Finding New Markets and Customers 

Government Procurement Sites
Many small businesses miss out on government contracts due to lack of timely information about them. The Internet can help level the playing field and give small businesses a chance to compete for these contracts. FedBizOpps.gov is "the single government point-of-entry for Federal government procurement opportunities over $25,000." It has replaced the listings that formerly appeared in Commerce Business Daily.

Many government agencies have webpages listing their needs or typical purchases. For example, the Department of the Treasury website includes a guide to How to Do Business with Treasury. The report includes the product or service purchased, number of purchases, dollar amount, and percent to small businesses. The Department's Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization "assists, counsels, and advises small businesses of all types (small businesses, small disadvantaged business, women-owned small businesses, veteran owned small businesses, service disabled veteran owned small businesses, and small businesses located in historically underutilized business zones) on procedures for contracting with Treasury."

Sites worth visiting include: GovernmentBids and GovCon. GovernmentBids offers inexpensive updates for targeted business opportunities. The site's section on bidding summarizes the steps you need to take to sell to the federal government. The Federal Marketplace offers assistance to businesses selling to the federal government.

Many state and local government agencies also provide information about current bids on their websites. To find a specific government agency, try the State and Local Government on the Net website.

Note: Google US Government Search is the best search engine for finding government information at the federal level. USA.gov has spawned a number of useful federal government websites for businesses. It's search engine is more comprehensive than Google's but not as easy to use.