New Jersey Chief Information Officer and Chief Technology Officer Charles S. Dawson opened the event, welcoming nearly 100 small business representatives and more than 20 large businesses.  He said the event, now in its third year, has been incredibly successful.  The event was preceded by four “Partnering With You” sessions throughout the state.  These sessions educated small businesses on the state procurement process and the value of networking.

“This is truly a wonderful opportunity for small and large businesses to gain valuable contacts that can lead to rewarding working relationships,” said Dawson.

Leslie Sorel, liaison for many of Hewlett Packard’s diversity initiatives, spoke about her company’s efforts in supplier diversity.  Sorel said HP is the top company in supplier diversity nationally.  She said the company has accomplished this through business matchmaking and a multi-cultural procurement and sales support program.  Last year, HP contracted $560 million to minority- and women-owned business across all sectors of industry.

Sorel then introduced HP partner Rodney Evans, owner of Skyline Connections.  Skyline Connections was recently ranked number three among the top 100 fastest growing businesses by Inc. magazine.  Evans stressed the importance of certification and taking advantage of women- or minority-owned status.  He encouraged businesses to create niche products and warned against becoming overly reliant on single contracts.

“A large, single contract gives you a chance to grow through a steady flow of money,” said Evans.  “But if it’s 50 percent of your income, you can be cut off at any time.  You should always wake up scared.”

In a dynamic, informative presentation, Laura Lovell-Scercy, president and CEO of HP Solutions, Inc., a high-powered end-user software training and consulting firm located in Princeton, presented the small business perspective.  In starting up their businesses, she advised the audience to get certified, define their market, and know how to sell themselves.  She suggested using a “spider” approach to gain multiple points of entry into a large company with whom they would like to partner.  She also stressed the importance of following up on contacts as soon as possible.

After conclusion of the presentations, attendees participated in a “cheese and crackers” networking session where each small business representative had time to meet with representatives from the large IT companies. 

In addition, there was a “resource room” with information on how to do business with government and large companies.  Experts were on hand from the New Jersey Commerce, Economic Growth, and Tourism Commission, New Jersey Department of the Treasury, New Jersey Judiciary, the New Jersey Small Business Development Centers, and local government.  Robin Fogel of Robin Fogel Associates, LLC coached attendees on the art of introduction.

The New Jersey Office of Information Technology (OIT) hosted Contacts for Contracts on Tuesday, October 25, 2005, at the Westin Princeton, Forrestal Village in Princeton, NJ.  Partnering with OIT in hosting the event were Government Technology magazine, the New Jersey Commerce, Economic Growth, and Tourism Commission, New Jersey Department of the Treasury, the New Jersey Judiciary, and the New Jersey Small Business Development Centers.