Following our American Recovery and Reinvestment Act panel on Thursday, June 4, here is an interesting article from the Philadelphia Business Journal about one small business owner taking advantage of stimulus funds.
by Athena D. Merritt, Staff Writer
DREXEL HILL — As a serial entrepreneur, Guy Dunn has plenty of experience going after federal contracting opportunities.
Dunn recently resurrected a holding company used for various ventures, The Idea Guy LLC, to land his largest award to date — a federal stimulus contract to install digital television converter boxes. It is worth as much as $327,000 over just two months.
Many observers have worried that Dunn, an African-American business owner and others like him, would be kept on the sidelines of federal stimulus opportunities. But the deal is providing Dunn with a steady stream of revenue while resulting in him hiring more than 30 people, 90 percent of whom are also minorities.
“This was exactly what the stimulus package was supposed to do, put people to work, and I’m glad to be a part of that,” said Dunn, who also owns three local territories of the Geeks on Call franchise.
Dunn found out that the Federal Communications Commission was looking for Small Business Administration-certified hub zones or small businesses for the installations through an e-mail forwarded by his brother. Although the deadline to submit proposals was only a few days away, Dunn wasn’t deterred. Dunn submitted his three-page proposal April 13 and on April 28 he was notified he had been awarded the contract, which was to begin the next day, he said.
“The opportunity for this project was a surprise to me, and I was ecstatic to be able to be part of it,” Dunn said.
He will provide up to 5,000 free in-home installations over eight weeks to homeowners with DTV converter boxes that need assistance in southeastern Pennsylvania, South Jersey, Delaware and Baltimore. Dunn, whose firm has done close to 400 installations, plans to pursue more contracts when complete.
(Households with analog television sets must install the converter boxes by June 12 to continue receiving the new digital television broadcasts.)
“Even though this is short-term contract, I think it will be extended through the end of July or possibly even through August,” said Dunn, who has 20 installers on call and another dozen people in a call center.
Contracts have been awarded to four other installers in Philadelphia, Apollo Industries LLC, Best Buy Co. Inc., Deployment Essentials LLC and Installs Inc.
Nationwide, the FCC has awarded 34 contracts that would provide up to 200,000 free in-home installations for homeowners in need of assistance, FCC spokesman Mark Wigfield said. The FCC has $14.4 million in federal stimulus funds for the installations, of which about 2,500 have been done to date.
“It’s difficult for some people; senior citizens and people who don’t speak English may have difficulty,” Wigfield said of the need for the services.
The free in-home services range from basic (connect converter box to TV and minor antenna adjustment) to expert (connect converter box to TV, more elaborate antenna adjustments, VCR hook up and also hook up VCR to record one program while watching another), Wigfield said.
Dunn said he never became certified as a minority business because he was already getting plenty of work without it. Businesses shouldn’t feel they will be passed over just because they are minority-owned or small, said Dunn, who is self-certified as a small business.
“It’s like buying a lottery ticket with expertise, you have to put your name in the hat to be picked,” Dunn said. “I’m the perfect example; I wasn’t even looking.”
Dunn said businesses may also steer clear of government contracts because they fear payment will be slow, but it hasn’t been under his current deal.
“I get paid seven-10 days after my bill every week I can get a check with these guys which is usually unheard of in the federal government,” Dunn said.