Monday, April 17

Nearly four hundred participants, exhibits attend The Land-Grant Campus 13th Annual ‘Connecting Businesses with Contracts’ Procurement Conference


Baton Rouge, La.Nearly four hundred current and potential small business owners, major prime companies, along with federal, state and local government agencies attended the Land-Grant Campus’ 13th Annual ‘Connecting Businesses with Contracts’ Procurement Conference.
                                     
The event, which was held in Southern University’s Smith-Brown Memorial Student Union on April 11, provides a venue for individuals to learn about the resources that are available through federal, state and local government agencies and prime companies.

This year’s conference featured a procurement panel discussion and several informative sessions on business tax strategies and financial management, employee and performance management, the anatomy of winning bids, the five P’s for more effective marketing, construction law and how to protect yourself, how to obtain and maintain a contractor’s license and transparency: a true story of a millennial business owner.
                                                                                                                                                             
SU alum and retired Lt. General Russel Honoré served as the guest speaker for the conference.

During his speech, Honoré touched on Hurricane Katrina, the Great Flood of 2016, business and family leadership, entrepreneurship, and resilience.

“Going into business should be about solving other peoples’ problems. Using that strategy will result in several streams of income.  You must be prepared to qualify for contracts with the government,” said Honoré. 

“They do not pick people from the street to receive contracts when disaster strikes. In business, doing what has value rather than what is cheap ensures that you will get repeat business from a client. Treat your clients like your patients, connected with a lifeline,” he added.

The procurement conference was co-sponsored by the Center for Rural and Small Business Development at the Land-Grant Campus; the U. S. Small Business Administration; America’s Louisiana Small Business Development Center at Southern University; Louisiana Economic Development (LED), Louisiana Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) and Goodwork Network.

Photos from the procurement conference are available here.

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