Month: April 2020

050: Veterans Helping Veterans with Eric “Doc” Wright, Founder of Vets2PM

Posted on by Eric Coffie

Eric “Doc” Wright, PhD, is a decorated Military Veteran, Founder of Vets2PM, LLC, Co-Founder of the 501(c)3 Veteran Project Management Mentor Alliance. His work has helped thousands of military veterans achieve meaningful, lucrative post-service careers by successfully transitioning between two of the most disparate organizational cultures around: the US Military and Corporate America!  In fact, Vets2PM is the 2019 Department of Labor Gold Award Winner for its veteran hiring initiatives!

You can find him on Twitter, Facebook, & LinkedIn with the handle “docwright2012”, or at www.vets2pm.com.

Top 5—”Launching a NASA Award Winning IT Security Company” With Narjis Ali

Posted on by Linette Genao

Temporarily leaving her family behind, Narjis Ali, the president and CEO of Sure Secure Solutions, packed her bags and moved from Pakistan to the U.S. to start her life over again.

Skilled in software programming and development architecture, she was a natural entrepreneur throughout her life, even introducing computer education in Pakistan for the first time. With a little push from her son-in-law, she decided to push forward and begin her business in the U.S.

I said, “Why not where I’ve moved now and made my country here in the U.S. I can also start business. It was just the fear of the unknown I suppose that made me take a few years to start it off, but once I was there, I was like, yeah, let’s roll.”

 

BACKGROUND

 

Sure Secure Solutions is an 8(a), Woman-Owned and Information Technology Security Company founded in 2004. The company’s core capabilities include Cloud Computing, Cyber Security, Web Application Development, Data Analytics, Content Management, Information Management IT Security.

Her drive and work ethic has led to a number of awards dating back to 2012 and most recently the 2019 NASA Small Business Industry Award – NSSC Prime Contractor of the Year. In addition, the 2016 Small Business Administration of the Year Award, NASA Small Business Prime Contractor of the Year both in 2016 and 2017 and many more.

 

TOP 5 

 

1. Dig Your Feet Into the Ground and Stand Through The Tough Times

Ali immigrated alone leaving her family, including three children, back home. One by one, they made their way to the U.S. However, she recalls the difficulties within that first year and how she pushed though those tough times, serving as encouragement for others to do the same when things become difficult.

“When I was a child I would stand by the seashore and it was not close to where I lived. We used to always visit once in a blue moon, go to a beach. I used to remember standing there and the sand going from under my feet and remembering how it would make me fall and panic, but my mother and my sister were always there with me and my mom would tell me to hold my sister’s hand and just stand there and dig my feet deep into the ground and just stand. Right? That is what made me. Even when I came here. I went through some hardships, but I stood through that and I realized that if you work hard and your intent is good and you’re honest about things, things do have a way of working out. It worked out for me.”

 

2. Be Patient and Seek Information

“I feel that today I can just hold somebody’s hand and say, ‘Don’t do that.’ ”

Ali discusses how resources and mentorship are key so you don’t waste yours or others time and money. She encourages entrepreneurs to hone into their path and where you want to take your company and educating yourself on the path to get there.

“You have to first identify where you’re going, what your skills are, what you want to focus on and then just zoom in there. It’ll take you much less time if you do a handful of opportunities that you think you want to go after rather than just go after anything and everything that says 8(a) in it.”

 

3. Relationships are golden

Unless you have the money, you will have to find a few partners to come up with the equity to set up the infrastructure. Relationships are golden in order for this to work and be successful.

Not just relationships with the customers you’re selling a product or service to but as Ali states, “Customers in the way of the environment. That allows you to be there and create those relationships with coworkers, colleagues, other companies, and the customer.”

This is how former astronaut, John Mike Lounge became one of Ali’s first business partners when she was just getting started. He was introduced to her by a mutual friend. Meeting and working with Lounge, led to her fascination with NASA, allowed her to get NASA, and become the 2016 and 2017 award winner for NASA.

“By the end of it when we were paying the bill. He was like, ‘Okay, I’m sold. I’m your partner.’ I’m like, What?”

 

4. Don’t Put All Your Eggs In One Basket

Learning the hard way, Narjis Ali advises not to put all your eggs in one basket. Instead, first build a strong team and then divide and conquer. This will lead to the most success.

“It’s not about winning. It’s all about getting a team that will win. Whether you have a prime role or a sub role. One is survival. The other is to win and make money…You have to make your name. You have to get money for it and you have to be able to take different roles in different opportunities…We spread out, we team work and we look for teaming opportunities that offer us a swim-lane where we’ve got really strong qualifications and then we shine there.”

 

5. Filter out very quickly where you want to focus

“Stop bidding on everything that looks it’s in your domain. It needs to be in your domain, but it also needs to have a familiarity with the customer environment,” states Ali.

She advises mastering 1 or 2 companies and building the trust and relationships instead of going after all that you can.

“It’s better to focus on a few agencies and be persistent and get to know that very well. Know the gaps and try entrepreneurand be at places where you can get to know the small business office.”

NARJIS ALI

As a leader, Narjis Ali is focused on helping others and assuring those around her continue to grow.

Narjis Ali & Eric Coffie “The most important thing was that we want to take people that matter, to places that matter…I think that means the world to me. When I see people that we’ve been trying to grow, grow and go to places.”

Narjis’ story is truly inspiring and motivating. With such great advice, she leaves listeners and readers with a humbling message.

“I have to become the medium of receiving and then giving. That’s my life story. I listen, I hear, I see. I love and I know that I’m only the medium. So, I hope I can pass on whatever I get and model for someone else, somewhere.” – Narjis Ali

 

To hear more, join the GOVCON GIANTS Podcast Community available on  Spotify, Apple Podcast, Stitcher, Google Play and iHeart.

To learn more about government contracting subscribe to the GOVCON GIANTS YouTube Channel.

Special Episode: How does the CARES Act, PPP and EIDL program work? Who is eligible?

Posted on by Eric Coffie

Join the conversation with us to discuss the Payroll Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) programs both through the $2.3 Trillion dollar CARES Act.

For today’s special podcast we bring you three guests to help fuel the conversation. Senen Garcia, SG Law Group, , former SCORE Counselor, chair of SCORE Miami, GG episode 47Orlando Espinosa, Emineo Media, Emerging Leaders teacher, advisor toSBDC, GG episode 13 and Althea Harris, SBA office S. FL District.

TOP 5—”Building A World Class Construction From Faith” With Patricia Bonilla

Posted on by Linette Genao

Patricia Bonilla attributes many of her successes to one thing—faith.

From the beautiful island of Dominican Republic, Patricia Bonilla went after her dreams and created “Lunacon.” The company founded in Miami, FL., now has 5 office locations including Puerto Rico and serves more than 300 customers worldwide. Having been recognized for a number of awards including 2014 SBA State of Florida Minority Owned Small Business Person of the Year and 2015 Government Contractor of the Year, Bonilla continues to be a powerhouse in the industry.

 

TOP 5

 

1. Follow your dreams and have faith

During the recession, as a single-mother with 3 children, Patricia Bonilla acted on faith. She had to decide whether to leave her then comfortable job, to follow her dreams of having her own business. Therefore, with over 17 years of experience in government work, she quit and started her own company, proving a little faith is sometimes all you need.

 

2. Prepare before the opportunity opens

Many times during the conversation, Bonilla speaks on how she prepared before the doors opened. Before the opportunities came, she hired staff, using Starbucks as her office since their garage wasn’t very promising. Within a month, she hired 25 people, which prepared her in advance for the work she was about to receive.

 

3. Invest in yourself

“Some people don’t understand the value of investing in marketing and networking,” stated Bonilla.

Marketing, conferences and events are all tools Bonilla used to invest in herself and back into her company. She continued seeking knowledge in order to propel her company forward and put their name out there.

 

4. Keep Going!

“When you’re about to give up and you’re really at the burst of giving up, this is when your blessings are about to come.”

These are words from Bonilla that we can attest to. When you feel like giving up, keep moving forward. You never know what lies at your next step.

 

5. No one is responsible for your growth but yourself

Instead of conforming, Bonilla decided to be part of the change. As she states, “Nobody’s responsible for your growth, but yourself.”

Being a woman in a male-dominated industry, she could’ve let a number of barriers affect her but she didn’t.

“I try not to look at this stuff…When I worked for a company in Miami, they.. you didn’t see a woman more than a project manager. You didn’t see any in the leadership. You didn’t see a woman. You know that, that was it. So when I realized that, it was time for me to go.”

Was it easy? Probably not. This is why it’s important to also manage your growth and success by finding something that grounds you.

with patricia bonilla

For Bonilla this includes faith, meditation and fitness. “So what would I say…without my peace, my emotional sanity, I can’t really do much and inspire the people around me,” says Bonilla.

Inevitably, the challenges will come and there will be times where you want to give up. Therefore, learning how to manage your mental stability through these tougher times and having something that grounds you and keeps the peace is key.

These 5 tips are tools you can use to grow not only yourself but also your business if you’re willing to put in the work.

Are you willing to put in the work?

 

If there is a country that allows you to get to wherever you want to get to, whether it’s good or bad is this one. If you were willing to work and, you know, work hard cause I think you have to work, and, go through that process and be honest to the process. You can get to wherever you want to be and everyone including those that don’t look like you, will give you a chance. If you have that desire. Well just believe that you can do it. That’s the only job we have. Believe it. – Patricia Bonilla

 

To learn more from our guest speakers, join the GOVCON GIANTS Podcast Community available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRADIO, and Google Podcasts.

To learn more about government contracting subscribe to the GOVCON GIANTS YouTube Channel.

Get started with DIBBS

Posted on by Eric Coffie

DIBBS is a bid portal organized by the Defense Logistics Agency to help fulfill RFP and RFQ requests. However, because it was created in the infancy of the internet, it is not user friendly and not easy to navigate for most entrepreneurs.

So we decided to help small businesses navigate this world with two slide presentations on the subject.

  1. DIBBS Quoting
  2. DIBBS Solicitations 

We hope that these resources offer value for you when trying to learn DIBBS for the first time.

DIBBS is powerful and post 1000’s of opportunities monthly unlike any other portal on the net, but just trying to figure it out can be a mystery so we hope these two presentations help accelerate you’re learning.

Happy bidding.

TOP 7 With Charles Jones—Baltimore Powerhouse Commissaries

Posted on by Linette Genao

Back in August 2019, Charles Jones, President and CEO of C&S Jones Group, LLC. joined us on the GOVCON GIANTS PODCAST. With hard work and perseverance, he was able to build his business. We were honored to have Jones as a guest and give our audience some advice on how to continue to meet your HUBZone requirements while growing your business. We also touched on his win percentage to stay ahead of the curve and continue growing, his favorite books, training recommendations, and much more.

BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE 

Charles Jones runs a minority-owned business based in the Baltimore Metro Area, conducting work for the U.S. government in five separate states in three different time zones. CEO of C&S Jones Group, LLC is a certified full-service government contractor dedicated to improving all areas of government and business operations, streamlining processes and cost reduction.

TOP 7

EVERY COLLEGE IS A HUB ZONE

As Mr. Jones stated, “This is $1 million that I’m giving you right here…College students, even ivy league colleges are considered HUBZones because the students that reside there, their income is below the threshold, to be considered a low-income area.”

Therefore, it’s a win-win. By doing this, students get experience and get prepared for their future business or career success. In turn, the company gets the benefit of maintain their size standard.

 

DON’T GIVE UP!

Most companies give up before the 5th year. Don’t give up! If you can stick it out and maintain to your 5th year, that becomes your turning point. At the 5th year, doors begin to open, and you begin to propel forward in new ways. As Reginald F. Lewis said and Jones quotes, “Keep going no matter what.”

 

HOW TO GET A MENTOR

When looking for a mentor, Jones advises looking at what you bring into the relationship as a mentee. Looking at it from these lens, evens the playing field and allows you to know what you can bring into the relationship and what you have to offer in return for their mentorship.

 

CONTINUE LEARNING EVERYDAY

The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and his local paper, the Baltimore Sun, are three tools Jones uses to keep his learning going. As an avid reader he loves to educate himself and states, “If you’re not looking for new ideas and seeing what’s coming down the pipeline, you may miss some harvest.”

Some of his recommendations include online classes, online magazines and the following books:

  • “Soul Food: Fifty-two Principles for Black Entrepreneurial Success” By Doctor Robert Wallace
  • “Entrepreneurial Finance: Finance and Business Strategies for the Serious Entrepreneur” by Steven Rogers

 

WAIT

Wait? For what? Well, Jones advises you wait until your company is ready to join the 8a program. In order to receive its full benefits, you want to assure you are prepared and ready to take full advantage. Also, wait to assure you can do what you say you’re going to do. “This is a people business,” states Jones. “They have to like you and trust you…we’re utilizing taxpayers’ dollars, so you definitely want to make sure that you’re doing what you say you’re going to do and delivering because if not you’re out of the game.”

 

CHECK THOSE CHECKS!

Okay, maybe most of us get direct deposits and this is a digital era so they’re not necessarily “checks,” but checking your payroll is very important as a business owner and having your own company. As Jones states, “you are responsible for its financial health and wellbeing.”

 

“BE CAREFUL WHO YOU GET IN BED WITH…IN BUSINESS”

An old saying that still holds true. Make sure you listen to your gut and that you can trust the people you are working with. Most importantly, Jones advises that even if you do, “you still have to get it in black and white.” Make sure you have paperwork, so everyone is protected and on the same page.

  

To conclude, Charles Jones ended with some great advice and encouragement, “If I can you can… Know that there’s ups and downs. It’s a cycle. It is not easy. It’s not going to be easy… Be prepared for the ups and downs and sleepless nights. Have a strategic plan but don’t let that plan become your gospel. Be fluid in everything you do. Have someone to turn to,” for Jones it’s his wife, “and also have alone time during the tough times.”

  

To learn more from our guest speakers, join the GOVCON GIANTS Podcast Community available on  Spotify, Apple Podcast, Stitcher, Google Play and iHeart.

To learn more about government contracting subscribe to the GOVCON GIANTS YouTube Channel.

 

49: Delali Dzirasa, CEO of Fearless with a Mission is to Build Software with a Soul

Posted on by Eric Coffie

Delali Dzirasa is the founder and CEO of Fearless (https://fearless.tech), a full stack digital services firm in Baltimore, Maryland with a mission to create software with a soul – tools that empower communities and make a difference. Fearless delivers sleek, modern, and user-friendly software designed to push the boundaries of possibility, to create a world where good software powers the things that matter.

In today’s episode we discuss the digital services coalition an organization focused on the long game of changing government through digital transformation. Find challenges within a city and how do we bring technical solutions to them – Hack Baltimore the story behind the Purple Cow and how his company colors are purple based on the book by Seth Godin. Building the HUBZone map for the SBA

30-day Challenge: Help someone other than yourself

Posted on by Eric Coffie

Today, I recorded a special edition podcast inviting all of you to do a challenge called “30-day Challenge: Help Someone other than Yourself”. While we are waiting for this pandemic to end, I believe that we can do something more than sitting at home and watching Neflix. I’ll share to you five ways that I believe can make a difference today. It’s best if you share your own thoughts and ideas too. Let us know!

1 Volunteer 

Help two people other than yourself. Simple things like making coffee or sending donuts and pizza. Give away your extra Christmas cards. What good are they to you right now, anyway? Give it to our police, firefighters, or nurses. Let them order take-outs for their teams. One beautiful example is our church, Miami Vineyard, sent Little Caesar’s pizza over to a nurses station. We all have the ability to wipe down stuff. Can you wipe down baskets at Walmart or your neighborhood grocery store or maybe even the gas station pumps. I know it may seem a little bit weird, but you’d be surprised when others see people helping out.

It shapes their minds and may just rub off. Can you help clean at a local elderly facility? Maybe they won’t let you in. Could you clean outside? What about offloading boxes or supplies anywhere? The more hands the better and right now I believe it is the best time to be all hands on deck. Yes, I can cut down this tree by myself, but it will go much faster with helping hands. 

Just think, what can I do to take the pressure off of others? Why do we not have a “COVID-19: How can you Help” website with the list of activities that people can come to do in and around their communities? Why has someone not built that yet? Maybe you should be the one to build it. It’s so easy to focus on the news, blaming others, pointing fingers rather than all these media outlets come together and build solutions. Pump gas for someone who’s 60 and up, help them offload their groceries, packages, et cetera. I have four more ideas below. 

2 Find solutions

Work on putting out little fires, not just big ones. What are things in and around your community that need solving? There’s more to serving the first responders. What can you do for the

mailman, delivery drivers, truckers, maybe your programmer. Could you help a local business build a delivery service or help them connect with DoorDash, Uber Eats, Postmates so that they can keep their doors open. With everything closed, now is the perfect time to integrate offline with online high-tech with low tech. 

People still want to eat at their local eateries. Maybe your state has closed everything cause you can’t figure out how to do it effectively. Is now the time for drone deliveries? I’m not saying it is, but I’m just asking the question. I know people who do geospatial mapping, can they help? People are doing all sorts of things out there. Giving back like sewing masks, threading masks, printing swabs for test kits. 

Once you start looking for inventive ways to serve, the more they will come to your head. Be an idea machine. Like my brother James Altucher says, write down 10 things that you’re good

at, maybe even profession and write down 10 things that are desperately needed and see if there’s any intersection. For example, let’s take your carpenter. Maybe you can build planter boxes for people who want to now start growing their own gardens. More and more people are now wanting to plant their own crops. Maybe you’re doing something for your immediate family. 

Here’s an idea and one of the things that came to my mind while I was out walking today. How about capturing the stories of your grandparents? How about you grab a recording device, call grandma, grandpa and just start asking questions. “Grandma, what was it like when you were six years old? 10 years old, 15 years old. Were boys mean to you?” “Grandpa. Did you go to school with other races of people? Grandpa. What age did you meet grandma? Did you have someone special in your life before you met her?” Same thing for grandma. “Grandma, do you remember when you first laid eyes on grandpa and by the way, what were your parents like? When did your parents pass away?” I think that grabbing these stories and sending them on a computer for history will do wonders for your family and generations to come.

3 Be a sounding board

Mental illness plagues millions of people each year. Let’s start using our phones for their original intent, their design of talking to others. With all this extra time on our hands, let’s ask people how they are feeling and mean it.

We all have those friends that are difficult to talk to, but maybe what we should build is a call exchange service where you can talk to a stranger in need. No therapists, no specialists, just a conversation. How about something like this? Remember those old phone sex lines? Yeah, I know.  We never tried it, but we always saw advertisements before the internet, similar in nature, but instead helping people in need.

How about we have a switchboard that connects colors based on their needs like weight gain, suicide, depression, death, divorce, terminal illness, and separation anxiety. Now you can choose which calls to answer so you can handle only the calls that you’re comfortable hearing. We can take it even a step further and separate it by English, Spanish, male, female, and again, if someone builds it out, now we have a platform to solve large problems, easy to build, and cheap to maintain. 

The network effect grows itself to infinite scale. No reason to rush off the call. It’s not like you have any appointments to go to anyways. 

4 Donate

Donate to others. I know people who are couponers, hoarders that have piles of extra stuff. Talk to them about giving away some of this stuff to a nonprofit or others in need. Don’t force our elderly into the stores to get goods. We need our seniors. Before this happened, I knew a lady that converted a bedroom to a storage facility for all for couponing stuff, pre-COVID. I called my coupon-hoarder friends and said, “Hey, some of the people out there need that stuff. They need help. Let’s do it together.” What sense is it and looking at all this stuff in your house while people are going without. Find a couponer on IG, social media and ask them to help. Sometimes people just need the idea planted in their minds.

5 Entertain others

I’m sure we can all use a break from the 24-hour news cycle. My parents loved Tyler Perry movies. In fact, it’s the only thing that we could collectively watch as a family today. I was on Instagram with a person who’s a chef and he’s out of work. I told him, why not start a YouTube channel cooking show from your home? I even offered to feature him on my channel as a way to build some tracks in the very beginning. Bartenders can make videos of your favorite cocktails and share it with the world. We all need a smile in the community, a release from the horrors of what is happening around us. 

What about hosting virtual karaoke parties at your house on  Instagram, thinking won’t pick up steam? Ha! During the last hurricane here we had in Florida, we were all stuck at a shelter in the middle school. Everyone was hot, frustrated, no decent meals, we’re eating cafeteria food, nowhere to go, stuck waiting out the next mega storm. Amidst it all, I decided that maybe a little bit of entertainment would just help out. So during the midst of all this chaos, I spoke with someone who was a DJ and had a karaoke machine, and I asked him if he would kindly go out to his home and bring it to the gymnasium where we were at. 60 minutes later, we were setting up a karaoke machine and an hour from there, the whole crowd was joining in. Everybody from different races and ethnic groups were singing all types of music, mariachi, crown. I mean, it was just WOW. The crowd loved it and we had so much fun. During the midst of all this chaos. It was my first shot at entertaining people during the middle of a disaster, and it worked. 

Do not let this downtime turn into wasted time. Use it as a way to showcase your gifts, talents, skills. Most of us complained about never being able to do our dreams, follow our paths, our journeys because we’re stuck at work and having to pay bills. Well, now is your time. What are you going to do with it? Thanks for reading! Stay safe, praying for the wellbeing of your families. May God bless you all.

Top 3 Things to do During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Posted on by Eric Coffie

This huge crisis is affecting everyone but while others are not doing anything, you can turn this into an opportunity for development. To help you with this, here are the top 3 things to do during the COVID-19 pandemic.

WHAT IS THE CURRENT SITUATION?

During this whole crisis, a huge number of people are sent home but the government still needs help to provide the necessary personal protective equipment for people on the frontline.

In order to help, I created a team weeks ago to help analyze the areas in which the virus is most likely to have great impact, search for sources, and purchase supplies and goods.

As a result, we have secured multiple sources from multiple states and we are in the process of fulfilling $20 million orders. 

You see, even with the huge crisis, there’s still opportunity for federal contractors and it is on you whether to capitalize on it or just stay in your houses and not doing anything.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

1. Learn the marketplace. 

Don’t dwell directly just because the demand is huge. Rather, be cautious with your every step. Remember that the government may be spending a lot of money but you still need to take precaution before dealing with an industry and marketplace that you don’t know yet.

It’s wiser to wait and try to figure out the industry first. Research how the process works and what are the requirements that you need. Understand the demand on the product or service that you want to offer. Learn how to negotiate and to search for contracting opportunities.

This way, after this crisis, you already have the necessary knowledge on how government contracting works and you are already ready to land on your first contract. 

2. Seek out a mentor. 

You need to experience how everything works not just through your research and you can do this by working with an already established company or seek out a mentor.

There are a handful of free programs that the federal government provides for aspiring contractors and you can also learn from the industry by working with a company who is already doing business with the government.

With your job in that company, you will soon learn the process from submitting proposals up until the bidding phase and other important steps that government contractors should experience.

Just remember that the key here is to learn while experiencing the process. This way, you can personally add value towards the government marketplace.

3. Find a partner you want to work with. 

In working in this industry, you need a partner or a group of people to help you establish your business in terms of finances and others.

You can meet a lot of established contractors and professionals through free online and offline events and conferences organized by various government agencies. You might not know, you’ll soon be meeting the perfect business partner to win contracts together. 

Just remember that with finding a partner, be with someone who has the same values as you and whom you can learn from. This way, you continue to achieve growth and success together without having too many misunderstandings.

RESOURCES

If you want to watch the full video on the top 3 things that you should be doing during the COVID-19 pandemic, then be sure to click the links below.

Special Episode: Eric tells us the top 3 things to do during the COVID-19 pandemic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ys503s9yNO4&t=226s