Listen to “#617 How More Women-Owned Businesses Can Secure Federal Contracts” on Spreaker.
On this episode of The Small Business Radio Show…
SEGMENT 1 with Ingrid Vanderveldt, starting at 0:00: We have a real problem in the U.S. around supplier diversity and the significant discrepancy between allocated spend on women-owned businesses. What can these businesses do to secure more contracts to close the gap?
SEGMENT 2 with Steve Shwartz, starting at 20:30: Since artificial intelligence has become the latest tech buzzword, do we have reason to worry that the depictions of evil robots and killer computers we see in the movies will soon be a reality?
SEGMENT 3 with Katelyn Hamilton, starting at 37:00: Where a lot of small business owners fall down is setting up processes and automating the backend of their business and they don’t realize how much this is costing them. Where is the best place to start?
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More on each segment below.
Segment 1: Ingrid Vanderveldt (iV) is the Chairman and CEO of Empowering a Billion Women (EBW). Previously, she was the first Entrepreneur-in-Residence for Dell Inc. where she oversaw entrepreneurial initiatives worldwide helping to build a $250 million business segment and founded the $125M Dell Innovators Credit Fund, Dell Founders Club, and the Dell Center for Entrepreneurs during her 3-year term.
1:30 – According to recent SBA data, $26B or just over 5% of all federal contracts go to women owned small businesses even though women own 39% of all privately held firms.
3:15 – Why are women so underrepresented in securing federal contracts?
6:45 – What is the fastest economic engine to getting our global economy back on track?
8:45 – Women are stepping up at rates we haven’t seen before.
10:45 – How has the pandemic opened up opportunity for women?
12:45 – How can we increase the allocation of federal contracts to and increase opportunities for women-owned businesses?
Segment 2: Steve Shwartz is a successful serial software entrepreneur and investor. After receiving his PhD in 1979 from Johns Hopkins University, AI luminary Roger Schank invited Steve to join the Yale University faculty as a postdoctoral researcher in Computer Science. Since then, he has been a founder and investor in many successful startup companies. His new book, “Evil Robots, Killer Computers, and Other Myths: The Truth About AI and the Future of Humanity,” will be available on Amazon and other major booksellers February 2021.
20:30 – What is the future of artificial intelligence? Will we start seeing intelligent robots that are capable of learning most or all of our jobs?
22:45 – What types of jobs are vulnerable to AI?
25:15 – Are evil robots and killer computers realistic fears or just myths?
26:30 – Is artificial intelligence biased?
29:00 – In what ways is artificial intelligence impacting cybersecurity?
30:15 – Are we any closer to rolling out entirely self-driving vehicles?
32:30 – What types of opportunities does artificial intelligence create for startups and other small businesses?
Segment 3: Katelyn Hamilton works as an Online Business Manager where she helps entrepreneurs organize, strategize and prioritize the backend of their business to go from overwhelmed to out-in-front.
37:00 – Getting your sh!t together in the backend of your business is just as important as getting clients through the door. Where is the best place to start?
39:15 – How do you discover where the real problem of “overwhelm” is?
40:00 – What is the top must-have system for an organized and efficient business?
42:15 – Examples of tasks you can automate to save yourself time and become a more efficient business owner.
44:45 – What’s the best way to train your team on your tools and processes?
48:30 – Should you implement all-in-one tools or look for the best tool to get the job done in each area?
50:30 – What are the most successful business owners doing?
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