APEX Accelerator Training Resources

Arkansas APEX Accelerator On-Demand Trainings

National APEX Accelerator Day: Protecting Your Business, Cybersecurity Tips from the Forge Institute  October 12, 2023, 1 hour 34 minutes

In today's interconnected digital landscape, owning a business demands more than just a great idea and a solid business plan – it requires a comprehensive understanding of cybersecurity. This is a dynamic and essential course designed to equip entrepreneurs with the knowledge and strategies needed to operate a business securely in the realm of cybersecurity.
 
Led by Jaylon E Darden of the Forge Institute, this course delves into the critical aspects of cybersecurity that every new business owner must consider. From the moment you conceive your business concept to its full-fledged operation, this course guides you through the intricate web of cybersecurity protocols, ensuring that your venture remains resilient against cyber threats and data breaches.

AEDC - Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprise Certification with Karen Castle August 30, 2023, 1 hour 3 minutes

Would you like to increase the opportunity for your minority or women-owned business to sell products and services to the State of Arkansas? The Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprise (MWOBE) Certification program is a review process designed to ensure that a minority or women-owned business is owned, controlled, and operated by the applicants and meets the eligibility criteria of the program.  Watch the Arkansas APEX Accelerator as we host Karen Castle of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission (AEDC) teaching about how to become certified MWOBE with the State of Arkansas.

Small Disadvantaged Business Program with SBA May 12, 2023, 46 minutes

A small disadvantaged business (SDB) is a small firm owned by one or more individuals who are socially and economically disadvantaged. SDB status provides eligibility for bidding and benefit programs for Federal procurements. SDB’s may self-certify their status. SDB certification is a different process and program than the SBA 8(a) Program. Join us as we welcome Suzanne Terrazas, Economic Development Specialist/ Administrative Officer with the Arkansas District Office of the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Expanding Your Knowledge of Government Procurement Processes – DIBBS, JCP, and Unison Systems May 03, 2023, 1 hour 17 minutes

The Federal Government and, in particular, the Department of Defense use various platforms for advertising, awarding, and filling their service and material requirements. This class introduces three systems; The DLA Internet Bid Board System (DIBBS), the Joint Certification Program (JCP), and the Unison Marketplace. The information provided benefits all businesses hoping to increase the possibility of success and award of a government contract.

SAM - What is it? February 21, 2023, 1 hour 14 minutes

This class is for established businesses interested in selling to the government. Join Arkansas Program Associate, Savanna George, to learn about the System for Award Management (SAM) and the transition to the Unique Entity Identification number.  She talks about common issues and new changes to the SAM platform, and we will have an open forum to answer your questions and talk with you about how to use SAM and make it work for your business.   

National APEX Accelerator Day Event: Let's Talk SAM (System for Award Management) September 21, 2022, 1 hour 14 minutes

We celebrate National APEX Accelerator Day! As part of this year's annual celebration we hosted a forum to discuss all things related to SAM (System for Award Management). Join Arkansas APEX Accelerator Program Technician and APEX Accelerator Counselors to learn about SAM and the recent transition to the Unique Entity Identification number.  The APEX Accelerator staff will talk about common issues and new changes to the SAM platform, and we will have an open forum to answer your questions and talk with you about how to use SAM and make it work for your business.  

Wide Area Work Flow with David Kern -  July 13, 2022, 1 hour 24 minutes

David Kern explains the Wide Area Work Flow process. This webinar is broken into three modules:  Procurement Integrated Enterprise Environment (PIEE) registration, creating & submitting payment requests and tracking payments & resolving payment issues.  This training will guide the user through the process with easy to understand charts and language.

Marketing to the Government -  May 05, 2022, 1 hour 27 minutes

This training provides an overview and best practices for understanding what government buyers need and communicating your company's value proposition to them. Topics include the role of certifications, vendor registration sites, market research sources, and marketing tools specific to the government marketplace. You only have one chance to create a good impression, if you are ready and prepared you can come away with good contacts, valuable insights and business leads. Preparation is essential, you never have a second chance to make a good first impression.

Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS): How Does CPARS impact a company’s bid? - April 29, 2022, 57 minutes

How Does CPARS impact a company’s bid? Doing business with the federal government is challenging and often creates its own barriers for vendors due to its sheer size and complexity; however, asking the right questions to strategically identify their target market, going beyond NAICS matching, is critical to their ability to identify, bid, win, and successfully execute federal contracts. As a result of this training, business owners and / or APEX Accelerator Counselors learn how to succinctly explain and demonstrate the step-by-step process to easily identify, market to, and engage their target customer within the federal government.

Selling to the State of Arkansas - April 13, 2022, 1 hour 17 minutes

This class is for vendors interested in doing business with the State of Arkansas.  Participants learn about the state of Arkansas’ newly implemented eProcurement system called ARBuy. Participants are provided with information about the new vendor registration process, a review of the still required legacy vendor registration process, and state procurement regulations and procedures on how to bid on state government solicitations.  

Surety Bond Guarantee Program with SBA's Tamara Murray - March 22, 2022, 53 minutes

Are you a small business that’s new to the contract bonding process? Already bonded, but need a higher bond limit? How about posting collateral or using funds control to get bonding? If you answered yes to one or more of the above questions, the SBA surety bond program can assist you open doors for success! Learn how to obtain contract bonds up to $10 million! Surety bonds help small businesses win contracts by providing the customer with a guarantee that the work will be completed. Many public and private contracts require surety bonds, which are offered by surety companies. Guest speaker Tamara Murray, an SBA Underwriting Marketing Specialist, presents on the SBA surety bond program, qualification requirements, and addresses your questions.

Woman Owned Small Business Certification Class - February 24, 2022, 50 minutes

Is your Woman-Owned Small Business ready to explore the lucrative potential of gaining federal contracts using the new registration process? Did you know that you can grow your business exponentially by competing for federal contracts? As a woman-owned small business, you can obtain federal contracts with less competition if you qualify. Learn more about how to register or continue operating as a WOSB and take advantage of contracting opportunities to build and grow your business!

Proposal Development with Cindy Gaddis - February 09, 2022, 1 hour 3 minutes

How should a company respond to the solicitation?
Be thorough.  Most small businesses lack the time and resources to read every page of the solicitation.  This is completely understandable as the large majority of Federal solicitations are well over 100 pages.  During this session, we discuss the step-by-step actions required to ensure companies provide a response which meets the ‘Three Cs’ of proposal development; Complete, Compliant, and Compelling.

Introduction to Government Contracting - February 01, 2022, 39 minutes

Businesses can diversify their revenues and customer base by expanding into sales to the government. This presentation covers federal, state, and local procurement processes; registration requirements; the role of certifications; sales and marketing strategies; and steps you can take now to begin positioning yourself for eventual success in the government marketplace.

How do I get paid: Invoicing & Payment in Government Contracting -  January 13, 2022, 53 minutes

The Invoicing and Payment class is for vendors interested in doing business with local, State, and Federal government, but would like to know more about how you are paid for your products and services. Participants are provided with information about local, State, and Federal laws and regulations requiring timely payment, the importance of accurate and timely invoicing, invoicing systems, turnaround time to payment, and common errors vendors make during the process. 

Arkansas Veterans Small Business Summit -  November 5, 2021, 2 hours 4 minutes

Representatives from the Arkansas Procurement Technical Assistance Center's resource partner organizations gave a short overview of how they can help your business access the counseling, capital or contracts your business needs. This local network of resources is available to small business at all stages and offers free confidential business counseling, no or low-cost training programs and other networking opportunities. We included time for us to hear from you -- the veteran business owner -- about the needs you face and how we can help your business. There was also a training focused on how to receive certification for the service disabled veteran owned small business owner and a government contracting panel discussion with federal agency representatives.

Past Performance & Future Opportunities -  October 21, 2021, 56 minutes

This class is for vendors interested in doing business with local, State, and Federal government. Participants were provided with information about the importance of past performance, how to overcome the effects of negative past performance, and how to improve your past performance portfolio.

National APEX Accelerator Day - Arkansas APEX Accelerator Celebration - September 15, 2021, 52 minutes

Arkansas APEX Accelerator celebrated National APEX Accelerator Day on September 15!  This virtual event was a celebration of all our Arkansas APEX Accelerator clients, partners, and staff.  We highlighted client success stories, upcoming Arkansas APEX Accelerator  trainings and shared important changes in the government contracting sector.  Those that could not make the virtual event, showed their support by tweeting or posting on social media about their contracting success or how APEX Accelerators have helped their business by using the hashtag:  #APEX AcceleratorDay.

Changes to HUBZone Process - August 12, 2021, Claudia Wilson (SBA), Instructor,  51 minutes

The government made some changes to the HUBZone program that should benefit both small businesses and the government. The restrictions will be slightly less rigorous to get certified as well as to maintain certification. With these less stringent regulations, more companies most likely will be able to become HUBZone certified. 

8(a) Development Program Overview - July 14, 2021, Suzanne Terrazas (SBA), Instructor,  47 minutes

To help provide a level playing field for small businesses owned by socially and economically disadvantaged people or entities, the government limits competition for certain contracts to businesses that participate in the 8(a) Business Development program.

How to Read and Respond to a Government Bid - June 29, 2021, Suzanne Terrazas (SBA) and Max Franks (AR APEX Accelerator), Instructors, 1 hour 48 minutes

Arkansas APEX Accelerator Counselor Max Franks will teach attendees what the government is buying, about the different solicitation types and how to interpret them, and where to search to find solicitations.

ARBuy, The State's New eProcurement System- June 22, 2021, Tim Hicks, Instructor, 59 minutes

The State of Arkansas is implementing a new eProcurement system called ARBuy. Learn about the new vendor registration process, a review of the still required legacy vendor registration process, and how you will bid on State solicitations in the future.

End of Federal Fiscal Year Buying - June 16, 2021, Suzanne Terrazas (SBA) and Max Franks (AR APEX Accelerator), Instructors, 1 hour 22 minutes

Every year, especially during July, August, and September, the government has to spend the remainder of their fiscal year budget. There is also focus on meeting their socio-economic goals. During this time, vendors need to be aware of how quickly an opportunity can come and go and need to be prepared to respond to a solicitation quickly. This class will cover topics to ensure you are prepared for year end close out buys. 

LRWRA: A Beginner's Guide to Public Procurement for Vendors - May 20, 2021, Amber Yates & Kelley Kelley, Instructors, 1 hour 27 minutes

To those without a roadmap, sometimes government procurement can feel like you are traveling on a continuous loop, and you don’t know how or where to exit. This course is designed to be an introductory course for vendors who want to know more about the public procurement process but are not sure where to begin.  This course will give an overview of vendor registration for governmental business opportunities, common procurement terminology, different stages and types of solicitations, and tips to help you navigate reviewing and responding to public procurement solicitations.  

Selling to the U.S General Services Administration (GSA) - April 22, 2021, Jennifer Souza, Instructor, 1 hour 7 minutes

Have you been interested to sell to the GSA or do you currently sell to the GSA and curious about recent changes happening across the agency and how it impacts your small business? Our presenter will speak about MAS (Multiple Award Schedule) Consolidation impacts to e Tools during this training.

Little Rock Air Force Base Pitch Day: SAM Registration Training - April 15, 2021, Tim Hicks, Instructor, 1 hour 1 minutes

The System for Award Management (SAM) is an official website of the U.S. government. There is no cost to use SAM. You can use this site for FREE to: register to do business with the U.S. government, update or renew your entity registration, check status of an entity registration as well as search for entity registration and exclusion records. 

Marketing to the Government - April 14, 2021, Liz Russell, Instructor, 1 hour 4 minutes

This training provides an overview and best practices for understanding what government buyers need and communicating your company's value proposition to them. Topics include the role of certifications, vendor registration sites, market research sources, and marketing tools specific to the government marketplace. 

Opening Doors to Bonding through the U.S. Small Business Administration's Surety Bond Guarantee Program - February 3, 2021, Tamara E. Murray (SBA), Instructor, 56 minutes

The U. S. Small Business Administration’s Surety Bond Guarantee Program can help small businesses get bonded for projects up to $10 million! Our discussion will include an overview of contract bonds - what they are and how to get pre-qualified for bonding - and how SBA’s Surety Bond Guarantee Program can open doors to bonding for your small business by reducing barriers to bonding and increasing your contracting opportunities.

Managing Remote Teams - January 29, 2021, Cindy Gaddis, Instructor, 51 minutes

Managing remote teams and the foundation upon which successful teams are formed based on a Communications Plan, with a focus on Technology and Expectation Management. During this session, guest presenter Cindy Gaddis, reviews the importance of communications in growing business within the federal government.

Introduction to Government Contracting - January 7, 2021, Max Franks, Instructor, 1 hour 37 minutes

Selling to the government is different than selling in the private sector.  Learn about different government contract types, state and federal procurement processes, and how you can register your business to sell products or services to the government. This course is of special benefit to those companies that have no experience in government contracting or are relatively new to the process.

Arkansas Minority Business Summit - December 3, 2020, 1 hour 45 minutes

Learn about the many no cost resources available to minority business owners in our state. Hear from community leaders across Arkansas about how they are working to engage minority businesses. Local purchasing officials discussed how they are working to increase minority spend in their government-funded agencies and the many opportunities in state procurement for minority business owners.  Hear from successful minority business owners in the government marketplace. 

Arkansas Veterans' Small Business Summit - November 6, 2020, 1 hour 54 minutes

This training is an opportunity to learn about the programs and services that can help your small business succeed. Representatives from the Arkansas Procurement Technical Assistance Center, U.S. Small Business Administration, SCORE, Arkansas Small Business Technology Development Center, Arkansas Women’s Business Center, The Conductor and others were on-hand to give a short overview of how they can help your business access the counseling, capital or contracts your business needs. This local network of resources is available to small business at all stages and offers free confidential business counseling, no or low-cost training programs and other networking opportunities. In addition, a training focused on how to receive certification for the service disabled veteran owned small business owner is provided.

Women-Owned Small Business Federal Contracting Program - September 27, 2020,  Derrick Andrews (SBA), Instructor, 54 minutes

WOSB Federal Contracting Program was created to help provide a level playing field for women business owners.  When buying goods and services, the federal  government limits competition for certain contracts to women-owned small businesses (WOSBs) and economically disadvantaged women-owned small businesses (EDWOSBs) that participate in the U.S. Small Business Administration's (SBA) WOSB Federal Contracting Program.  Becoming certified for the WOSB Federal Contracting Program means your business is eligible to compete for WOSB Federal Contracting Program set-aside contracts within eligible industries.  These contracts are in industries where women-owned small businesses are underrepresented.

Selling to the Army Corps of Engineers - May 28, 2020, Bettye Lou Mahoney, Instructor, 46 minutes
Guest Speaker: Lakisha Vance, Deputy, Office of Small Business Programs

The Little Rock District buys a variety of commodities, services, construction and engineering services. This virtual training is designed for anyone wanting to sell goods or services to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). As part of this training, you will learn about the simplified acquisition thresholds, Federal Acquisition Regulations (FARs), use of military forecasts, type of contracts used by the USACE and much more. Lakisha Vance, Deputy, Office of Small Business Programs for the Little Rock District will serve as a guest speaker on the call along with Bettye Lou Mahoney of the Arkansas APEX Accelerator teaching the virtual training.

Government Certifications for Contracting - May 15, 2020, Max Franks, Instructor, 60 minutes

The Arkansas Procurement Technical Assistance Center (APEX Accelerator),  Startup Junkie,  the Conductor and the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce present “How to Become a Certified Woman, Minority, Disadvantaged Business Enterprise, or Service-Disabled Veteran Business for Government Contracting.”  The State of Arkansas, local cities, and federal government offer special set-aside government contracting opportunities for certified businesses with contracts for goods and services available for businesses of all sizes.