Recover, Rebuild, & Redesign Your Business
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Greetings to all our clients, customers, and partners! I hope you, your business, and your families are doing well during this COVID-19 pandemic.
We are now in Summer 2020 and oh how time flew by. Just like 9-11-2001 when you remembered where you were when you heard the first plane crashed in NY, you will remember March 12-16, 2020 when businesses across the United States started closing their doors because we were facing the deadly COVID-19 pandemic. I am hoping that now most businesses have begun reopening, you will be able to
recover, rebuild, and redesign
your businesses and non-profits.
I am sure we all know of someone who did not
recover
from COVID-19. As a business owner, it is hard to regain the strength to reopen your business when you have to focus on so many things. What if you or your employees get infected with COVID-19? How will that impact your family, your business, your employees, your employees' family, your community? How many clients and customers did you lose because you had to close your business? How will you pay all the bills that piled up when you had to close your doors? Recovery is not you figuring out all of these at once, but by taking at least one step each day to come up with new solutions for your company. Your journey to recovery starts with you as the business owner saying to yourself "I can do this" and start changing your daily mindset to "go do this"!
For most business owners, you may have lost employees, products, clients, customers, services, sales, office space or revenue. How do you
rebuild
once you start reopening? This is a reality for a lot of small businesses and we are no different. We lost employees, a major Government client, and sales because we were not able to travel for scheduled speaking engagements. In business, cash is king, and thanks to the federal, state, and local governments for the different options for grants and loans to be able to rebuild our operations with those funds. I hope you were able to take advantage of the EIDL Grant, EIDL Loan, PPP Loan, and State and Local Government Stimulus funds to rebuild your company.
In rebuilding our operations, we realized that COVID-19 changed the way we operate and we had to
redesign
our operations and processes during COVID-19. If you would have told me in December 2019 that face masks were going to be the norm in business operations, I would have given you a puzzled look and asked if we were going to be the next Asian country to do that. (In October 2019 when I attended PMI's Global Conference in PA, I noticed many of the Asian attendees were wearing face masks.) In March 2020, redesigning the operations of my small business meant I had to figure out how do I ensure my kids get their school work done virtually while still operating my business virtually. I had to increase the number of online tools to be able to continue operating and this meant using tools such as DocuSign, Calendly, Stripe, Constant Contact, Zoom, Meet, and other tools that allowed my business to operate virtually. If you have not redesigned your business as yet to operate virtually, now is the time to begin. In 2020 if you are not doing business virtually, you are not doing business.
I was reminded in a call with Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce this week that small business owners are resilient and we are the ones coming up with the innovative solutions to meet constantly changing requirements for private and public industries. If you need advice on how to recover, rebuild, and redesign your business or non-profit, please feel free to reach out to me. Stay safe...
Varetta Huggins
Your Government Contracting Expert
President & CEO, V-Project Management Consulting, LLC
Leadership Council Member, National Small Business Association
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Montgomery County Reopening Grant
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I was on a re-opening Grants call on 7/9/2020 with the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce (MCCC) and we heard from Montgomery County (MC) Councilmember, Andrew Friedson, the lead for the MC Reopening Grants initiative, that t
he Montgomery County Council passed a special appropriation for $14 million for the reopening of MC businesses and non-profit organizations. MC businesses and non-profit organizations will soon be able to apply and get up to $5,000 reimbursed for supplies they have incurred to follow CDC, State, and County guidelines.
Here are the requirements you have to meet to be able to receive the grant:
A business or non-profit organization is eligible to receive assistance from the Reopen Montgomery Business Assistance Program if it:
- has its physical locations only in the County or its County-based locations account for more than 50 percent of the business’s total number of employees or 50 percent of the business’s total sales;
- employs 100 or less full-time-equivalent employees;
- has not received financial assistance from the County for reopening expenses related to the COVID-19 health crisis; and
- has incurred reopening reimbursable expenditures between March 16, 2020 and 30 days following the County’s Phase Three reopening.
Reopening reimbursable expenditures are expenses incurred during reopening to comply with Maryland and Montgomery County Covid-19 health regulations. Allowable expenses include, but are not limited to, the following:
- personal protective equipment
- materials to create barriers, dividers or protected areas
- contactless payment systems
- cleaning supplies
- signage
- outdoor furniture
- disposable food containers and utensils
Each eligible business and non-profit may be awarded up to $5,000 for reopening reimbursable expenditures. The award will be based on actual, verified expenses for each business and non-profit organization and will be administered through a rolling lottery system.
If you meet the requirements above, start collecting your receipts now. The application for this grant is set to open up in July. You can check with us for more info on the link when it is available.
Reopening in Montgomery County
If you are located in Montgomery County, MD, please ensure your business or non-profit is following this MC Reopening guidance and you have this
MC Mandatory Form
p
osted in your business or non-profit if you have already reopened in MC.
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New ED/WOSB & HUBZone Certification Requirements
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Did you know the Economically Disadvantaged/
Women-Owned Small Business (ED/WOSB) and Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) Federal Contracting Programs are changing as of July 15, 2020?
As a direct result of the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) being codified into law, SBA is strengthening oversight and maintaining the integrity of the WOSB Federal Contracting certification by updating their processes and procedures. SBA will launch new processes and procedures on July 15, 2020.
If you
have WOSB, EDWOSB and/or HUBZone Certification(s) or you qualify for the WOSB, EDWOSB and/or HUBZone Federal Contracting Programs, please read, to understand how these changes will impact you.
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WOSB or EDWOSB:
If you are already self-certified as a WOSB and/or EDWOSB or you plan to self-certify, starting on Wednesday 7/15/2020, please follow these instructions:
- Go to https://beta.certify.sba.gov/
- Complete the WOSB or EDWOSB Certification.
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If you are already certified as a WOSB or EDWOSB through a third party certifier or plan to certify, starting on Wednesday 7/15/2020, please follow these instructions:
- Contact the approved third party certifier of your choice and apply for WOSB or EDWOSB Certification.
- Once you receive your Certificate
- Go to https://beta.certify.sba.gov/
- Upload your WOSB or EDWOSB Certificate.
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HUBZONE:
If you are already certified as a HUBZone company or you need to be certified, starting on Wednesday 7/15/2020, please follow these instructions:
- Go to https://beta.certify.sba.gov/
- Complete the HUBZone Certification.
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Becoming certified for the Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) Federal Contracting Program means your business is eligible to compete for contracts that are set aside for WOSBs and EDWOSBs and sole-source federal contracts within eligible industries. New WOSB Federal Contracting Program regulations were published in the Federal Register on May 11, 2020, detailing changes to the certification process.
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V-GovCon Membership Site Launch
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We are launching our V-GovCon Membership site to provide access to our FREE, Aqua, and Tribe Members. Access will include training materials, sign-up for events, live learnings, Accounting services, and much more. Please join the waiting list to be the first to know when the website launches.
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V-GovCon Virtual BootCamp Summer 2020
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Our next
V-GovCon Virtual BootCamp
will be held for our new V-GovCon Aqua Members from June's Virtual Small Business Expo. We will combine 2.5 days into 7 hours and focus on the U.S. Federal Government Budget, Socio-economic Status for WOSB, EDWOSB, and HUBZone Certifications, DUNS updates, Federal Government Contracting application, a Federal Bid/Proposal Process, Provide a list of Current Procurements matching their NAICS codes, and How to respond to Bids.
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V-GovCon Virtual BootCamp Summer 2020
July 13, 2020 | 3:00 PM EDT - 6:00 PM EDT
July 14, 2020 | 3:00 PM EDT - 7:00 PM EDT
For V-GovCon Aqua Members ONLY
Via Zoom Conference
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V-GovCon Virtual BootCamp Fall 2020
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Seats are now open for our upcoming
V-GovCon Virtual BootCamp Fall 2020
. We will combine 2.5 days into 7 hours and focus on you applying to become U.S. Federal Contractor. We will also cover the U.S. Federal Government Budget, Socio-economic Status for WOSB, EDWOSB, and HUBZone Certifications, DUNS updates, and the Federal Bid/Proposal Process.
What do you gain?
A LIVE coach walking you through the complicated U.S. Federal Government Contractor application, a list of Federal clients who buy what you sell, a list of Current Procurement opportunities matching your primary NAICS code, and understanding on how to respond to Federal Bids.
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V-GovCon Virtual BootCamp Fall 2020
September 24, 2020 | 3:00 PM EDT - 6:00 PM EDT
September 25, 2020 | 3:00 PM EDT - 7:00 PM EDT
Via Zoom Conference
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V-PMC at the Virtual Small Business Expo
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COVID-19 restricted us from traveling across the United States and meeting small business owners face to face. However, it did not stop us from meeting with you online and to show how we can help you
Gain Access to over $500 Billion in Government Contracting
.
At our Booth, we chatted with many attendees and gave insight about applying for the PPP loan, EIDL, other State and Local Government funding, and, most importantly, how to become a Federal Government Contractor during COVID-19.
We also provided crucial accounting system advice for businesses during COVID-19. V-PMC provides accounting service packages for small business, Government Contractors or otherwise.
Thanks to everyone who attended the Virtual Small Business Expo and stopped by to chat with us.
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Virtual Small Business Expo V-PMC Booth
June 10-11, 2020 | 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM EDT
Online - Free Admission
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COVID-19 Government Contract$: Get Paid
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Varetta Huggins, Your Government Contracting Expert, hosted a workshop titled "
COVID-19 Government Contract$: Get Paid
" at the June
Virtual Small Business Expo.
During COVID-19, U.S. Federal Government is
OPEN
and they are buying everything. Are you ready to $ell your good$ and $ervices to the
#1 Consumer in the World?
This workshop will equip you with the best tools & techniques to understand “
HOW
” to do Government Contracting and what you need to get your small business ready to "GET PAID" by the U.S. Federal Government.
A big thank you goes to everyone who attended the workshop live during the Virtual Small Business Expo. The audience response to the event was incredible.
Another big thank you goes to those who solicited our services as a result of the workshop.
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Varetta Huggins, Your Government Contracting Expert
Virtual Small Business Expo - Workshop Speaker
June 11, 2020 | 9:15 AM - 10:00 AM EDT
Online - Free Admission
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