North Dakota Procurement Technical Assistance Center

A resource for assisting North Dakota businesses in obtaining federal, state, and local government contracts.

Sept 2021: Celebrate National PTAC Day!

Though the Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTAC) have been around since 1985, September 15, 2021, is only our fourth National PTAC Day. PTACs were created to increase the number of businesses of all sizes, large and small, that work with government contracting. PTACs do this by educating businesses and helping them navigate the procurement process.

We will share our favorite tools, resources, and events in celebration of this day. Celebrate with us by posting your favorite tool, tip, resource, or event. Tag @NDPTAC on Facebook and use #PTACday. Consider sending a note to your local PTAC advisor acknowledging their contribution to government procurement.

The North Dakota Procurement Technical Assistance Center (ND PTAC) program manager, Dave Kleppe, has spent the majority of his career involved with procurement. His favorite tool is the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Profile Database, also known as Dynamic Small Business Search (DSBS). Why?  DSBS is a fabulous tool for marketing to agencies and primes; it serves as a database that government agencies use to search for and find small business contractors. As a small business, you receive a free online profile from SBA that is added to the DSBS database. Your profile is pre-populated with information from your entity registration in the SBA’s System for Award Management (SAM) database. Businesses can then supplement information, such as a company capability narrative, to make their business more attractive to government agencies looking for contractors. Take advantage of this tool.

“My favorite tool is the SAM.gov website. It is a great starting step for those looking for contracting, but also for those looking for federal awards, searching for company registrations, agencies, opportunities and much more,” shared Nicole Evans, the Grand Forks Center Director of the North Dakota Small Business Development Centers (ND SBDC). SAM.gov has come a long way since it began, and with its new features you can find information easier, create opportunity searches, and follow solicitation, agencies, and businesses.

Our Lead Center also shared their two cents. Our ND SBDC Financial & Technical Assistant, Caitlyn Seng, provided her favorite business tips.

  • Never stop building meaningful relationships with customers and other people in your industry. Choosing to view competitors as potential partners and collaborators instead can positively impact your business in a big way.
  • Focus on setting & achieving small incremental goals rather than trying to start a business and instantly build your vision of what the company should be in the years to come. Setting realistic goals and milestones is a major component of building long-term success.
  • Review what your business has achieved over the past 12 months by looking back at major milestones from the past year. Spend time identifying areas you can improve in as a small business — ask what worked for you and what didn’t. Review your numbers so you’ll know what next steps to take to further enhance the growth of your business. By knowing exactly how much your small venture is making you’ll be better equipped to make informed business decisions based on your results.

The ND PTAC is a unique program. PTACs are part of a cooperative agreement with the registration y (DoD). Each PTAC has a host that ‘sponsors’ the program to allow the team to focus on delivering services and bettering businesses to benefit their state. The host makes sure that bills are paid, reports filled, rules followed, etc. This cooperative agreement is one of Marnie Schuschke’s favorite things about PTAC. Marnie’s other favorite resource is the PTAC Bid Match database, which allows clients to search for bid opportunities in one spot. Once a client builds a profile, Bid Match will search for relevant bid opportunities based on selected categories and geographic regions. Bids that are potential “matches” are emailed daily to clients. “There are so many resources out there that people might not even realize can help put matching opportunities right in their inbox!” said Schuschke, Associate Director, Center for Business Engagement & Development.

ND PTAC works with many local and federal agencies. One of those agencies is the North Dakota District Office for the U.S. Small Business Administration. Sherri Komrosky, the Deputy District Director, is a former PTAC program manager and advisor of over 20 years. We would be remiss if we didn’t include her favorite tool, a capability statement. This simple yet highly effective document provides an overview of your company on ONE page. This document is shared at events, introductory meetings, or with proposals.

Lastly, Cathy Lindquist, ND PTAC Program Advisors, personal favorite resource for businesses interested in government contracting is the ND PTAC Annual Government Procurement Fair. This is a great way to learn and connect. The PTAC team is able to interact with businesses, agencies, and primes. There are new learning topics each year from our experts sharing their knowledge. Exhibitors provide various resources to grow businesses and share their opportunities. Contract Officers seek businesses and share their solicitations. Attendees interact with everyone, including networking with other attendees. It’s a huge win for everyone! We invite you to join us on March 30, 2022, in Minot, ND for our 10th Annual Government Procurement Fair. We are looking forward to seeing everyone in person! Register today!

On National PTAC Day we will be hosting a short webinar: To Contract or Not to Contract. If you or someone you know is considering government contracting, join us on September 15, 2021. Get registered today!.

As always, if you are not sure where to start or how to get organized, connect with the North Dakota Procurement Technical Assistance Center (ND PTAC). Our services are at no cost to businesses based in the state of North Dakota. Register to schedule an appointment. Additionally, take advantage of the many training opportunities and events listed on the ND PTAC website.

Not from North Dakota? Find your closest PTAC on the APTAC website and then click on your state.