Category: In The News

Each year the U.S. government procures goods and services from businesses like yours totaling more than $500 Billion! Some of that money needs to be spent on companies manufacturing goods and providing services in west central and northwest Ohio. Our goal at the Rhodes State College Northwest Ohio Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) is to educate, train and encourage businesses to be successful in government contracting at the federal, state and/or local level.

Most small businesses need help in understanding the process of contracting with government agencies: how to start, what is needed, where to find opportunities and how to bid.  We work one-on-one with each client, often in person– and all of our services are free.  This PTAC is funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Defense
Logistics Agency, Ohio Development Services Agency and Rhodes State College.

Our services help with:

• Identifying potential agencies that buy your goods/services
• Obtaining Free Bid-Match Service
• Finding Federal/State/Local agency bid opportunities as a prime or sub-contractor
• Completing the necessary registrations to sell to the government. entities
• Assessing eligibility and complete certifications for small business preference categories such as
  8(a), HUBZone, Veteran, and Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned, Woman-Owned, minority business Enterprise (MBE), Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) and Encouraging Diversity,
  Growth & Equity (EDGE)
• Developing sales and marketing strategies geared toward government customers
• Understanding solicitations and assist with the bid proposal process
• Recommending training workshops on specific contracting topics

In general, PTAC services are geared towards established companies who have been in business for at least a year and have over $25,000 in average annual sales. If you are interested in putting another tool in your toolbox to increase your company’s sales and profitability, please take a moment to register as a new PTAC client at:
http://ptac.rhodesstate.edu/
Click on CLIENT REGISTRATION (along with the top of the webpage) and then complete as much of the information as possible. If you don’t know something, leave it blank. Then scroll to the bottom of the
page and hit SUBMIT. When your registration is received you will get a phone call to set a date and time to meet to determine if government contracting is a marketplace you would like to develop.

Let’s bring more of your tax dollars back to west central and northwest Ohio!

Kent Kahn
Northwest Ohio PTAC Coordinator
Workforce, Economic Development, and Continuing Education
Keese Hall 141
4240 Campus Drive
Lima, Ohio 45804

Lima’s Growth Continues

In 2014, the Columbus Dispatch ran a story debating which economy, Columbus or Cleveland, was more vibrant. In the article, it stated that “Lima showed the strongest growth last year in Ohio at 7.9 percent, led by a strong boost in manufacturing. That growth rate was the ninth largest in the
country.” Great news for Lima; unfortunately, those two sentences were the last lines of the article! 

The good news was that Lima’s growth didn’t go unnoticed by Governor, John Kasich. Local growth led him to do his State of the State address at Memorial Hall in Lima that year. Since others have noticed Lima as well and as a place for growth and to conduct business.

If anybody’s keeping score, a couple of thousand jobs were or are in process of being created: with a couple of hundred new jobs each, give-or-take, at Dana Corporation, P&G, General Dynamics, Pratt Industries, Airstream, and Husky. In addition, Mercy Health St. Rita’s is adding a graduate medical education program that will add one-hundred medical students doing their residency programs here.

This growth is the byproduct of good infrastructure namely, the Lima/Allen County Chamber of Commerce, Allen Economic Development Corporation and Greater Lima Region, Inc. Additionally, Ohio Means Jobs, Maker Fest, and other organizations are helping to let our youth and outside the industry to know that available jobs (1,200 at present) are available right here at home.
This is exciting to witness along with the growing pride that we make things in Lima. We make Ford engines, Honda subframes, the Abrams tank, gasoline, most of the liquid Tide and among other things for goodness sake, all the NFL’s footballs in America, are made right here in our region.

Written by: David Murphy

Many members will say they invest in the Chamber to network and increase exposure for their business. It’s well known that the Chamber programs are well attended by a diverse group of business leaders. But how do you determine if you are meeting your target market? Have you reviewed your business plan to understand your ideal customers and the most effective way to increase your market share?

We realize business leaders are busy with the day to day operation of running your business. When you take time out of the office to attend an event, you want to make sure your networking is giving you the results you are seeking. The Chamber has aligned our programs to a specific audience that provides effective use of your time.

The quarterly Women in Business luncheon draws over 100 women from a wide variety of businesses – both large and small. Marketing to women has become very focused as they tend to be the primary decision maker in many areas, such as health care, wellness, and home purchases. The addition of a leadership development segment provides an educational component.

The all new Chamber University targets human resource managers and small business owners/managers. Workforce is the number one issue facing business leaders. This program will present valuable information on human resource topics and will provide a venue for you to network with those individuals making decisions related to their personnel and benefit packages.

Lima Young Professionals caters to the 40 and under business leaders and provides many opportunities for mentoring, community education, volunteerism, and leadership development. They represent a unique group of potential clients who are in the early stages of investing in real estate, cars, finances, and numerous products that allow you to build long-term working relationships.

These are just a few brief examples of ways for you to find new clients. If you need more information on how the Lima/Allen County Chamber of Commerce can assist you in connecting with your target market, contact Cindy Tenwalde at tenwalde@limachamber.com or 419-236-8090. We want to learn more about your business and how you can get the greatest value on your investment in your Chamber.