Hey business owners, listen up! One of my friends forwarded me information regarding the Brownstone Institute Classes, so I decided to attend the first session just to find out what it was all about. Any platforms that cater to small businesses always peek my interest so I decided to find out more about these classes. Brownstone is offering small businesses the opportunity to get information on how they can get in on some of these city and state bids that are available.

For example, lets say Medical University is building a new Children’s wing and they are currently looking for a company that can come in and paint, or perhaps they are looking for a janitorial service to come in and clean up after construction. Many of these bids range from thousands to millions of dollars. Brownstone has decided to provide YOU, the small business, with the tools that you need to be able to bid on some of the opportunities available throughout the state and city.

So here’s the deal, I’ve attended many seminars throughout the area and there are many great programs out there. During the first session of the Brownstone Institute the information that was covered in a one-night session seemed to be pretty thorough. Not only was the President of Brownstone in attendance, but he had all of his staffers there as well. The speaker of the night was Gary, who is currently employed at the SCDOT. Gary’s job is to make sure that the small business applying for bids are in compliance and, that these businesses represent Disadvantage Businesses, which include women and minority businesses. Gary provided details on what prevents many businesses from being able to apply for bids and some of the issues we can avoid that make it difficult to win a bid through the state. Gary also informed the class of the certifications needed that would put them at the top of the list when selecting businesses.

The session also included walking business owners through some of the state supported websites that list hundreds of jobs and bids. The Brownstone institute instructors said many of the complaints from business owners are that there are no jobs available. They explained that jobs are plentiful, however small businesses have not positioned themselves to become eligible to apply for these bids.

So far, there has been only one session, but the Brownstone Institute is encouraging people to still come out and sign up if you have a small business. Based on the class that I observed, I will definately be attending. I believe this is a rare opportunity for business owners to (1) gather together and network with other businesses (2) network with actual decision makers and (3) get this type of information FOR FREE.

I hope you guys take advantage of this! Let’s get it!
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