Helping small businesses land government contracts

Jessica Perry//August 12, 2011

American Express Open and Women Impacting Public Policy are hosting a seminar next week in hopes of helping more small and woman-owned businesses enter the hundred-billion-dollar world of federal procurement contracts.

By looking at how the federal government’s contract process works, the producers of the seminar hope to help businesses take advantage of the government’s goals to award 23 percent of spending to small businesses, and an additional 5 percent of spending to women owned businesses.

The hour-long seminar, which is online, is free, and will look at what businesses can do after registering for the Central Contractor Registration database. It begins Aug. 17 at 3 p.m.

A study by American Express Open released in March said 224,900 New Jersey businesses are owned by women, and they employ 258,200 people.