GSAR Case 2006-G501; GSA mentor Protege Program (Comment #4)

To Whomever It May Concern: ITSC is a woman-owned small business established in March 2005. Having been in the small business arena for over three years, I can appreciate the merits and possibilities the GSA Mentor-Protégé Program may offer to small businesses. Even though it is a huge undertaking for any small businesses, ITSC managed to obtain both GSA IT70 and MOBIS Schedules. As a small business, the amount of expenditure (time and resources) it takes to complete the applications is a large investment. After having obtained the GSA Schedules, I am now learning that the “obtaining” part was easy compared to marketing these schedules. Most of Federal and DoD agencies have their own ID/IQ (Indefinite Quantity) contracts and, agencies encourage their buyers to use their own contract vehicles rather than using GSA Schedules. With these challenges, many small businesses like ITSC will not get much traction in selling/using GSA Schedules without some help. I believe this GSA Mentor-Protégé Program may provide the right incentive to encourage large and small businesses to work together to achieve a common business goal. It will encourage large businesses to invest in small businesses by giving a helping hand toward sustainable business entity. In return, as small businesses become successful in winning work, the large businesses will get a share of that success. Appreciate the opportunity to comment on this important rule. Myong Jensen President ITSC