Free Expert Business Consulting Offered to
Qualifying Local Small Business Owners
(Santa Ana, CA) - The Orange County Small Business Development Center (SBDC) has added two new business consultants to its team serving the local small business community. Rene Cota has come on board as a corporate and government contracting specialist and Karen Scuncio has joined as an international trade expert.
Rene Cota
Cota is a certified management specialist with over 15 years experience as a contract negotiator. His experience includes negotiations with government agencies and small to large businesses in the area of contracting.
As the president of CMG Alliance, a management consulting firm specializing in government acquisitions, Cota has advised numerous clients about how to successfully bid and win contracts with federal, state and local government, utilities and major corporations. CMG Alliance has clients within the security, information technology, construction, accounting services, and product manufacturing industries.
He has developed training and small business programs for the Procurement and Technical Assistance Centers (PTACs) in Riverside and Los Angeles, Southern California Edison (VETS Program), and the Department of Labor (Veterans Economic Outreach Program). Cota is a U.S. Marine Corps combat veteran who served as an infantry platoon leader in Iraq.
Karen Scuncio
Scuncio has over 25 years of international business experience. Her career started after graduating from California State University, Fullerton, with a B.A. in business administration with a concentration in international marketing. She began working in the international freight forwarding and customs brokerage field which gave her a strong foundation in import/export logistics and U.S. regulatory compliance. During this time, she was actively involved with local trade organizations and a board member of Women in International Trade Orange County.
Since 1997, she has been a principal in a business consulting and sales representative services company which she helped found to assist small businesses in increasing their U.S. and international sales. Her expertise touches on all areas of exporting from export pricing, screening potential customers, distributor agreements, product labeling requirements, international shipping and payment terms as well as sales and marketing. She has experience exhibiting at domestic and overseas trade shows along with working with international distributors in their home countries to help increase sales.
For more information on how the Orange County SBDC is helping foster new and existing business growth, visit www.ocsbdc.org or call (714) 564-5200.
About the Orange County SBDC
The Orange County Small Business Development Center (SBDC), an economic development program of Rancho Santiago Community College District, is partially supported by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), the California State University, Fullerton and the California Community College Chancellor’s Office. The Orange County SBDC is a one-stop source for business development, expansion strategies, international trade, contracting opportunities and access to capital.
About Rancho Santiago Community College District
Santa Ana College and Santiago Canyon College are public community colleges of the Rancho Santiago Community College District, which serves the residents of Anaheim Hills, Garden Grove, Irvine, Orange, Santa Ana, Tustin and Villa Park. Both colleges provide education for academic transfer and careers, courses for personal and professional development, and customized training for business and industry.
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