Asian American business owners have been successful obtaining a higher amount of federal contract dollars than average, a recent survey shows.

According to the survey, 44% of Asian American small business contractors have won more than $10 million in federal contracts, compared to 21% of all small business contractors. 81% of them have also generated $1 million or more in revenue, compared to the average of 65%.

Asian business owners are shown to own larger than average businesses, with nearly half of them (39%) employing 50 or more people, compared to 24% of all active small business contractors.

This data is from a survey released recently by American Express OPEN, the small business division of American Express financial services company.

The survey also showed Asian American business owners place a higher value on developing relationships–both with other small businesses and with government agencies.

“Asian Americans are much more likely to team with other small businesses and perform as subcontractors, achieving greater success than they could by themselves,” says Julie Weeks, American Express OPEN Research Advisor. “They also tend to place more value on their relationships with federal agencies, including the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization.”

Asian American Doña Storey is President and CEO of Quality Technical Services, Inc., a preferred vendor based in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Her company works with the Department of Defense, as well as many other government agencies. She considers relationships with mentors to also be crucial to successful government contracting.

Storey explains: “By far the greatest key to my success was networking with and being mentored by other successful federal contractors. Their willingness to share and mentor filled the gap in knowledge. You can find mentors by getting involved in Give Me 5 (www.giveme5.com) - an educational program created by Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP) and American Express OPEN.”

“I had also operated a successful company for many years before entering the federal sector,” she adds. “I was, therefore, able to maximize the lessons from my generous mentors.”

Businesswomen

In related news, 400 women gathered at the “Give Me 5” luncheon presented by WIPP last month to celebrate the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) establishment of the Women-Owned Small Business Federal Contract Program. The program includes 83 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes that went into effect on February 4.

These codes provide equal access to federal contracting opportunities for women-owned small businesses (WOSBs) and economically disadvantaged women-owned small businesses (EDWOSBs). The program requires contracting officers to set aside specific federal contracts for certified WOSBs and EDWOSBs.

The codes were issued in response to a campaign headed by a WIPP-organized consortium of professional women’s organizations.

The campaign, “Give me 5%,” aimed to motivate the SBA to establish intelligent regulations that would implement legislation first passed in the 1990s, requiring agencies to allocate 23% of their contract dollars to small businesses, of which 5% would be earmarked for women-owned small businesses.

To further assist women-owned small businesses, SBA Administrator Karen Mills met with 13 local women entrepreneurs during a roundtable discussion held in Baltimore on March 8.

“I grew up in an era when women were working hard to break barriers and start businesses in industries that they never did before. What we do for women business owners is personally important to me, because I’ve owned a business myself, and I’ve helped other women start and grow theirs,” says Mills.

She adds: “That’s why it was such a treat to meet with some women small business owners at our Women’s Business Center in Baltimore. It was great to hear their stories and to share recent news, such as the new women’s contracting program that we just rolled-out.”

On April 6, the SBA Baltimore District Office is presenting a free WOSB Federal Contracting Workshop to help guide businesswomen through the details of the new Women-Owned Small Business Federal Contract Program. The event will be held at the Howard County Center for Business and Technology Development in Columbia, Maryland.

On April 11, the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development will offer a seminar to assist women business owners with identifying new contracting opportunities. This event will be held at the BWI Airport Marriot in Linthicum, Maryland. Registration fee for the workshop is $55.

For more information about small business, visit www.sba.gov or contact the SBA Baltimore Office at 410-962-6195.