Month: May 2020

Jennifer Namvar – The Billion Dollar Capture Manager – Part 1: Proposals

Posted on by Linette Genao

By focusing on emerging and next-generation technologies, Jennifer Namvar, Capture Director for Leidos, has become the best of the best at what she does. With 16 years of experience in all phases of the federal government business development life-cycle, she is someone you want to learn from. Jennifer Namvar has worked for some of the DoD’s Top 100 list companies and has closed more than one billion in new and re-compete business.

With so much knowledge to offer, we have decided to break this into two parts. With part 1, we will focus on proposal writing assistance and how to effectively execute the process as a small-business.

 

PROPOSAL ADVICE FROM JENNIFER NAMVAR

 

1) Have a proposal management process

We all know proposals require a lot of time and dedication. As a small business, even if you cannot afford a full out-proposal management team, you should still have a process. For example, even with a small 5-person team, this can be effectively accomplished by beginning with creating a schedule.

“What I would recommend is that you put together for each proposal a schedule and an outline of the requirements and the evaluation criteria. You dedicate or assign a team of people and give each person on your five-person team a responsibility for putting together a part of the proposal.”

Additionally, Namvar recommends holding reviews and getting someone else to review your proposal.

“Get a couple people. Either if it’s a startup, sometimes you have a board, sometimes you have business advisors. Get those people to review your proposal. Don’t review your own proposal.”

 

2) If you outsource…

Find someone credible to review your proposals.

“I would bring in trusted consultants…There’s several proposal and capture consulting companies that have very senior folks that you can hire to review your proposal,” states Namvar.

If you hire a freelancer, Namvar suggests hiring one that is specific to this industry and to federal proposals.

 

3) Give yourself time

With all the time and money invested into created proposals, you want to make sure you give yourself enough time to review, edit, and perfect.

In addition, Namvar advises allotting time for a hard copy response in case something goes wrong electronically.

Missing a deadline is not an option.

“If you do miss a deadline, even by a minute, the government typically will throw you out and you don’t want to waste all that time and money for having a late submission.”

 

4) Have Accountability Check-Ins

Throughout the life of the proposal, you want to have daily accountability check-ins with your team. This way, you know the proposal is going in the right direction. Also, little problems or concerns can be addressed quickly without turning into larger issues.

 

Following these 4 steps will assist you in having a smoother proposal writing experience. It will also assure you are putting your best foot forward. After all, you want to make sure you are submitting the best proposal you have to offer.

On our next post, Jennifer Namvar will take us a little into a Capture Manager’s World and how small businesses can benefit from this insider knowledge.

 

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

To learn more about Government Contracting, subscribe to the GOVCON GIANTS YouTube Channel.

Doing business with the federal government for IT companies

Posted on by Eric Coffie

Over the last several weeks I have noticed an uptick in the amount of companies wanting to do federal contracting for IT related services. This includes programmers, network administrators, software design, hardware design, security implementation, the whole gambit.

However, many of them often have the same questions. How do I break into this marketplace? Who should I call, what activities should I be doing?

Over the last dozen or so emails my response has been the same time and time again. So I figured why not create a blog post to help provide guidance to those persons needing to find their way.

For most IT companies they have a difficult time understanding the inner workings of government and how to break in. Here are a few things to consider.

  • Does the government buy your product/service from a Best in Class vehicle? Which ones?
  • Are you interested in SBIR/STTR?
  • Can you develop custom applications?
  • Do you have a specialty area? Software, application type
  • Are you familiar with OTA, CSO and BAA?
  • What products have you delivered successfully?

If you are unfamiliar with any of the words above then I recommend you do some of the HW assignments below.

This will help familiarize you with various ways in which the government buys IT related services. Additionally, this will dramatically increase your knowledge base and vocabulary in this marketplace; something that will help you get up to speed rather quickly.

Recommended HW:

  1. Listen to my podcast episode with software company Fearless.They created the SBA HUBZone map and the website. Podcast or YouTube
  2. Watch my YouTube video discussing submitting unsolicited proposals, white papers and quad charts with Pierce Robinson. Watch now
  3. Listen to episode with Dr. Grant former director of SBIR/STTR at NASA. Listen now.
  4. Research Best In Class vehicles. Category Management using GSA new search tool. Head there now.
  5. Try and answer the Seven Critical Question test from the Silicon Valley Way. Take test now

Hope this helps some people out there to try and get clarity where often none can be found.

/ EC

054: Christoph Mlinarchik – Acquisition Policy Advisor, Attorney and Expert Witness

Posted on by Eric Coffie

Christoph Mlinarchik, is an attorney, professional instructor, consultant, an expert witness who has provided opinions and reports, research concerning damages, key findings, and case strategy for complex contracts litigation.

Today, we discuss when to suggest evaluation factors, federal acquisition institute, lowest price technically acceptable, tradeoff source selection, AF Space Command and his new book, Government Contracts in Plain English.

Personal Protective Equipment PPE is becoming a race to the low bid bottom

Posted on by Eric Coffie

PPE or Personal Protective Equipment is now synonymous with gloves, sanitizer, mask, cleaning supplies. Everything we need in the new COVID19 economy to make our lives safer.

Over the last 6 weeks my 77 year old mom started using zoom for church, seeing her doctors via telemedicine and watching the grandkids go to virtual school. It has been a whirlwind of events since the Coronavirus traveled from Wuhan China to the America’s and beyond.

One of the most interesting phenomena’s has been the uptick in new suppliers, resellers, manufacturers who jumped into the production/distribution of Personal Protective Equipment products to help combat the spread of the Coronavirus. From 3M increasing their production of N95 respirators to General Motors making ventilators.

I have seen promotional companies, landscapers, contractors, lawyers all jump into the PPE craze. Some have made millions of dollars others thousands and others

Today nearly 2 months later people are still trying to jump into the PPE craze.

If you are considering jumping on the bandwagon take a look at the price points people are now offering to the government. I have seen 3-ply masks as low as $.29 and KN95 for $1.40, and boot covers for $.10. This is not a sustainable business model for the anyone, nor is it very profitable.

PPE has turned into a commodity item and a race to the bottom. This is not a sustainable way to build a business long term.

Factors to consider before jumping in.

1.  Do I have a relationship with a client?
2.  What is my significant product advantage?
3.  Is my inventory competitive price, in stock available?
4.  Can I compete with these prices?

Unless you have the products in stock and ready to go you can fall victim to the hype craze and countless hours of wasted time. In this new era there will be plenty of time for building, creating and manufacturing new products. I just don’t believe that PPE should be people’s sole focus.

If you have not already listened to the reason why I hate state and local contracts. Listen now. 

Take a look at these prices and see where you stand.

ppe table
KN95 prices

 

053: Stephen Halasnik – Serial entrepreneur teaches how to build a $10M revenue firm

Posted on by Eric Coffie

Today’s episode features serial entrepreneur Stephen Halasnik.

Over the last 25-years, Mr. Halasnik has built 7 companies in the $5 to $20 million annual revenue range. His businesses have covered a wide variety of industries; staffing, finance, software and real estate.

Today’s interview is a little different. We are bringing you someone who has created a formula for scaling companies to the $10M revenue mark. This is great for us small businesses out there to learn what it takes to build a scalable brand.

Inside With Robert Wink—Contract Specialist With USACE and Former FEMA Contracting Officer

Posted on by Linette Genao

Although all agencies have similarities, they are also all unique. Robert Wink, published author and CEO of Integrity Lion Acquisitions, provided us insight on how different working with two agencies can actually be.

Wink is adamant about helping entrepreneurs learn the process and how to do the work in federal contracting quickly, effectively, and without wasting time, Wink opened up about his experiences working with FEMA after a large natural disaster and how the rules are not the same as many of the federal agencies.

 

Robert Wink

BACKGROUND

Wink comes with vast experience working within the government. He retired from the US Army with multiple deployments to Iraq, was a Contracting Officer with FEMA and is currently a Contracting Specialist with the US Army Corps of Engineers.

Wink is also the author of two books: “Small Business Starting Guide to Federal Government Contracts and Searching for Solicitations” and “Secrets to Noncompetitive Government Contracts.”

 

INSIDE WITH ROBERT WINK

 

1. Get familiar with the industry or the agency you are going into Or Working With

From an insider perspective and as a contracting officer, working for FEMA and also the US Army Corps of Engineers, we learn from Wink that they require very different things from their contracting officers and allot their spending very differently. This is important for those wanting to work for the agencies or those looking to work with a specific industry or agency.

“Absolutely, because even at the Army, I was at the Mission Installation Contracting Command and we were very heavy on small businesses. Went to FEMA, man FEMA. That was a … FEMA is a whole different animal when it comes to Contracting. What I mean by that, and I’ll stick with the small business side. When I would bring up, “Hey, what’s our small business goals?” You got that deer in the headlight look… I think in the two years, the couple, and the month… couple weeks I was there, not one time did we ever talk small business goals.”

 

2. Natural Disasters Change The Rules

It’s important to note that rules change. Especially during natural disasters like Hurricane Harvey.

“During your disaster, the disaster have a local area set aside…So during those disasters, those Presidential declared disasters, we were supposed to…and within the first 150 days, we can contract to anybody, because it’s a disaster. It’s a go. But, during that time, we have to start moving and transitioning to local area set asides. So, we have to compete.”

 

3. Contract Specialist and Contract Officers Are Not The Same 

Using the following example, Robert Wink explains how Contracting Specialist are like paralegals. Whereas, Contracting Officers are like lawyers—reviewing, making decisions and even arguing on your behalf to the government.

“I try to explain it the simplest way of explaining it is this way. You have your Attorney, who’s the one that approves everything and can negotiate on behalf of whoever they’re representing. That’s your Attorney. Now, the person that does the leg work and all the hard-core work. I mean, you’ll get into the weeds, and looking at the laws, and policies, and regulation. Even though the Attorney does that, it’s your Paralegals at the end of the day.”

 

4. People Will Sell You Anything If You Let Them

Be aware of companies with a government title in their name to give people the false appearance as though they are representing the government. Then, in very, very small fine print at the bottom, they state, “We are not a Government agency.”

“There’s companies out there that take the same information in my book. I know a couple in Florida. They will charge people anywhere from $400.00 up to $5,000.00 to enroll them in SAM.gov. It’s free, it’s unbelievable… it’s embarrassing…” states Wink.

What you are being charged for, ultimately is free. Be aware.

 

5. State Objectives Differ from Performance Work Statements

“So a Performance Work Statement is a, ‘I need you to complete this. I don’t care how you complete it, but there’s a measurement. So you have to provide this document and you have to perform this type of work. But, we’re going to measure your process along the way.’ What the Statement of Objectives is, ‘Hey, I need you to do janitor work on this five thousand square foot building, two hundred rooms, you tell me how you’re going to do it. You develop those metrics.’”

 

6. Read The Solicitations

Wink advises small businesses, where hiring a lawyer or Consultant to dissect solicitations for you is not an option, to simply read.

“So what I tell everybody to do is, as soon as you see something that you think you can do, read that Performance Work Statement, or that Statement Objective, or the structure. Whatever the Government’s attempting or trying to purchase.”

After reading it, Robert Wink advises asking yourself whether or not you can achieve what they are asking.

Ask yourself, “Can you do it?”

Don’t waste time. You need to know if your set aside can even do it before you spend hours analyzing the solicitation.

 

7. Pricing Is More of An Art Than A Science

Always take into account what the risk is when deciding how you mark up a job. Also, when you’re bidding a job, bid it so that you can make profit for yourself. Don’t worry about what the other person is bidding, because if you try and play and numbers game, they could have missed something, and you could end up costing you money.

“Account for all risks and to make profit. You never go into a project to lose money, unless it’s to keep your business afloat. It’s either not working or taking a little bit of loss just to keep the doors open. And employment. But, that’s a business decision.”

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

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

Meet the Basic Requirements for Government Contractors!

Posted on by Eric Coffie

With billions of budget just to cater each government agency’s needs, you may have already been considering working with the government. However, there are basic requirements for government contractors that you must meet.

LIST OF REQUIREMENTS

1. Gather the necessary codes.

Before you bid on any government proposals, you need to have the necessary codes which you will use to identify your business in the federal arena and classify the products and services that you sell for credit reporting.

DUNS number

A Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) is a nine-digit identification number assigned to identify your business and to track your company’s credit record.

If you have various locations, then you need to get a different DUNS number for each business location.

In registering for a DUNS number, you can either request via this toll-free telephone number, 1-(866) 705-5711, or through the D&B website. 

Make sure that in your registration process, you already have all of your important business information which includes your legal name, address, trade name, telephone number, contact name and title, and number of employees in that specific location.

If you are also doing a home-based business operation, then you need to highlight this during your registration. 

NAICS code

A North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code is a six-digit long code that helps classify the types of products and services that you supply.

If you provide a wide variety of supplies, then you can also have a multiple NAICS code.

You can view the NAICS code list from the U.S. Census Bureau or by contacting the bureau through 1-888-756-2427 or on their email address, NAICS@census.gov.

2. Meet the size standards. 

In order to qualify for contracts that are reserved only for small businesses, you need to meet the size requirement set by the Small Business Administration (SBA). 

This size standard defines the maximum size of your business which also includes your subsidiaries and affiliates.

It is assigned to each NAICS code and you can only qualify as a small business if you have 500 or fewer employees (manufacturing companies) or with an average annual receipts of under $7.5 million (non-manufacturing businesses).

However, the definition of which can be considered as a small business varies by industry. 

You can view the different size standard requirements for each industry through the SBA’s table of small business size standards or using their tool to determine if you qualify as a small business. 

3. Register in SAM. 

Most importantly, you need to register in the System for Award Management (SAM) database to properly represent your business in the federal contracting arena.

In registering, you primarily need to create an account first. You can either choose an individual user account or a system user account. However, it is preferred to create the latter.

After creating an account, you can already register but make sure that you appropriately fill all of the information.

Depending on the complexity of your business, your registration might take about an hour and it can also take an average of 7-10 business days to process in the database. 

Other than that, you should update your SAM profile on an annual basis or when a certain change in your business information is made. The updating or renewal process might take for approximately an hour before it becomes active on your SAM profile. 

RESOURCES

If you want to learn more about the basic requirements for government contractors that you must meet, then be sure to click the links below.

https://www.sba.gov/federal-contracting/contracting-guide/basic-requirements

https://www.census.gov/eos/www/naics/

https://www.sba.gov/document/support–table-size-standards

https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/articles/Registering_on_SAM.pdf

https://www.sam.gov/SAM/transcript/Quick_Guide_for_Updating_or_Renewing_CCR-SAM_Registrations.pdf

How to win government contracts as a small business?

Posted on by Eric Coffie

You might already be asking yourself on how to win government contracts. Well, there are a handful of routes that you can take in order to start working with the federal government and that’s going to be the focus of today’s blog. 

PREPARE YOUR BUSINESS.

Primarily, you need to make sure that your business is prepared to work with the government by meeting the necessary requirements.

These include having all the required business information such as the DUNS number and NAICS code in registering on the System for Award Management (SAM) database. 

Also, part of your SAM registration is uploading your capability statement and identifying that you have met the size standards to be considered as a small business and be able to take advantage of small business programs.

This is of utmost importance because before awarding the contract, each agency does a research first to see if you have the necessary resources in place. If you think, you are not qualified in doing so, then this should be the stage to see what you can do to make you more qualified. 

UNDERSTAND THE BIDDING PROCESS.

Before you land into a contract, you will most likely need to undergo a bidding process so it is key to understand how the bidding process works and what the types of government solicitations are there. 

To give you an idea, the four types of government solicitations include the request for a quote, request for proposal, an invitation for bid, and request for information. 

Regardless of the type of solicitation the government agency asks, you need to provide a responsive bid or proposal that complies to the procurement requirements and procedures.

Most importantly, you need to make sure that whatever the requirements are, you have looked upon it and resolved any issues that might compromise the project before agreeing on doing the contract. 

BUILD YOUR NETWORK.

Attend small business training workshops either online or offline to improve your understanding of how government procurement works and to assess the products and services each agency needs as well as communicate with other government contractors and learn from their experiences in the field.

Also, look for a mentor who can help you navigate the contracting process and to guide you on your decisions.

In doing so, the SBA is offering free workshops that you can join regardless of what state you are located and there are a handful of government contractors and consultants who are willing to assist you. 

FIND A CONTRACT.

There are a handful of platforms that you can use to find contracts and one of these is the Dynamic Small Business Search (DSBS) which is mainly used by government agencies. You can also use this to search for subcontractors to do half or a little portion of your overall contract. 

Then, there are also other federal business opportunities listed in the FedBizOpps.gov which is now under the SAM database that government agencies ought to use to advertise all contracts over $25,000

Lastly, you can also secure a contract with the  U.S. General Services Administration (GSA). However, you first need to pay for a Past Performance Evaluation report and also provide six to 20 email addresses of your past customers. 

SEARCH FOR SUBCONTRACTING OPPORTUNITIES. 

If you are a small business and you don’t have the experience in becoming a prime contractor, there are a handful of subcontracting opportunities that you can look at on SubNet. 

The SBA, GSA, and the Department of Defense also maintains a directory of prime contractors with subcontracting plans.

Lastly, you can also search for contracts over $25,000 on the Federal Procurement Data System, USASpending.gov or on any small business offices such as the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) or the Office of Small Business Programs (OSBP). 

RESOURCES

If you want to learn more about winning in this federal contracting arena, then be sure to click the links below.

https://www.sba.gov/federal-contracting/contracting-guide/how-win-contracts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_-uiGSnkSQ

https://govcongiants1.wpengine.com/can-you-successfully-win-government-contracts/

Federal Contracting Process: A Guide Before Working with the Government

Posted on by Eric Coffie

Working with the federal government is quite different than working with private entities. There are certain processes and rules to follow. So, here is a guide to help you understand the federal contracting process. 

WHAT MAKES GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS DIFFERENT?

Federal contracts are highly regulated to encourage competition, guarantee the proper use of the taxpayer’s money, and promote healthy socio economic goals. 

Each contract also contains mandatory clauses that enable the government to have special rights within the contract.

It includes being able to change its terms and conditions and even end it.

Then, claims and legal actions from contractors should also follow the procedures of the Contract Disputes Act because the federal government is a sovereign entity. 

WHAT GOVERNED FEDERAL CONTRACTS?

Federal contracts are subject to several statutes including the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act and the Competition in Contracting Act while its procurement process for executive branches is also governed by the Federal Property Administrative Act and the Armed Services Procurement Act.

Due to these, the federal government developed a body of administrative law to address all of these through the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR).

Other agencies such as the NASA, the General Services Administration, and the Department of Defense also created supplements on this regulation in pursuit of the Administrative Procedure Act.

WHAT IS THE ROLE OF THE CONTRACTING OFFICER?

A contract will not be bound without the authority of a contracting officer.

In order to follow the rules governing the contracts, an executive agency issues a warrant or a certificate of appointment to a contracting officer to grant, manage, or terminate a given contract. 

These warrants may either be a warrant with a specific amount of money or an unlimited warrant that is used for various contracting opportunities.

WHAT IS THE PROCUREMENT PROCESS?

Once the government agency provides a warrant to a contracting officer, this person moves to the next phase which can be either through sealed bidding or negotiation. 

When the contracting officer chose sealed bidding, he or she directly advertised an Invitation for Bids, read the bid to the public, and chose the lowest responsive bidder. However, if one of the conditions for the sealed bidding is not met or present, the contracting officer then awards the contract using competitive negotiation.

Competitive negotiation starts when there’s already an official issue of requests for proposals. It is then followed by the proposals review, negotiation, revision of proposals, second review, and lastly, the awarding of a contract. 

Regardless of what process the contracting officer chose, this person mainly checks the proposals and the background of each company if they are fit for the project. 

WHAT ARE YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES?

During and after the procurement process, you must meet the business practices and ethical responsibilities imposed by the federal government. 

This includes not doing any act of bribery, false claims and statements, kickbacks, attempting to influence the award or modification of the contract, discussing employment to government officers and employees, and obtaining restricted information before the award of a contract.

This also goes the same way inside your company such as not encouraging discrimination to and between employees, following the socio-economic obligations as a government contractor, providing a subcontracting plan for small businesses, following the labor standards, and providing a drug-free workplace.

WHAT IS THE CONTRACT DISPUTE ACT?

When the contracting officer terminates or changes some parts of your contract that you didn’t agree with, you have the right to appeal these by following the Contract Dispute Act.

The act follows a process wherein you present a claim to the contracting officer regarding the action that you find unreasonable within your contract.

However, if the said person doesn’t provide a final decision regarding your dispute, you can appeal this to the US Court of Federal Claims which will then be forwarded to the Court of Appeals, and lastly to the Supreme Court, if not yet resolved.

Just remember that the government has sixty days to file an answer towards your company. And for your complaint not to be defeated, you must file it within a year after you receive the contracting officer’s final decision. 

RESOURCES

If you want to learn more about how the federal contracting process works as well as analyze the laws and rules written above, then be sure to click the links below.

https://www.justice.gov/jm/civil-resource-manual-70-contract-disputes-act

https://www.acquisition.gov/browse/index/far

https://www.onvia.com/for-business/go-to-market-guidance/sealed-bids-vs-proposals-how-they-compare

https://www.sba.gov/business-guide/grow-your-business/become-federal-contractor

https://www.usa.gov/become-government-contractor

https://corporate.findlaw.com/law-library/federal-government-contract-overview.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_procurement_in_the_United_States#Law