Acting Secretary of the Department of Commerce Michael Ada said the workshop, hosted by his department and the Commonwealth Development Authority will be facilitated by the Small Business Administration. It will be held at the Aqua Resort Club on Sept. 25 from 9 a.m. until noon.
“The Department of Commerce and CDA have committed to ensure that the local business community is prepared to take part in the upcoming military build-up, and for this we are urging all the business operators to take part in the workshop,” Ada said.
He added that there is a heavy emphasis on businesses that are owned and operated by women and veterans.
“The federal government makes special efforts to ensure that contracts are awarded to these two categories,” Ada said.
He said representatives from SBA’s regional offices of Guam and Hawaii will be on island to assist participants in going through the process of registering to do business with the federal government.
“The preparation to do business with the federal government is critical, time consuming and intimidating,” Ada said.
The Department of Commerce, he added, is urging all industries to attend the workshop and receive crucial information to enable businesses to reach their maximum potential.
He added that this workshop will help small business operators get step-by-step instruction.
“We don’t have this expertise on-island and we need to get as much information as we can to go forward,” Ada said.
In order to gain most from the workshop, he is encouraging the participants to bring a laptop with wi-fi capability, or be prepared to take notes.
He said the companies who will join the workshop should be U.S.-owned or majority-owned by a U.S. firm and should ideally have applied for a Data Universal Numbering System number before coming to the workshop.
Participants can go to http://smallbusiness.dnb.com to get their DUNS number. They can also call 1-800-333-0505 or register online at http://www.dnb.com/eupdate/dunsform/.
The workshop is free but limited to the first 60 participants.
Call the Department of Commerce at 664-3077 for more details.
