Part of President Obama’s “War on Unemployment” is the $4.3M funding for three new MBDA Business Centers (MBC) in Boston, Minneapolis, and Riverside (CA), to stimulate job creation and support the economic growth of minority firms. Offering minority entrepreneurs and business owners consulting services, contract/financing opportunities, bonding/certification services, creation of B2B alliances and executive training – the Minority Business Development Agency is a fantastic tool to leverage federal funds, resources and services to launch your business to the next level.
Officially, the MBDA promotes the development of the minority business community, supporting them in job creation, to further local economies and compete successfully in US and international marketplaces. In 2011, this federal agency awarded $7.8M in grants to fund 27 national Business Centers in most major US cities. Visit www.mbda.gov to find your closest center.
If your company is in a position to service federal procurement awards, including prime and sub contracts, stop reading this article (or maybe finish reading it first) and contact the MBDA Federal Procurement Center at (202) 464-2304 or erice@dcmbc.org. This center was created in 2011 via a $1.75M cooperative agreement to better position minority business clients to access and obtain federal contracts.
Specific services offered by the center include: research and education on federal contract trends, current regulations, identification of upcoming procurement opportunities, matching of minority business client capabilities and procurement prospects, development of relationships between entrepreneurs and federal program managers, and partnerships of minority business with targeted companies. Current businesses that are in high demand are industries in high-growth areas such as green technology, clean energy, health care, broadband technology, and infrastructure with annual revenues of over $1M.
Brian Tracy, strategic business mastermind, in his book Focal Point explains that a single person cannot maximize business maintenance AND business growth at the same time. A person must spend their time doing one or the other, or give a half-hearted effort to both. The way around this dilemma is to leverage other people’s money, partnerships, customers, etc. The Minority Business Development Agency empowers you to utilize government funds, contracts and resources so you can spend your valuable time doing what you enjoy and is most valuable for your business.
I actually worked with htem on a project recently with help from someone from the director’s office. They were extremeley interested in helping my company get a large fed contract (well, large for us anyway), but I always feel bad getting extra help just because of the color of my skin. Is that weird?
Great piece for minority entrepreneurs