UW and SBA Host Virtual Workshop on Mentor-Protégé Program Sept. 14

For many small-business owners, having mentors help navigate government contracting and grow their businesses could help them avoid certain pitfalls.

Kanika Perkins, Deb Farris and Aikta Marcoulier will discuss the subject during a joint Wyoming Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Network and U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) virtual workshop titled “SBA’s Mentor-Protégé Program and Joint Venture Virtual Workshop” Thursday, Sept. 14, from noon-1 p.m. To register, go here. Registration is free.

The Wyoming SBDC Network offers business expertise to help Wyoming residents think about, launch, grow, reinvent or exit their business. The Wyoming SBDC Network is hosted by the University of Wyoming with state funds from the Wyoming Business Council and funded, in part, through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. SBA.

In this workshop, attendees will learn from an experienced government contractor through the U.S. SBA Mentor-Protégé Program. Protégés can receive valuable business development help from their mentors in several areas. These include:

-- Guidance on internal business management systems, accounting, marketing, manufacturing and strategic planning.

-- Financial assistance in the form of equity investments, loans and bonding.

-- Assistance navigating federal contract bidding, acquisition and the federal procurement process.

-- Education about international trade, strategic planning and finding markets.

-- Business development, including strategy and identifying contracting and partnership opportunities.

-- General and administrative assistance, such as human resource sharing or security clearance support.

Perkins is deputy director of the SBA Mentor-Protégé Program; Farris is deputy district director for the Wyoming SBA; and Marcoulier is an SBA regional administrator.

For more information, call Maureen Johnson, marketing, communication and database manager for the Wyoming SBDC Network, at (307) 343-0925 or email mjohn125@uwyo.edu.