If entrepreneurs are encountering hurdles in their pursuit of contracting opportunities, they should be able to offer solutions when seeking help, maintains Steven Sims, vice president of programs and field operations for the National Minority Supplier Development Council Inc., a trade association that connects minority-owned businesses with major corporations. He says: “If you have a problem, you go to someone to resolve it but have an idea about how it should be resolved. Say ‘Here are a couple of ideas I think might help, but if I can work with you we can make it happen,’ as opposed to ‘He won’t let me in the door, she won’t let me have access to a contract. Can you help me?†Using Obama as an example, Sims adds. “He didn’t get elected because he’s a nice guy or because he had a message. He got elected because he understands how the system works and how to get what he needed out of the system to get to where he needed to go. We’ve got to start doing that.â€