FROM BBQ TO HAY, NBDC APEX ACCELERATOR OPENS DOOR TO UNIQUE GOVERNMENT CONTRACTING OPPORTUNITIES

Government contracting opportunities extend well beyond the Department of Defense or the U.S. Corps of Engineers, and the time to prepare to bid on these valuable opportunities is before a turndown in the economy.

“Many business owners think of the obvious services or products the government buys, but those opportunities extend to some very unique and unusual products and commodities,” says Veronica Doga, program director of the NBDC APEX Accelerator program, formerly the Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC). “Every company should think about government contracting when it comes to diversification and an additional source of revenue.”

NBDC APEX Accelerator consultants are credentialed business advisers with academic degrees and professional certifications, including Certified Verification Counselor (CVC) and Certified Procurement Professional (CPP).

Each day, APEX Accelerator consultants work with entrepreneurs and small business owners to establish and update the regulatory paperwork required for government contracting, such as the System for Awards Management (SAM) registration. They also help business owners apply for certifications that may provide an edge when competing for contracts earmarked for certain business types, such as minority-owned (socially and economically disadvantaged), woman-owned, service disabled veteran-owned, or HUBZone small businesses.

The Nebraska APEX Accelerator assisted businesses that in 2022 accounted for more than $133 million in government contracts. Examples of businesses helped over the past several years is extensive and varied:

• A diversified, sustainable agriculture enterprise located near Sargent that incorporates production of livestock (cattle and goats), prescriptive goat grazing, and the production and sale of quality hay has found success contracting goat grazing services to federal agencies. Owned by a service disabled veteran, the farm operation has relied upon APEX Accelerator advice to secure contracts with the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture, including a five-year goat grazing contract

“EVERY COMPANY SHOULD THINK ABOUT GOVERNMENT CONTRACTING WHEN IT COMES TO DIVERSIFICATION AND AN ADDITIONAL SOURCE OF REVENUE.”

“NO BOOTS IN THE GRAIN” IS THE MISSION OF GRAIN WEEVIL, AN AURORA, NEB. COMPANY DEVELOPING A ROBOT TO ELMINATE THE DANGEROUS JOB OF SENDING FARMERS INTO GRAIN BINS.