Alaska's 8(a) association opens doors of opportunities to minority groups: program goes on road to help others in Lower 48.

• Author: Komancheck, Wendy
• Position: SMALL BUSINESS

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

The Alaska 8(a) Association became incorporated as a 501c 6 Trade Association in 1998, and since then has gained momentum. Alaska's 8(a) program began as a weeklong pilot program in Girdwood, hosted by the Small Business Administration, the University of Alaska Anchorage and Howard University, and the 28 8(a) contractors discussed creating an association to unify 8(a) contractors.

The association now has 75 member, said Ron Perry, the president of the board of directors and one of the organization's founding members.

"My local company, Microware Inc., was 8(a)-certified in 1997, and (it) graduated in 2006," he said. "The program did exactly what it was intended to do. It took me a couple of years to get my first 8(a) contract. The average (time period) is 2.5 years for a first 8(a) contract. I did a few small, local jobs, and then I got an opportunity to do a multi-state job with the Veterans Administration. It's this experience that's allowed me to cut my teeth in the federal space."

WHAT IS THE SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION'S (SBA) 8(A) PROGRAM?

According to the SBA's Web site, the 8(a) Business Development Program "named for a section of the Small Business Act, is a business development program created to help small, disadvantaged businesses compete in the American economy and access the federal procurement market."

Applicants, hoping to belong to the SBA 8(a) program in their region, need to be "unconditionally owned and controlled by one or more socially and economically disadvantaged individuals; and must demonstrate potential for success," according to the SBA.

Once the owners have met all of the above requirements, they can apply to become part of the program by calling their local SBA district office. The business owners will then either have a telephone interview with a SBA representative or attend an 8(a) orientation workshop--if available in the owners' region.

Eligible 8(a) companies are in the program for nine years, with the first four years called the "developmental stage." The second stage of the program is called the "transitional stage," which takes five years to complete. During the developmental stage, the local 8(a) association helps "the 8(a) certified firms to overcome their economic disadvantage by providing business-development assistance. The transitional stage is designed to help participants overcome the remaining elements of economic disadvantage and to prepare participants to leave the...