That's Crazy

Giselle…………. I was running late, and I didn't account for the traffic out on Landover Road at 7:15 p.m. I was supposed to meet my girls, Christine and Stephanie, for some drinks and laughs at Jaspers Restaurant at 7:30! Now, I was going to be at least thirty minutes late, messing around in this traffic. Christine was my best sister girl. She was my rock when things went south with that drunk of an ex-husband of mine, Leroy. She was the one who kept me going and not wanting to throw up my hands and say, "Forget all this!" Stephanie, my white sister girl, was going to be there too. She was a white girl from PG county, but she had a black girl swagger; probably because PG county was predominantly African American. She had stuck with me through all my business highs, lows, in betweens, and eventual the closing of CGS. It was going to be a good night. I came running my behind in the doors of Jasper's at seven minutes to eight. I spoke quickly to the little, pimply-faced teenage waitress: "I was supposed to meet som–" She interrupted me right there. "Right over there, ma'am, next to the last table on the right." I found them at the table, talking to each other. When I came over, they got quiet and both rolled their eyes at me, pretending to be mad because of my late grand entrance. After a few seconds, we all broke out in laughter. Laughter is so good for the soul and, believe me, my soul needed it. After all I had been through, it was nice and comforting to be around some real people; some real sisters.

Giselle…………. I was running late, and I didn't account for the traffic out on Landover Road at 7:15 p.m. I was supposed to meet my girls, Christine and Stephanie, for some drinks and laughs at Jaspers Restaurant at 7:30! Now, I was going to be at least thirty minutes late, messing around in this traffic. Christine was my best sister girl. She was my rock when things went south with that drunk of an ex-husband of mine, Leroy. She was the one who kept me going and not wanting to throw up my hands and say, "Forget all this!" Stephanie, my white sister girl, was going to be there too. She was a white girl from PG county, but she had a black girl swagger; probably because PG county was predominantly African American. She had stuck with me through all my business highs, lows, in betweens, and eventual the closing of CGS. It was going to be a good night. I came running my behind in the doors of Jasper's at seven minutes to eight. I spoke quickly to the little, pimply-faced teenage waitress: "I was supposed to meet som–" She interrupted me right there. "Right over there, ma'am, next to the last table on the right." I found them at the table, talking to each other. When I came over, they got quiet and both rolled their eyes at me, pretending to be mad because of my late grand entrance. After a few seconds, we all broke out in laughter. Laughter is so good for the soul and, believe me, my soul needed it. After all I had been through, it was nice and comforting to be around some real people; some real sisters. As I began to settle in and get comfortable in the booth with the girls, Stephanie noticed a guy sitting at the end of the bar watching the game on the giant flat-screen TV. "Pssst! G! Giselle! Don't stare but doesn't that guy at the end of the bar look like... like... Tyrone?! Is that him?" As I tried to look without being obvious, I could see some small similarities to Tyrone. From what I could tell in this dimly lit restaurant, the guy did have a dark complexion and a medium build, but Tyrone? Nah! It couldn't be! I told her, "Steph, you trippin' and you haven't even had anything to drink yet!" Little did I realize that it was Tyrone… little did I know. Well, we ordered our drinks and prepared for a night of laughing and reminiscing. And so the journey begins…

Paula Watts is a Federal Procurement Strategist and formerly Certified as a Contracts Specialist and the founder and CEO of the Government Procurement Innovators, LLC (GPI). Early in her career, Ms. Watts owned and operated a successful business which, under her leadership, was awarded approximately fifteen million dollars in contracts through SBA's 8(a) Business Development Program. Ms. Watts exited the business in 2005 and joined the SBA in 2008. During her tenure as a SBA Business Opportunity Specialist, Ms. Watts successfully assisted multiple 8(a) firms in their quest to obtain multi-million-dollar federal contracts. Her unique mix of private sector and SBA experience has given her a 360-degree vantage point and an in-depth understanding of the government contracting arena, which she uses to her clients' advantage. Ms. Watts is passionate about sharing her knowledge and has conducted over eight hundred seminars and counseled more than ten thousand businesses on topics such as small business start-up, business expansions, and developing winning strategies when marketing to the Federal Government. Since establishing GPI in September 2015, Ms. Watts and her team have trained more than one thousand individuals through GPI's 24 Weeks Federal Procurement Training Program to become Business Ready, Government Ready, or Contract Ready. GPI has successfully assisted various small businesses win over 200 hundred million dollars in contract awards across various industries. Among the many resources that Ms. Watts makes available to her students is a strategically assembled team of subject matter experts who provide step-by-step guidance in areas such as responding to Requests for Proposals (RFP's), bidding on products and supplies and setting up your accounting system for government contracting. Ms. Watts's motto is "Each One Has to Teach One" and she believes that in order to be successful at the "Game," you must understand the rules.