Outreach: Opportunities for Disadvantaged Businesses
As part of our social obligation, and pursuant to many RFP requirements to provide contracting opportunities to all qualified disadvantaged firms, the Bernard Johnson Group’s on-going plan for encouraging and seeking participation by small & disadvantaged businesses, minority & woman owned businesses, veteran owned businesses and other certified and qualified disadvantaged business entities includes utilizing recognized private and public web sites specializing in maintaining a database of qualified & certified SBE, MBE, WBE, DBE & DVBE owned business enterprises.
Formal documented enquiries are made via email and direct contact phone calls, leading to a formal request via email for a statement of qualifications (S.O.Q.), resumes, and copies of all certifications, in addition to a request to submit a form “Letter of Intent” to bid/propose, or form an alliance partnership. All of these contacts are documented and catalogued in a contact and phone log database and form a readily available reference for commercial partnership activity when the Bernard Johnson Group actively seeks and solicits work through an RFP or RFQ solicitation and response-to-bid process to private companies or government organizations and agencies.
Our outreach effort/plan consists of developing a database which includes all pertinent data gathered from various media networks and professional organizations as well as additional information maintained by the Bernard Johnson Group’s internal database of S.O.Q.’s, resumes and personal contact data, and networking within the disadvantage business community at large.
Bernard Johnson, President & CEO of the Bernard Johnson Group, a certified SBE, MBE, & DBE corporation, currently sits on the Cal-Trans Small Business Council, the State of California Black Business Contractors Association, and other minority and disadvantaged business task forces. Through these contacts Mr. Johnson is constantly engaged in promoting minority and woman owned and small & disadvantaged businesses, in an effort to increase their participation, broaden their business capabilities through mentoring, provide businesses opportunities through networking & partnering in pursuit of new business, and developing permanent alliance partnerships for engaging in future commercial activities. Mr. Johnson’s day-to-day business activities include a constant ongoing dialogue, via email and personal phone contact, with other members of the disadvantaged business owners community in an effort to broaden and diversify contracting and consulting opportunities for certified SBE, DVBE, MBE, WBE & DBE business owners with government agencies and private corporations.
Both the Bernard Johnson Group, in concert with our alliance partner Englobal Corporation, are active in the International Right of Way Association, whose activities include furthering business opportunities for disadvantaged businesses through mentoring and providing professional performance enhancement business workshops.
EnGlobal Corporation’s commitment and dedication to forming alliance partnerships with disadvantaged small businesses has resulted in designing formal professional instructional courses and materials. Working closely with the IRWA in formulating standards for performance, process plans for performing ROW and Land Acquisition work, coupled with the development of a system of procedures and metrics to gauge the overall effectiveness of performed work, serves to enhance and increase the overall profile and capabilities of SBE, MBE, WBE, DBE and DVBE business entrepreneurs in the Land Acquisition and Right of Way profession.