HispanicBusiness

The Treasury Department's Office of Small Business Development has developed programs to increase opportunities for small companies to do business with the department and its 12 bureaus. Each bureau has its own procurement office and small-business specialist. The most popular initiatives include:•Monthly Vendor Outreach Sessions (VOS), which allow vendors to meet with small-business specialists and representatives of other government agencies or prime contractors in individually scheduled 15-minute interviews. VOS has become so popular that other agencies now offer variations of Treasury's program. For a list of other agencies that offer vendor outreach sessions, visit www.treas.gov/sba/othervos.html.

• Targeted Outreach Program Top 25, a chart showing 85 to 90 percent of Treasury's purchases during a five-year period. Analysis quickly indicates specific industries where opportunities exist. The chart is available online at www.treas.gov/sba/wtbtreaswide.html.

•Mentor-Protégé Program, which reaches out to all small businesses. To date, Treasury has 34 M-P agreements in place. For details, visit www.treas.gov/sba/mentpro.html.For additional information about Treasury's small-business program, visit www.treas.gov/sba.