It was great to see so many of you at the NYC Procurement Fair on June 11th. I was also grateful for the opportunity to connect with NYC agencies buyers to explore prospects for the next fiscal year. In my opinion, there has never been a greater time of opportunity for minority and women-owned businesses in New York City.
I was most excited to hear about the potential increase to the discretionary purchasing threshold from $150,000 to $1,000,000. That’s a huge jump! I can’t wait for the opportunity to partner and team with more small businesses as the City looks to award 30% of all contracts to minorities and women by 2025.
With all these opportunities on the table, it’s so important to take consistent action to ensure success with your small business. Here are some of my top suggestions:
1. As discretionary purchasing opportunities increase, more and more buyers will be looking to connect with certified minority and women-owned businesses to share opportunities. That’s why it’s important to make sure that all your professional information is accurate, up-to-date, and correct:
a. Register as a vendor in the NYC Payee Information Portal.
b. If you meet the requirements for MWBE certification – get certified!
c. If you are certified, make sure that your information is accurate and correct in the NYC MWBE Directory.
d. Register your business in NYC Passport.
2. Market Research – Review the information provided at the procurement fair to ensure that the agencies you are targeting have a need for your products/services. It’s also important to determine how agencies are buying, who they are buying from, and if there are there any barriers to entry that need to be addressed.
3. Capacity Self Audit – Let’s say an agency was considering your firm for a $1 million opportunity – would you ready for it? What are some things that you could work on today to ensure that you’re optimally positioned for future opportunities? One of the first things that come to mind is capital but also look at people, processes, and procedures.
4. Consistent Communication – You need to be top of mind with your target audience. Think about ways you can stay in touch beyond the capability statement. How will you demonstrate your readiness to do business? What can you do to deepen the relationship with your intended target audience? While there is no one size fits all answer, it is still vital that you start developing a plan and sticking to it.
5. More Face Time – Do more networking. Take advantage of the opportunities to make face-to-face connections with your target audience.
There are just a few of the things that you need to keep in mind to take advantage of the opportunities being presented to minority and women-owned businesses in NYC today. To actually land those contracts, you need to be prepared. If you want to gain access to the supply chain and compete for larger projects, you’re going to need some help. Thankfully, that help is free! All you need to do is register for my free webinar on How to Acquire Contracts with NYC Agencies through Discretionary Purchase. Join me on July 10th at 10 PM ET for a webinar that will set you on the path of small business success!
I’m looking forward to helping you put everything you learned at the NYC Procurement Fair to good use!
Now that you’ve made your rounds at the NYC Procurement Fair, here are my top four tips to better connect with your target audience:
- Streamline your market research by focusing on agencies where you have the best chance of winning.
- Create a marketing plan at the beginning of the year that takes into consideration all of the different marketing activities you’ll be involved in. It’s so much easier to plan these things out in advance, and with today’s technology, you can easily automate the process.
- Innovate to make yourself different. What can you share with your target audience that demonstrates your ability to solve problems and meet client needs?
- Social media is a powerful way to connect with potential clients. For example, you can use LinkedIn to learn more about your prospects – what groups they are connected to and who they are associated with. You can also strategically use social media as a way to demonstrate your values, share success stories, or network with other minority and women-owned businesses.
There was a case study that was referenced here, but we don’t have a link to it.
