Arkansas Procurement Technical Assistance Center Partnership with Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center

by Kim Magee - February 1, 2022

In 2020, the Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center (ASBTDC) expanded its services by developing a team of contracted specialists to supplement its business consulting staff. These professionals provided direct assistance to ASBTDC clients in the areas of creative services, marketing, management, HR, and financial management.

In 2021, Specialty Services vendors and prospective vendors were required to submit formal proposals to ASBTDC’s host institution, the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

This was unfamiliar territory for most of those involved, so ASBTDC reached out to APEX Accelerator Counselor Liz Russell for guidance. The referral from ASBTDC led Arkansas APEX Accelerator to assist 14 clients who had never written proposals for government contracts. Russell and fellow APEX Accelerator Counselor Tim Hicks coached them through the bid process, resulting in a 100% success rate. All 14 clients were offered one-year contracts with six annual renewal options, meaning that these clients are now approved providers for ASBTDC for the next seven years.  This also means that they will be available for other ASBTDC and UA Little Rock projects that are outsourced to vendors.

Clients receiving awards include: 

Caton Consulting               Elizabeth Young Consulting          Obtain Creative      

Think Idea Studio               61 Celsius                                        Empowered Creativity

Pixel Perfect Creative        Tracy Beavers Consulting             Concord Adams     

IProv LLC                              Puzzle Piece Media                       Design Group Consulting

KD Consulting                     Obtain Creative                              SKIBA Media

ASBTDC thanked APEX Accelerator for lending its expertise to this endeavor. 

“Collaborating allowed us to partner with small businesses in Arkansas who are now better equipped to support other Arkansas small businesses,” said Eddie Mraz, specialty services manager for ASBTDC.

“There is no way that I could have been successful in this process without the assistance from Liz," said APEX Accelerator client Tracy Beavers with Tracy Beavers Consulting. "I was scared and nervous, but Liz broke it down into a step-by-step process. I would do a small portion and send to Liz for her input before proceeding. I am so thankful for the assistance from Liz and the APEX Accelerator team.”

APEX Accelerator client Jordan Smith with iProv LLC shared a similar story:

“We were vastly unfamiliar with the Request for Proposal (RFP) process. When alerted that we would need to bid, it was instant panic mode. We certainly wanted the business but did not know where to start. Luckily, Liz came into action and was there for us every step of the process. She even reviewed our entire first draft late in the day on a Friday. She then provided detailed feedback which we then incorporated. There is no doubt that our packet would not have been as clean or successful without Liz.  Her assistance made the process much less stressful. We are looking forward to working with Liz and the APEX Accelerator team in the future.”

APEX Accelerator clients and owners of Think Idea Studio, Mat Faulkner and Justin Johnson, recently made a video testimonial for our 2021 APEX Accelerator Day. 

VIEW the short 1 minute 24 second video. 

Congratulations to this bundle of APEX Accelerator clients. We were happy to work with these clients, as they would be with anyone wishing to start their government contracting journey.

If you wish to get into government contracting and would like to explore how Arkansas APEX Accelerator can be of assistance to you, connect with us by calling 501-671-2390.