Maracell Peterkin, small business owner, was excited to get her first contract as a small business owner. Not long after the award, the contract was breached and she was left holding a bag but the bag was filled with bills, worries and regrets instead of money. Terms and Conditions are oftentimes negotiable but not always. What's important to know …

This week Yolanda discusses the benefits of government contracting, how it works and agency scorecards. The US government is the largest customer in the world. It buys all types of products and services. Understanding what agencies are setting aside portions of their budgets for small business procurement is key to developing a procurement strategy…

In this week's Ready, Set, Procure! The Podcast Yolanda discusses how to get in the procurement game by emerging yourself in the small business procurement world via news, newsletters, Reddit, Social Media, etc. Yolanda shares an article on The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) has exceed it's DOD small business procurement goals for the last ten (10)…

Yolanda shares one of her favorite procurement sites for small businesses. Check out this gem called the Small Business Procurement Power Page by clicking here: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/oasam/centers-offices/office-of-the-senior-procurement-executive/office-of-small-and-disadvantaged-business-utilization/procurement-information There's a wealth…

In this episode, Yolanda interviews Gregory Grant. Mr. Grant is the Assistant Director of Special Programs at the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at UNF. He is also an Adjunct Instructor at: The University of North Florida Florida State College at Jacksonville Trinity Baptist College Greg is also a serial entrepreneur and he formerly owned…

Yolanda discusses the importance of reading and understanding every contract before you sign it. She tells a personal story about enlightening her loan officer about an optional section of a contract. Yolanda also shares a story about general business etiquette that one of her colleagues shared on Facebook. The story Yolanda shares drives home the …

Episode 2 This episode of Ready, Set, Procure digs into the beginning stages of developing a procurement strategy. It answers the question what is procurement strategy, advises the research and information you will need to capture while conducting market research and we talk about the different types of government solicitations. For more Ready, Set…

Ready, Set, Procure! is a procurement training program designed to answer the procurement questions of a small business owner and assist them with creating a Procurement Strategy that is unique to their business and that will help them increase revenue and profit margin.By Yolanda M. Tucker, MBA CTL