SBA’s online course helps small and minority-owned businesses tap federal contracts
Business Opportunities: A Guide to Winning Federal Contracts is designed for all small businesses, especially women entrepreneurs and small firms in underserved markets that historically have experienced difficulties in tapping into federal contract markets.
“Federal contracts offer many opportunities for small businesses and this training program will help prepare firms to benefit from federal buying markets,” says SBA Administrator Steve Preston.
The comprehensive course is self-paced and easy to follow. It uses script and audio to provide information about the $400 billion federal market, including contract rules, where to find contract opportunities and how to sell to the government.
The course module includes more than 40 links highlighting the best contracting resources and directly engages entrepreneurs in the contracting process. For example, the course leads participants to the Central Contractor Registration (CCR), generally considered the first entry step into the federal marketplace. The course also includes practical “next steps” designed to engage business owners in the federal contracting space.
After completing the 30-minute tutorial, business owners can earn a certificate of completion from the SBA.
The free online course, Business Opportunities: A Guide to Winning Federal Contracts, is available on SBA’s Web site at http://www.sba.gov/training /.
From the SBA’s training site, click on the menu of free online courses and select the first course listed under Government Contracting.
This Business Opportunities online course is one of more than 24 online tutorials offered by the SBA. On a typical day, 700 to 1,500 customers register for online courses offered by SBA, through its virtual campus at the Small Business Training Network.