Often businesses seeking information on doing business with the federal government are referred to or discover by "Google" government agency websites. While these are usually good sources of information, especially on process questions such as how to apply for a small business certification, they are not the only sources of very valuable information and insight.

Consistently, when asked, small business owners state that the most important information they can get is from other business owners who have gone through the trials of doing business with the federal government and who can provide them with "been there, done that" knowledge and, more importantly, the aspect of "here's what I did wrong" so that you can learn from that.

Many, many organizations provide this type of information either to their members or to the public at large. One great example is American Express who through their AMEX OPEN program provides articles, blogs, podcasts, and online training activities all dedicated to helping the small business succeed. In particular for those interested in doing business with the federal government go to www.openforum.com/governmentcontracts.

This is a great gateway into a wealth of information about how to do business with the federal government and for doing business in general. So log-on, dig-in and let the learning begin.