Free counseling service available in Southwest Missouri

The purpose of the Missouri Procurement Technical Assistance Center (MO PTAC) is to help businesses perform in the area of government contracting at the federal, state and local levels according to Allen Waldo, procurement counselor.

Something to remember when thinking about getting into the governmental marketplace is that governmental entities literally buy about everything.

“I see some unusual government solicitations like taking care of the Army Mule mascot at West Point, a beached sea turtle vet in Hawaii, bagpipe instructors for military funerals, and crickets to feed to animals at the Dickerson Park Zoo in Springfield,” said Waldo.

MO PTAC is funded by the Department of Defense through a cooperative grant from the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) according to Allen Waldo, procurement counselor.

The Springfield office is part of the University of Missouri Extension’s Business Development Program and is physically located with the MSU Small Business Technology and Business Development Center (SBTDC) in the Plaster Center for Free Enterprise Building (eFactory) on N Jefferson Avenue, Springfield

According to Waldo, roughly one-half of the active clients (over 100 locally) for the Springfield office are located in Greene County or a county directly adjacent.  These businesses include construction companies, IT companies, interior design firms, architectural firms, engineering firms, manufacturing companies, and various retail/service companies among others. 

MO PTAC services include registrations to do business with both the federal government and the state of Missouri and assistance with obtaining  socio economic certifications including minority owned, woman owned, veteran owned, and HUBZone.  In addition, MO PTAC services can assist businesses in researching governmental opportunities and in marketing their products/services to the government. 

Generally, MO PTAC can offer professional counseling in just about every area of government contracting.  As they are taxpayer funded, all counseling services are at no cost to their clients. 

This is a very important distinction as there are many commercial firms that will charge as an example over $600 to complete a System for Award Management (SAM) registration that MO PTAC can assist a client with at no cost in usually an hour or less time. 

“Consider Missouri PTAC as your local professional resource ready to assist local businesses who are considering or currently selling to governmental entities,” said Waldo.

Waldo admits that sometimes before meeting with a company for the first time he has doubts about their product or the service actually being purchased by the government.

“What I have found is that many times after sitting and talking with them, we have developed a plan on how they can best approach the government,” said Waldo.

Waldo can be contacted at the Robert Plaster Center for Free Enterprise at 417-837-2612 or by email at waldoaj@missouri.edu.

Small businesses are assisted through MU Extension’s business development specialists and regional Small Business & Technology Development Centers (SBTDC).  For more information or assistance related to a current or future business, contact one of the three Small Business and Technology Development Centers in southwest Missouri: Missouri State University in Springfield at (417) 836-5685 or Missouri State University in West Plains at (417) 256-9724.