Are you thinking about starting a business? In the Oct 31st, 2017 edition of Forbes, Stephen Hetzel shared some lessons learned, along with 11 tips for success.

In 2009, venture capital was difficult to attain without having substantial assets or a proven track record in starting businesses. My business partner and I faced a dilemma in starting our company: We could continue searching for capital to launch or we could bootstrap it ourselves. We opted to bootstrap because we were excited about our vision and had confidence that it was something of value.

At the time, we made a number of choices that enabled our success. Some of these we still operate on today, while other lessons we've been able to outgrow as we scaled: [Herein are Stephen's suggestions]

Was the crystal ball working? As we all turned the page of the calendar to 2017, we predicted that the new Administration in the White House would result in an increase in government purchasing activity. Throughout his campaign, on multiple occasions, in front of a number of groups, Donald Trump had discussed the need for improving the U.S. infrastructure. Halfway through the year, and by many accounts the plans are moving forward.

Greg DiLoreto, from the American Socieity of Civil Engineers (ASCE), visited 'The Big Bid Theory' and discussed the urgent need for taking action. The ASCE issued the U.S. an overall grade of D+ on infrastructure. As infrastructure projects come in, the need for construction equipment grows. In multiple cases, public sector entities require their own new equipment and repair and maintenance of existing assets.

What is the overall health of the construction equipment industry? As reported by Statista, "By 2017, the global construction equipment market is estimated to be sized at around 192 billion U.S. dollars." Elsewhere in their analysis, they project that U.S. gross machinery manufacturing gross output will be at $42.61bn USD.

Specific to U.S. government agencies, we researched the purchasing activity for the below types of equipment:

Cranes Forklifts Dump Trucks Excavators Backhoe Loaders Compactors Skid-steer Loaders Motor Graders Scrapers Bulldozers Telehandlers Trenchers Some of the purchasing data, by type of equipment, for past 12 months:

Sample active bids / RFPs

Construction Equipment

Overhead Crane Services, FL Forklifts, VA Notice to Bidders - Dump Trucks, NJ Hydraulic Excavator, SC Backhoe Loader, AL

Construction equipment is needed the world over. Most assuredly, that includes the U.S. public sector with their notable, consistent demand. Are you and your construction equipment business positioned to identify any, and all, of these opportunities? Since we monitor over 110,000 government websites, and through our other connections, we know about them.

To review the requests for construction equipment, and specifications, call us at 888.808.5356, or visit our website at www.BidPrime.com

Have you heard? Discussion, argument, and uncertainty, on the state of healthcare in the U.S., continues to materialize in the kitchens, news mediums, social media platforms and talk shows throughout this country. Because it impacts each one of us, we should all stay tuned to witness the impassioned debate and to see how things turn out.

While there is much disagreement on which direction the U.S. should go on healthcare, there is one thing in which we can all agree. When it comes to an effective employee benefits program, healthcare is just one piece of an extensive puzzle. As the employee benefits program administrator at BidPrime, I have had a front row seat to the changes over the years, including the adjustments in employee expectations.

Regardless if you are a seasoned benefits professional, or are efforting towards improving your employee benefits program, it is advisable to stay abreast on the latest. Last week, and it's fitting since this is National Small Business Week, smallbizdaily published Rieva Lesonsky's report, 'Are You Ready for the New Age of Employee Benefits?'

Back in September, 2015, you may have read my report, 'Government Bid Requests for Human Resources Consulting, Compensation Assessment, Equity Studies'. While there are still many 100's of requests per year for those specialties, close to two years later, benefits management solutions and services are also needed by U.S. government agencies. Why would government agencies need assistance with employee benefits? Back on September 2nd, 2016, csnnews.com noted, "Federal, state and local government employed 22,213,000 people in August, while the manufacturing sector employed 12,281,000." 22+ million employees equals a lot of benefits offering decisions and enrollment activity.

With that many employees to manage, and to provide benefits, the scope of the following data isn't all that surprising.

View this deck for some of the solicitation/RFP data.

Sample active bids / RFPs

Employee Benefits

Employee Benefits Broker, MO Healthcare Benefits Consulting Services, NY Pharmacy Benefits Manager, AR Employee Benefits Brokerage & Consulting Services, FL Employee Benefits and Payroll Services, IL

If your business provides employee benefits management solutions or services, or you are an expert in the field, there are innumerable opportunities in the public sector. You have seen a bit of the data from our database. Over the past 365 days, U.S. federal, state, and local government agencies submitted a whopping 3,055 relevant bid requests. Is there opportunity for you?

To review these solicitations/RFPs, and others, please call us at 888.808.5356, or see our website: BidPrime.