The SBDC provides consulting services and training programs to current and prospective small business owners in Maryland. SBDC has a specialized procurement program, the Procurement Technical Assistance Program (PTAP), designed to help small businesses sell products and services to federal, state and local agencies at no cost to small business owners. This program, funded by the Defense Logistics Agency and DBED, assists you to identify, obtain and perform successfully on federal, state and local government contracts. Small businesses (as defined by the SBA) that have a product or service needed by a government agency are welcome to apply for these services.

PTAP’s Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) provides marketing, contractual and technical assistance to Maryland small business owners who are interested in marketing their products and services to federal, state and local government agencies. PTAC trains businesses on how to do business and solve problems with government agencies through workshops and individual one-on-one counseling sessions. Since 2003, Maryland businesses have continued to receive more than $65 million in government prime and subcontract awards as a direct result of the assistance provided by the center, and approximately 2,000 jobs have been created.

Any small business may receive PTAC services provided it have a product or service that has reasonable expectation of being procured under government contract or purchase order. Owners of businesses eligible for these services may invite consultants or manufacturer’s representatives to attend counseling sessions with them. The cost is free. Below is a list of services that PTAC provides:

• Access to library of federal, state, and local procurement resources
• Assistance in obtaining solicitations, references, specifications, and drawings from buying offices
• Assistance with preparation of bidders mailing list applications
• Assistance with registrations and certifications
• Assistance with solicitation interpretation and bid package preparation
• Automated bid matching from hundreds of buying offices, tailored to individual client specifications
• Help in locating subcontracting opportunities
• Information on federal/state/local procurement actions
• Market research to locate government agencies who buy your product or services
• Pre/post award contract assistance
• Referrals to other assistance activities where appropriate
• Workshops/seminars on a variety of contracting topics.

Below is a list of SBDC contacts.
Western Region
(Serving Garrett, Allegany, Washington, and Frederick Counties)
14701 National Highway, Suite 1
LaVale, MD 21502
(301)687-1008
http://www.sbdc-wmd.com

Central Region
(Serving Baltimore, Baltimore City, Howard and Anne Arundel Counties)
8000 York Road (mailing address)
7801 York Road, Terrace Dale Building (office address)
Towson, MD 21252-0001
(410) 704-5001
http://www.towson.edu/sbdc

Northern Region
(Serving Carroll, Harford and Cecil Counties)
401 Thomas Run Road
Bel Air, MD 21015-1698
(410) 836-4237 ext.7
http://www.harford.edu/sbdc

Capital Region
(Serving Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties)
7100 Baltimore Avenue, Suite 400
College Park, MD 20740
(301)403-0501
http://www.capitalregionsbdc.umd.edu

Southern Region
(Serving Charles, Calvert, St. Mary’s and Cecil Counties)
College of Southern Maryland
8730 Mitchell Road
PO Box 910
La Plata, MD 20646-0910
(301)934-7583
http://www.sbdchelp.com

Eastern Region
(Serving Kent, Queen Anne’s, Caroline, Talbot, Dorchester, Wicomico, Somerset and
Worchester Counties)
Franklin P. Perdue School of Business
Salisbury University PP171
1101 Camden Avenue
Salisbury, MD 21801
(301)548-4419
http://www.salisbury.edu/community/sbdc

To learn more about SBDC, visit http://www.mdsbdc.umd.edu or contact:
PTAC
7100 Baltimore Avenue
Suite 402
College Park, MD 20740
(301) 403-2740; fax: (301) 403-2743

There are a number of resources in Maryland that can assist you in doing business with federal facilities.
A. MARYLAND DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
(DBED)

DBED provides assistance to small businesses to ensure their success, including information on financing, workforce training, exporting, trade and small and minority business assistance. DBED is composed of a number of divisions and offices. To access information about the divisions within DBED, visit
http://www.choosemaryland.org/AboutDBED/Divisions/DivisionsIndex.html. The CD ROM also contains a complete list of DBED contacts.

DBED also provides contracting opportunities which are scheduled by the Office of Fair Practices and Procurement and are updated regularly. For information about current DBED procurement opportunities, visit
http://www.choosemaryland.org/AboutDBED/statecontracting/DBEDProcurementOpportunities. html. The Office of Fair Practices & Procurement contact information is:
Director
(410) 767-6469; fax: (410) 333-829
(888) ChooseMD

DBED has an extensive list of both grant and loan programs that can be used to assist businesses and local communities. The CD ROM contains the department’s description of these programs (see Maryland Financial Assistance Programs in the CD ROM Table of Contents). Note that assistance is available through the department to help applicants prepare the appropriate forms and back-up.

In anticipation of BRAC, Maryland created seven military alliances associated with the major installations. Information on the alliances and contacts can be found at http://www.choosemaryland.org.

B. SBA - MARYLAND DISTRICT OFFICE
The Maryland District Office provides assistance to small businesses. Counseling is offered in the areas of finance, management, technology and procurement.
If you need assistance, please contact:

Maryland District Office
City Crescent Building, 6th Floor
10 South Howard Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21201
(410) 962-4392; fax: (410) 962-1805

The Maryland District Office does not serve Montgomery and Prince George’s counties. For more information on the Montgomery and Prince George’s counties’ offices, please contact:
Washington Metropolitan Area District Office
740 15th Street NW, Suite 300
Washington, D.C. 20005-3544
(202) 272-0345
http ://www. sba. gov/dc/

Make sure that your pricing makes sense for you and the government. Carefully consider your pricing as you will be held to it if you are awarded the contract.

You should identify and estimate every cost such as direct labor, fringe benefits, materials and services, overhead, royalties and travel. In addition, you should research past historic costs for similar contracts to get an idea of your projected costs.

Your cost strategy should be based upon information provided by the federal agency and your competition, as well as your company’s goals. You should always research the agency in order to obtain information about the agency’s budget and target price.

Make sure you accurately calculate your figures in order to avoid mathematical errors. You do not want to lose a contract because your bid was too high or be hit with a substantial loss because you miscalculated your bid. Make sure your budget analysis is clear, concise and easy to understand.
Consider the following when you establish your price:

• Your fully loaded costs to provide the products and services
• What your competitors might bid to provide the same products or services
• A reasonable profit.

If your response involves either service or construction workers, be careful to adhere to the wage determinations established, often on an area or regional basis, for certain categories of workers. Federal contracting officers must make sure that all pertinent contracts adhere to these rates -whether covered by the Service Contract Act or the Davis-Bacon Act. These rates also specify fringe benefit rates for each classification of worker.

Wage determinations change frequently, so it is best to go online to the U. S. Department of Labor’s website (http://www.dol.gov/) and follow the link to the Wage and Hour Division. From there you can find the rates for the region or area where the workers will be.

It is extremely important to follow and conform to the various regulations affecting the proper pricing of proposals and preparations of bids. Such contract pricing regulations (mostly contained in the Service Contract Act and its regulations) are contained in the CD ROM at the back of this booklet.