Yesterday California 16^thDistrict Congresswoman, Zoe Lofgren, hosted a Federal Contracting Opportunities Workshop at the San Jose City Hall.The workshop was well attended by the Silicon Valley small business community; represented were companies from various industries including the software, renewable and telecom industries.   A focus of the workshop was selling green to the Government. SunWize Senior Commercial Project Manager, Orion Bashkiroff was invited to sit on the panel at the workshop. He spoke about his experiences contracting with small businesses on large-scale solar power projects completed for the Federal Government and explained how small business can work with SunWize.“I think it is important for small business owners to be made aware of these opportunities so I was delighted to be here today,” said Bashkiroff.

Key tips for small businesses from the workshop:

• Do your homework. There is a lot of work available, especially in the renewable industries. The businesses that will be awarded these jobs are going to be the ones who can follow the process for bidding.
• Attend local workshops. There is major push right now to make government projects more accessible to small businesses. Check with your local Small Business Agency (SBA) branch or visit some of the links below to find out more.
• Spend some time on the GSA website or consider attending an “Opening Doors” convention. There are several of these large conferences happening in various states. The purpose is to introduce small businesses to larger businesses to facilitate sub contracting relationships.