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May 2004 — Vol. 82, No. 4

SMALL BUSINESS

Getting started as a state vendor

 

Any company, large or small, that wants to sell to the state should take advantage of the online “Bidder Notification System” on the Department of Administrative Services (DAS) Web site, advises Meg Yetishefsky, director of the Supplier Diversity Program. The notification system sends e-mail alerts to registered businesses whenever the state or a participating Connecticut municipality is seeking a vendor for a particular commodity.

The next step for a small business is to apply for certification as a qualified vendor under the state’s Supplier Diversity Program, Yetishefsky says. By law, state agencies must award 25% of their purchases to small businesses, and 25% of the small-business purchases must go to minority-owned businesses. To qualify as small, a business must (1) be principally located or headquartered in Connecticut, (2) have less than $10 million in gross receipts in the previous fiscal year, and (3) have at least 51% of its owners be actively involved in the daily operation of the business. To qualify as minority-owned, a company must meet the small-business criteria and have a majority of its owners be a member of a Connecticut “protected” class — black, Hispanic, women, Native American, disabled or from Europe’s Iberian Peninsula.

To become a certified vendor under the Supplier Diversity Program, download an application. Once you’re certified, your company’s name will be added to the program’s online directory of certified vendors — a free marketing opportunity, since other buyers besides the state can use the directory to find suppliers.

What else can you do to win state business? Besides having a product or service that meets bid requirements, developing relationships is crucial, just as it is with any potential customer, says Jerry Long, president and CEO of PCC Technology Group in Bloomfield. His company creates and sells software that centralizes voters’ records for Connecticut and several other states. One of the ways in which his firm develops relationships with potential state buyers, for example, is with a booth at appropriate trade shows. “I’m not always at our booth. I’m walking around, telling people who we are, what we do, and asking, ‘Can we do it for you?’ After the show, we follow up with e-mails and letters to strengthen the relationship.”

 

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