Sponsored by the Verizon Foundation

NSN and Procurement History Information now available to PTAC Clients

Bid-Match Profiles for Area Businesses Expanded
 
"No-fee assistance now available to help the region's small businesses grow revenues and jobs
through the implementation of e-commerce technologies"
Contact: Mikki Barker at 276.492.2074   Cell:  423.914.3521  
Email: mikki.barker@vectec.org
or PTAC at 276.964.7334 email: pac.info@sw.edu
 

The Governing Performance Project released its "Grading the States" report card today, and Virginia has achieved top honors!

Every three years, the GPP spends a full year reviewing all 50 states in four areas - Information, People, Money, and Infrastructure. Each state is graded in these areas and then receives an overall grade. Virginia received an overall grade of A- for its performance in serving the public. Two other states received an A- grade - Utah and Washington - and the national average was B-. You can find more information on the project and Virginia's grade here.
 

STARTING A BUSINESS? NEED HELP IN GROWING YOUR BUSINESS?

FREE eight session course to develop your business management skills.

Sessions begin March 4th - June 10th

For more information CLICK HERE.
 

The U.S. Department of Energy wants to talk to you about contracting opportunities for Small Businesses!

The Department of Energy is committed to increasing the contracting opportunities awarded to small and disadvantaged businesses. The opportunities are great! DOE purchases over $22 billion worth of goods and services annually including facility management, remediation, construction, research and development, management and scientific consulting, plate work manufacturing, administrative services, data processing, security, engineering, and waste treatment and disposal.

DOE is holding its 9th DOE Small business Conference, Exposition & Matchmaking Forum on June 24-26, 2008 at the Grand Hyatt in San Antonio, Texas. To support their effort, conference information has been posted on the APTAC website homepage. DOE is the largest civilian contracting agency within the federal government, annually procuring over $22 billion in goods and services.

The link to conference information and registration is: www.smallbusiness-outreach.doe.gov
 

Women & Veterans Small Business Conference:
Get on Target: Learn Steps to Grow Your Business on Any Budget

Thursday May 15, 2008 at Virginia Western Community College
For more information or to register online visit www.sbdcevents.org or for a brochure click here .
 

  

The main conference event will promote a culture of business growth and creativity for women and their families in the Grundy region economy. It’s focus will nurture the creation, development and growth of enterprises throughout Grundy and its contiguous region.

The one-day conference is designed to enable the region’s women to connect and learn practical and professional strategies for business opportunities from professional experts. The event is produced by the region’s Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) an economic development program that provides clients with result-oriented counseling and training for business growth through government contracting.

MORE INFORMATION, click here.  * Adobe Reader required
 

The “Embracing New Frontiers” Women in Business Scholarship  -- DEADLINE EXTENDED until May 16, 2008 The “Embracing New Frontiers” Women in Business Conference session is being developed to both educate and inspire the women of Grundy and its contiguous region.  In an effort to expand upon this mission, the “Embracing New Frontiers” Women in Business Conference is pleased to announce that it will be awarding financial scholarships to two Grundy/Buchanan County women pursuing higher education in Virginia.  Two (2) $500.00 scholarships will be awarded to young women from the Grundy/Buchanan County, Virginia area with interest in the area’s renewal and in participating in business development in the region.   A panel of judges will make the scholarship selections. The scholarship will only be applied and mailed directly to the specific academic or work program identified by the recipient.  Applications should be mailed to: PTAC- Economic Development Center The “Embracing New Frontiers” Women in Business Conference Conference Scholarships 3rd Floor Tazewell Hall, #349 P.O. Box  SVCC Richlands, Virginia 24641 Scholarship winners must be present at the 2008 “Embracing New Frontiers” Women in Business scheduled for June 19th 2008 at the Booth Center, located on the campus of Appalachian School of Law, Grundy, Virginia.  All completed applications must include official academic transcript(s) for the past two years, three letters of recommendation, an essay, and a self-addressed, stamped envelope.  The scholarship application must be postmarked by May 9th 2008.  Scholarship winners will be notified by Friday, June 6th 2008. CLICK HERE for more information and scholarship application. *NOTE: Electronic copies will not be accepted.

Pre-conference workshops are free-of-charge but registration is required.
Schedule of Pre-conference workshops outlined below:

Developing a Business that Works! (Start-up Issues) 
Finance – Money Talks – Funding a business is the biggest barrier to growth for small and medium-sized companies – learn what funding is out there, the options available and how to access them, creating a budget, setting targets/timeframes.

Management Issues LEGAL and TAX – business structure, license/permits, insurance, environment, disability services, health, fire and safety, intellectual property (idea protection) copyrights, records, data and tax concerns.

Presented By: James Tilley,VHCC, Small Business Development Center,  Dollie Compton, Attorney at Law, Mark Eason, CPA