Nebraska APEX Accelerator Program Puts Government Opportunities Front and Center
- published: 2024/05/28
- contact: NBDC Communications - Nebraska Business Development Center
- phone: 402.554.6256
- email: kjefferson@unomaha.edu
Omaha, Nebraska – This story was originally published in the Nebraska Business Development Center 2023 Annual Report.
If it has anything to do with ink on paper, Gene Walter and his Big Red Printing, Inc. locations in Norfolk and Columbus can do the job.
But when it came to inking contracts with government agencies, Walter needed help. Like hundreds of Nebraska business owners every year, he reached out to the Nebraska APEX Accelerator program of the Nebraska Business Development Center.
Big Red Printing was established in Norfolk in 1985 and incorporated in 1991. Although Walter says it’s a common misconception, the “Big Red” in the name doesn’t refer to the University of Nebraska athletic programs, although he is a true Cornhusker fan. “The gentleman who originally owned the company printed an Apple II computer newsletter for high schools nationwide,” Walter explains. “It was called the Big Red Apple Club. So we kept that part of the name for the business. It was kind of a natural.”
Walter worked as a manager at the printing company, and later took over as president in 1987, with Mark Malmberg as vice president. In 1998, Big Red Printing purchased the Art Printery in Columbus.
Walter and Big Red Printing have been a client of the NBDC since 2009. Most recently, he has worked with Nebraska APEX Accelerator Consultant Meghann Buresh to complete and renew his System for Awards Management (SAM) registration for government contracting, and to develop a BidMatch profile to receive notifications of government opportunities.
He says the APEX Accelerator services have led to contracts with Platte and Madison County entities, area school districts, the State of Nebraska, and the Black Hills Parks & Forests Association.
“Government websites are not the easiest to navigate,” he says. “Meghann is familiar with the questions a typical business owner cannot answer.”
Government websites are not the easiest to navigate...Meghann is familiar with the questions a typical business owner cannot answer.
According to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), there are several factors that can help yield success for small businesses seeking government contracting:
- The government prefers to work with established, reliable businesses. This means a track record of delivering quality goods and services on time and within budget.
- It can take time and significant resources to win your first government contract.
- Also, it could take up to two years to start making a return on your investment. Have a strong cash flow and maintain a diverse list of private-sector clients to help offset any potential initial losses.
- Being e-commerce savvy is very important in government contracting. For example, to work with the Department of Defense, a business must be able to invoice and receive payments electronically.
The Nebraska APEX Accelerator consultants are experts at knowing which resources and processes will help potential government contractors have the best chance at success, says Veronica Doga, program director of the Nebraska APEX Accelerator. “There are strategies like subcontracting, teaming, joint venturing, or utilizing the Mentor Protégé Programs to help small businesses compete,” Doga says. “Our APEX Accelerator consultants provide that direction.”
Originally the Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC), the program transitioned from the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) to the Department of Defense (DoD) Office of Small Business Programs in fall 2022 and was renamed the APEX Accelerators. There are nearly 100 APEX Accelerators across the U.S., each one designed to “strengthen the defense industrial base by accelerating innovation, fostering ingenuity, and establishing resilient and diverse supply chains.”
APEX Accelerator services include, but are not limited to:
- Confidential individual counseling sessions at no cost
- Assistance with registering on vendor websites such as SAM.gov and city government portals
- Services for electronically matching bids with opportunities
- Interpretation of government solicitations
- Aid in researching government contracts
- Assistance with contract preparation
- Cybersecurity compliance assistance
- Guidance on General Services Administration (GSA) federal supply schedules
- Support in locating bidding partners
- Identification of potential teaming and joint venture partners for contracts
- Strategies for marketing to government entities and prime contractors
- Effective response strategies to solicitations
- Assistance in obtaining federal Set-Aside certifications
- Guidance on federal accounting and invoicing procedures
- Research strategies for accessing federal, state, and local government markets.
Buresh, consultant at the NBDC office in Norfolk, says APEX Accelerator clients and their businesses represent a diverse mix of products, services, experiences and goals. “APEX Accelerator consultants are like project managers,” she says. “We are an extra set of eyes and ears for your business when it comes to anything related to government contracting. If we don’t know the answer, we have many resources we can tap into to find the answer.”
Quentin Farley, APEX Accelerator consultant at the NBDC office in Lincoln, says the Nebraska APEX Accelerator program held 72 events in 2023, each one an opportunity for education, training, and networking with government agencies and prime contractors. The annual Meet the Buyers Conference, for example, brings together a dozen or more state and federal agencies that hopeful government contractors can meet with in person.
Farley says the NBDC has also built an archive of recorded webinars, along with access to a subscriber-based national training resource, that APEX Accelerator clients may utilize at no cost to them.
“Staying on top of the information is a big part of the battle,” he says. “We save our clients time, ease the frustrations, and guide them through the processes quicker and with more confidence.”