Fostering connections. Understanding credit for small businesses. Discovering how and where to apply for government contracts.

These were three of the many topics covered at the two-day Business and Government Contracting Summit, a business conference organized Friday and Saturday by the Black Entrepreneurs Leaders and Learners education and empowerment nonprofit.

Underlying them all was a fourth overarching concept: Confidence. Having knowledge and a network only go so far if a business owner doesn’t have the confidence to find and reach for opportunities.

The conference, in its fifth year, was being held downtown Friday and Saturday at UC San Diego’s Park & Market. It was put on by a professional development group for Black business owners, and is free and open to everyone.

The sessions

Friday’s sessions focused on helping participants hear directly from government agencies that issue contracts — among them, utilities including SDG&E; San Diego Unified School District, Caltrans and SANDAG; Port of San Diego; and the state of California.

Other sessions were technical in nature. One explained the different kinds of credit and financing opportunities small businesses can tap, and another offered a step-by-step guide for how to obtain government certifications.

At the San Diego Unified presentation, around 40 people listened as Alma Bañuelos, the district’s business outreach coordinator, taught contractors how to pursue opportunities. She urged people to show up to pre-bid meetings, which are free and can be a valuable chance to learn and network.

Bañuelos also offered this insight to veterans: The district requires at least a 3% participation rate by veteran-owned small businesses and service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses. Its goal, though, is a 5% participation rate, meaning now is a good time for such businesses to contract with the district.

The contest

At a pitch competition with a $2,500 prize, small businesses with very different focuses made their case to a panel of judges. The winner was Dawn Hendon, of San Carlos, whose all-natural rosemary and aloe vera product helps people have healthier hair and joints.

Hendon made her pitch personal, revealing that she has alopecia. She took off her hat to reveal her hair, which she told the crowd was stronger and healthier thanks to the three-ingredient product she created. She also passed around a sprig of rosemary for people to sample its fresh fragrance and offered samples.

Other businesses in the running proposed to solve very different problems. A media company called Kamal Johnson Network wants to cover the news with a pro-Black perspective after being “tired” of “the way the media/news depicts us.”

“I wanted to show us Black Americans in a great light and fight injustices while doing that,” one of the slides stated. Johnson, the founder, asked not just for money, but for people to check out his YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@KAMALJOHNSONNETWORK

Another business had a health focus. After a debilitating head injury, its founder, Adam Rudder, created an adapting learning platform called ImproVRise to help people with autism and other conditions with their socio-emotional skills and executive functioning.

A young professional’s take

Heraldo Martinez, 28, came to Friday’s sessions from Oceanside. His goal is to “gain an apprenticeship for the electrical union,” a career path he expects will give him brisk work given high demand. He had heard about the event at another conference but wasn’t sure it was the right fit. Or, rather, that he was the right fit.

“I was a little bit skeptical if I’ll fit in, because it’s mostly for contractors.” Then he looked at the conference program and speaker list. “Long story short, it seemed too valuable to miss out …  So even though I felt uncomfortable, the only way for us to learn and grow is to put ourselves in a position where we can learn. So here I am.”

Learn he did. Martinez found out which forms of credit a growing businesses can obtain and shared this takeaway: “Once you can start selling, that’s when you can start ramping up the business and scaling up.”

The co-founder’s take

Brian Ware, who co-founded the conference during the COVID-19 pandemic, said small businesses are operating in a more challenging economic environment today than in years past.

“It’s definitely tightening. You’re hearing about a lot of layoffs. Even though they say the job reports are good, I know a lot of people that have been laid off lately. A lot of people are searching for what’s next.” He said he hopes the conference will help people land well as they search for their next chapter.

Ware, president of a general contracting company called Best Way Construction Services, said misconceptions abound about obtaining government contracts. “They assume government contracts are for big corporations and they can’t get their foot in the door. They assume that there’s no opportunities or just don’t know,” he said.

The conference is designed for businesses at many levels and its goal is to give them a leg up, wherever they are, he added.

A future goal is to create more direct connections between vendors and would-be clients. Ultimately, he wants people to leave with confidence, “resources and a path forward.”

Saturday’s sessions include Proposal Writing with AI Technology, Entering Foreign Markets with Global Contracting, Alternative Business Funding and Simple Cybersecurity Protocols that Win Bids. To see the schedule or sign up to attend for free, go to this website: https://bellsummit.sched.com/

Originally Published: June 27, 2025 at 4:59 PM PDT