what the government requires to be a government supplier of goods or services. It takes jumping through a few hoops, but considering that the government is one of the few customers buying in this economy, it is well worth it.

Laura has this sage advice to small businesses: “We don’t care what you call us, just call us! The acronym we want you to remember is HELP. The PTAC is here to HELP you do business with the government. “

Laura said that the PTAC (which really stands for Procurement Technical Assistance Center) provides the following services at no charge:

One-on-one counseling sessions such as Bid/Proposal Preparation, Marketing, and more
Assistance with 8A and HUBZONE certification applications
Free access to resources
Referrals to the HAAS Center for Business Research
Training Events on related topics

Laura promises that selling to the government can be easy IF you follow the rules and work with the PTAC office to learn the rules. They will provide guidance through the maze of rules and procedures. Just one phone call is separating you from a client who spends over $40 billion a year doing business with small businesses, and who is in the market for every service or product that you can imagine. Make the call.

Sue A. Evans