Come prepared

What to have ready before your meeting

Name: Network Navigator
Address: 1801 19th Street, Birmingham, AL, 35205, US
Price range: Free

Two checklists. One for founders headed to a procurement advisor. One for for-profit business owners booking their first Navigator session. Check the boxes as you go. Your progress saves on this device.

Book a Navigator

Before a procurement advisor

Junction 1910 is Birmingham's procurement hub. Bring this file and the facilitator can start on strategy instead of paperwork.

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Identity and registration

A buyer cannot pay a business it cannot verify.

Business formed and in good standingAlabama Secretary of State entity filing, current annual report, and your formation documents.EIN from the IRSFree. Buyers and primes ask for it on every registration and W-9.Completed W-9Signed, with the legal name that matches your entity filing.City and county business licensesBirmingham and Jefferson County licenses, current for this year.SAM.gov registration and UEIRequired for federal work and for many state and local pass-through dollars. Registration is free.Your NAICS and commodity codesTwo to five codes that describe what you actually sell. Buyers search by code.Local vendor registrationsCity of Birmingham, Jefferson County, and the State of Alabama vendor portals.

Proof you can perform

Buyers buy evidence, not intentions.

One-page capability statementCore competencies, differentiators, past performance, codes, and contact information on a single page.Three references or past projectsName, contact, scope, dollar value, and dates. Commercial work counts.Certificate of insuranceGeneral liability at minimum. Workers' comp and auto if your scope requires it.Bonding capacity, if you bid constructionKnow your single and aggregate limits, or know that you need to build them.Honest capacity numbersHow many crews, units, or hours you can deliver per month without failing your current customers.

Financial readiness

Government pays after the work is done. Plan for the gap.

Business bank accountSeparate from personal, in the legal entity's name.Twelve months of clean booksProfit and loss, balance sheet, and current tax filings.Your cost structure and pricing floorDirect cost, overhead, and the margin below which you walk away.A plan for 30 to 90 day payment termsA line of credit, a CDFI relationship, or reserves that cover payroll while you wait.

Target and paperwork

Bring a specific buyer, not a category.

The buyer you are targetingCity, county, state, federal, school system, hospital, or a prime contractor. Name it.One or two live solicitations you are watchingBring the solicitation number and the due date.Certification statusMBE, WBE, DBE, HUBZone, 8(a), or veteran status. Held, in progress, or not started.

Missing items are not a reason to wait.

Bring what you have. The facilitator assigns the gaps and requests assistance on your behalf.

Request procurement support

Before a Navigator session

For for-profit business owners. Nothing here is a test. It is the information a Navigator needs to match you to the right people and money.

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The basics about your business

Five minutes of prep turns a get-to-know-you call into a working session.

One sentence on what you sell and who buys itPlain words. No pitch deck required.Your stageIdea, getting started, operating, growing, or established.Entity and EIN statusFormed or not. If formed, the entity type and the year.License statusCity and county business licenses, plus any trade licensing your work requires.

Your numbers

Bring real figures. Estimates are fine. Blanks are not.

Business bank account, yes or noSeparate business banking is the first thing a lender checks.Last 12 months of revenueA number, or your best estimate and how you got there.How you track moneyBookkeeping software, a spreadsheet, a bookkeeper, or nothing yet.Whether your business tax filings are currentBehind is common and fixable. We just need to know.Your monthly operating costWhat it takes to keep the doors open before you pay yourself.

What you need help with

The Navigator matches you to people and money. Sharper input means a sharper match.

Your single biggest obstacle right nowCustomers, capital, systems, staffing, contracts, or time.What you have already triedPrograms, lenders, or advisors you have talked to, and how it went.If you need money: how much and what forA dollar amount and the specific use. "Working capital" is a start. "$25,000 for a second van" is better.Your timelineThis week, this month, or this quarter.

Have it on hand

You do not need to send anything ahead of time. Just know where it lives.

Formation documents and EIN letterDigital copies you can find in under a minute.Profit and loss, or your last tax returnWhichever is closer to reality.Website or social handleHowever customers currently find you.One goal for the next 90 daysYou will leave the session with one next step tied to it.

Want the short version done for you?

The C.O.R.E. Business Evaluation asks twelve questions and fills most of this in before you ever sit down.

Start the evaluation