MASSACHUSETTS — The Federal Government is the largest consumer of products and services in the country, and a market just ripe to be tapped if small businesses know the steps they need to take.

That’s where the Massachusetts Small Business Development Center (SBDC) comes in. As part of its Government Procurement Technical Assistance Center, businesses are taught the ins and outs of how to sell their products to the government and be successful doing it.

"It (government procurement) opens up enormous markets to these businesses that allows them to dive into a customer base that will allow them a more predictable income stream," said Melinda Ailes, SBDC senior counselor.

SBDC Procurement Specialist Dan Lilly suggested there is a lot that businesses need to know before getting involved with the federal government, starting with how time-consuming it is.

"Never enter the government market without knowing if it’s the right market for you," said Lilly. "You must know why you are doing it, if you are the right market for it and that you will be able to do it."

Lilly said many businesses that get into the government procurement business don’t realize how much paperwork is involved in the process and how much time that paperwork takes to complete. One government contract alone can average between 70-80 pages, he said.

"It’s a lot of boiler plate information, but it’s so important that the businesses read the whole thing," Lilly said, who knew of a number of businesses who under-bid a project because they didn’t read a contract thoroughly.

At the SBDC procurement office, Lilly helps guide businesses through the pitfalls of dealing with the government, where they need to go to seek out contracts, plus who to contact and other assistance. But each company still must do its own legwork.

"We can give advice or help businesses understand if they have the right market, if they have the staff or the market space for their product, but we won’t do the work for them," said Lilly. "If they have the time and are capable of doing that kind of work, they can give us a call."

Lilly said he’s seen everything from brownies being sold to the Army to guidance systems for tanks on procurement contracts, and just about everything in between.

In fiscal year 2005, the federal government signed more than two million contracts with small businesses who had 500 or less employees across the nation for products and services totaling $79.6 billion, according to Federal Procurement Data System Web site.

Although government procurement is still a widely-unknown industry in the area for small businesses, Ailes said one such example of a company making government procurement work is Fall River’s Mikel Inc., a company which provides technological solutions for undersea warfare for the Navy and other businesses.

"We do 100 percent of our business with the Department of Defense, and as a small woman-owned company, the SBDC has been our biggest cheerleader," said Kelly Mendell [photo], president of Mikel Inc., a former business incubator that has grown out of the UMass Dartmouth Advanced Technology and Manufacturing Center. "While Dan Lilly came at it from the government side, Melinda Ailes helped me with my business plan and strategic vision, and they were both big complements for my business, a good combination."

Despite the amount of work needed in the field, Mendell said she is still surprised to hear that more businesses are not tapping into the unlimited knowledge that can be furnished at the SBDC and its procurement specialist.

"Unfortunately, many people don’t know about this place and they are missing out, especially since it’s free and their knowledge is worth so much," added Mendell. "We will continue to seek out their knowledge and advice. We’re not done yet."