Berkeley contract, according to the Bermuda Small Business Development Corporation's William Spriggs.

"It tells us the Government is creatively partnering service providers with new faces to help it achieve its goals and objectives,'' said Mr. Spriggs.

"The Corporation feels that now is a very good time for small businesses to be able to gain a larger piece of the Government economic pie,'' he told The Royal Gazette .

"This is open season for small business entrepreneurs.'' Mr. Spriggs, the general manager of the BSBDC, pointed out the Bermuda Land Development Company and its "exciting opportunities,'' West End Development Corporation which is gearing up for a "new phase of its development plan,'' and the Bermuda Housing Corporation, as examples of where contracts could be found.

"It's a contractor's delight in terms of timing,'' he said.

But, he added, many small business owners and entrepreneurs needed to spruce up their skills in developing tender documents.

"This contract didn't just fall into ProActive's lap,'' said Mr. Spriggs.

"We are sure it was an excellent proposal. They followed the process in a sterling way and did what they had to do to be a frontrunner and a winner.'' Mr. Spriggs said that much of the work of the Small Business Development Corporation was advising entrepreneurs on developing successful tender packages for the public or private sector.

"Too many entrepreneurs fall down in the process,'' he said. Success criteria for tender documents include pulling together a team of people with the expertise to successfully complete the project, excellent communication skills and "being able to follow through with the continuous request for more information''.

Entrepreneurs fail often because of a "God complex'' -- meaning they feel they can do everything -- poor administrative support and a failure to appreciate why the requested information is important.

"At the Small Business Development Corporation we can shed a lot of light on the whole concept of creating excellent tender documents. Putting time into the development of an excellent tender document should be seen as an investment. Many times entrepreneurs view it as an expense,'' Mr. Spriggs said.

William Spriggs