US DOT Representatives continue to report success stories about small business owners who participated in the U.S. DOT Bonding Education Programs. These success stories are a result of combined efforts of DOT Directors, bonds producers, surety underwriters, & CPA’s and others who helped small businesses become bond-ready and better able to compete for transportation contracts.

NASBP is a participant for a second year in a row in the Program that represents a partnership between the Surety and Fidelity Association of America and DOT’s Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU). Below NASBP bond producers and DOT representatives share information about some of the graduates of the BEPs in their region and how the BEPs have helped these business owners obtain bonding and surety credit.

Bonding Education Program in San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles

Mark M. Munekawa, Sr. Vice President Surety of Woodruff-Sawyer & Co. in San Francisco, CA, said the USDOT program is a worthwhile endeavor that addresses a growing issue. Munekawa said:

“These programs need the assistance of the surety professionals of the NASBP. In addition to working with the contractors as brokers, we can also assist by providing the USDOT and the program coordinators with other business professionals (attorneys, bankers, CPA’s, consultants, etc.) that are needed to support new and emerging contractors.”

“We are in the best position to bring local resources and market knowledge to the program. I gained a good deal of satisfaction by helping the USDOT from behind the scenes–providing them with surety brokers who would participate in the program and speakers. The contractors that I met at the workshops were the ones who wanted to be educated and assisted about the process of building a successful construction organization. I was a bit surprised in hearing some comments about surety companies (some didn’t differentiate companies from brokers).”

“Frankly, some did view surety as a obstacle not an opportunity. This is due to the lack of understanding of our business and the importance of working with a knowledgeable surety broker that can provide a consultative approach. Putting a human face to the surety business goes a long way in getting the contractors engaged in a productive planning process. A number of the contractors didn’t know how to get started or had any idea of the steps needed to establish a surety program. Currently I am working with two contractors that I met at the workshops. By coincidence, one contractor used to work for one of my existing clients and we have already started on our way. The other is currently securing CPA financials and we will have a meeting to establish a plan.”

Scott Leslie, Project Director, Small Business Transportation Resource Center of the SW Region of the OSDBU, reported that both the Los Angeles and the Oakland/San Francisco Bay Area BEP graduated a large number of participants. Leslie said that he is currently organizing the 2-day compressed BEP that will be held July 17 and 18 in Honolulu, Hawaii.

BEPs in Colorado and Utah

Lavonna Stathes, Project Director, Small Business Transportation Resource Center of the West Central OSDBU, reported that the West Central SBTRC has hosted three BEPs since July 1, 2011. Two programs occurred in Colorado and one in Utah. Thirty-seven companies from Colorado and Utah completed the program. The companies included:

• 5 general contractors (building)
• 6 landscaping, erosion control companies
• 6 trucking firms
• 6 concrete companies (highway)
• 4 excavation companies
• 2 metal fabrication/installation companies
• 2 remediation/maintenance companies
• 1 bridge coating specialist
• 1 asphalt paving company
• 1 electrical contractor
• 1 tree removal/planting company
• 1 masonry company
• 1 sand & gravel supplier

Many of the companies were owned by husband and wife and both attended the class. Three of the companies brought their Operations Managers.

Twenty-four professionals volunteered their time as instructors in the three programs, two of which were surety underwriters. Seventeen surety agents in Colorado and eighteen surety agents in Utah also volunteered their time in meeting with participants and attending classes. Colorado surety volunteers have continued a partnership with West Central SBTRC by referring small businesses to the program and by being available to answer questions that arise with new clients or past participants.

Ten of these companies have applied for bonding, of which seven are pending and three have been awarded bonds for $25,000; $700,000 and $15 million. The program continues to assist these companies in getting more work, applying for bonding, access to capital and provide them the resources necessary to complete the bonding process.

One company won their first subcontract from a USDOT-funded agency; one learned the value of staying with a single surety agent instead of changing her agent on a regular basis and she learned how to select the one that fit her business. One company owner, Felipe Moran, increased his metal fabricating business by more than 200% from the previous year.

Moran Custom Fabrication, a full-service custom metal fabricating company, has procured eight jobs with local transportation agencies since attending the BEP. Moran Custom Fabrication produces architectural railings, structural steel and stainless steel, steel skids, aluminum and stainless steel equipment guards, steel shelters and stainless hoppers.Moran is working with an agent he met at the BEP and has applied for, and likely to receive bonding for the first time. Projects that he is working on do not require a bond at this time.

Moran said:
“I would absolutely recommend the SBTRC to others and I do. If the SBTRC wasn’t there I would still be way behind the line. I was able to get information and get ahead of the game and everyone else. A long time ago I was told you don’t have to know everything; you just have to know where to go to get the information. Now I know where to go. I am so glad for this program.”

“I would say that the SBTRC has been there for me when no one else was there. I really feel that with the SBTRC I was able to reach out to new avenues that at one time were closed,” Moran said.

Other BEP participants in the Colorado and Utah area had the following comments about the BEP:

“I thought the class would just be bonding, but it was so much more than that. It was networking with other business professionals who were there to assist me in growing my company.  It was very educational, I was not aware of the financial outlook for bonding, and I made a lot of great contacts.”

“I came to this class to find all the parts and pieces of bonding and banking. This class covered that in one place.”

“Now I am able to go to a bonding agent and know what questions to ask.”

“Strategic plan, marketing plan, bonding, and financials – this class showed me how it all fits together.”

“One of the best programs I have ever been in.”

“I’ve been doing business since 1997. If I had this class then, it would have increased my business three-fold.”

BEPs in Orlando, FL; Miami, FL; Birmingham, AL; and Montgomery, AL

Adrianna Clark, Project Director, Small Business Transportation Resource Center of the Southeast Regional Field Office, reported that her DOT Office held BEP’s in Orlando, Miami, and Birmingham, AL. In addition, the Montgomery, AL BEP concluded last week. About a total of 80 contractors and 15 bond producers participated in these four Workshops. She said several graduates from these have obtained bonding.

One of these success stories is J.A. Manning Construction. Manning Construction has obtained a bond thanks to the surety professionals in the BEP who helped Manning establish a program that meets his company’s surety needs. In addition, J.A. Manning Construction is expected to have additional work this fall and a commitment from the surety partner to provide the bond for that work.

Bond Producer Gaines Moorer of McGriff, Seibels & Williams, Inc.of Birmingham, AL said that working with the DOT BEP has been a great experience for him and Bond Producer Robert Freel, also of McGriff, Seibels & Williams, Inc.

Moorer said:
“Rob and I had the privilege of participating in both the Birmingham and Montgomery DOT BEP programs. The programs were well put together with relevant presenters and strong topics.  Our role as stakeholders in the program was to serve as a resource to the contractors and present the bonding and insurance workshop.  We were able to help several contractors move towards obtaining surety capacity and had the opportunity to write both bid and final bonds for participating contractors.”

“For producers thinking about getting involved with the program, I recommend that if possible you get involved early on and stay committed to the program. We were able to get involved in the planning stages of the program and provide insight into the structure of the program, identify the target audience and parameters, and help pick the location and dates for the workshops.  This allowed us the ability to attend the majority of the sessions, develop relationships with the contractors involved and help guide them through the bonding process.”

BEPs to Be Held

NASBP producers and affiliates have been participating in these BEP Workshops held in 14 cities throughout the country in 2012.

The six remaining 2012 BEPs will be held in Houston, Texas; Norfolk, Virgina; Portland, Oregon; Honolulu, Hawaii; Boston, Massachusetts; and Alaska. The Louisville, KY BEP will hold its last of nine weekly Thursday evening Workshops on July 26.

If you have an interest in learning more about participating as a producer in one of the U.S. DOT BEPs, visit NASBP.org under “Events” and “US DOT Bonding Education Program.” The site provides details about what information producers typically review with these small, emerging business owners as well as forms that are provided to help them assemble their financial documentation for surety credit. Contact the nearest U.S. DOT local representative listed in the BEP “Schedule” to let the local DOT representative know of your interest.

If you have a success story to tell NASBP about a graduate of the DOT BEP, please contact Kathy Hoffman at khoffman@nasbp.org or 202-686-3700.

The pictures above displayed with the permission and courtesy of the U.S. DOT. NASBP would like to thank the U.S. DOT Representatives, mentioned in this article as well as the rest not mentioned here, for working with NASBP and for sharing information about these Bonding Education Programs and the graduates.