Government Contracting 101 – An Overview of Selling to the Government

This course is designed to give small businesses an introduction to government contracting and what it takes to work with the government. You will walk away from this seminar able to assess if you are ready to take on selling to the government, and if not, you'll learn how to get there! 

During this course you can expect to learn the following:

• ·         What is a small business?
• ·         Small Disadvantaged Business/8(a) Certification
• ·         Woman Owned & Economically Disadvantaged Woman Owned Small Business Certification
• ·         Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) Certification
• ·         Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business – Self Certification
• ·         How to get certified
• ·         Resources available to you

In addition you will be able to evaluate your business model as it pertains to government contracting.

Two experts, Joe Smetak with the SBA and Jeannet Santiago with Washington PTAC will serve as the course leaders.

Joe Smetak serves as a Business Opportunity Specialist for the Portland District of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). The Portland District Office of the SBA is responsible for the delivery of the agency programs and services to 30 of the 36 counties in Oregon and Clark, Skamania, Cowlitz and Wahkiakum counties in Southwestern Washington. 

Joe works directly with Portland District small disadvantaged businesses to ensure program compliance with the SBA’s 8(a) business development program.  He also provides general business development to small businesses interested in selling to the federal government or obtaining federal certifications. 

Prior to joining the SBA in May of 2018, Mr. Smetak worked with the Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) in Wisconsin for over 8 years assisting small businesses interested in selling to the federal government. He has served as the President of the Wisconsin Chapter of the National Contract Management Association (NCMA) and held multiple positions on the board of directors for the Society of American Military Engineers (SAME) Lake Michigan Post. He is a certified federal contracts manager (CFCM), holds a Federal Acquisition Certification – Contracting Level  I as well as a Master’s of Public Administration (MPA) from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.