I’m a big believer in hitting the ground running, especially after the year that was 2020!
To be blunt: it was a challenging year, and that’s putting it mildly. COVID-19, the economic downturn, shutdowns… The list goes on and on. And, of course, all of these factors dramatically impacted minority and women-owned small businesses across the country. In the City of New York, thriving small businesses suddenly found themselves underwater, wondering how they would make it through the year.
But even though the pandemic is still ongoing, we’ve started to adapt. Online businesses are thriving now, and MWBEs across the state are ready to move forward. One of the best ways to do this is to generate new revenue is to take advantage of NYC’s discretionary spending programs.
What Are Discretionary Purchases?
The gold standard of raising a company’s fortunes is to start landing government contracts, but this isn’t the only way to boost your bottom line by working with government agencies. Unlike the formal and complicated bidding processes involved with government contracts, the discretionary purchasing processes fast tracks money directly to government agencies, up to $500,000. It’s called the MWBE Innovative Procurement Process.
If you’re a certified MWBE, you should be taking advantage of this program! It’s an incredible way to help your company’s bottom line without needing to go through the hassle of the bidding process.
In 2019, for example, the City of New York awarded a total of $61 million to MWBEs through 840 contracts. This boom was partial because of A.8414, a 2019 state government bill that amended the previous MWBE program. It raised the discretionary amount from $200,000 to $500,000, and simplified the process.
And that isn’t all! The City of New York also passed a bill around the same time allowing city agencies to procure goods and services from MWBEs for up to $500,000. These two bills mean that money is on the table for you, on both the municipal and state levels!
What You Will Learn
In my upcoming webinar, presented in partnership with the NYC Department of Small Business Services, we will give you everything you need to land a portion of this money.
We do this by teaching you the rules of engagement and how to best position yourself so government agencies will notice you.
Even better, landing government procurement contracts can help get your name out there, building up your profile so you can land bigger and better contracts. Your increased profile will especially come in handy when you start responding to RFPs to land full-blown government contracts (something we talk about a lot at the NYC Department of Small Business Services).
By the end of this webinar workshop, you will have a checklist of things you can put into action to make your company more attractive to buyers!
You will also learn:
- The definition of discretionary purchase methods: Micro, Small Purchase, and MWBE Non-Competitive Small Purchase.
- An overview of the procurement policy rules for micro/small purchases.
- Information on how buyers select vendors for micro/small purchases.
- MWBE utilization goals.
- Procurement readiness standards (with a checklist).
- Strategies for marketing and networking with government buyers.
It’s time to take some significant steps forward for your small business. You just need to know where to start!
On January 20th, we will be holding the Generating Revenue through NYC Discretionary Spending webinar from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM. As always with our webinars and workshops, it’s 100% free for minority and women small business owners to attend! If you’re a certified minority or women-owned business, you can’t afford to miss this webinar!
Be sure to book ASAP to guarantee your spot. We will send you the WebEx Link 24 hours before the start of the event. So be sure to keep an eye on your Junk Mail folder, just in case it lands there by accident!
I can’t wait to “see” you at the webinar and teach you everything you need to know about how to land discretionary spending contracts with government agencies!
