Tag: government contracts

Mastermind Monday: Why are you scared to be in the arena?

Posted on by Eric Coffie

Don’t be afraid to build a relationship and bid on government contracts!

BE THE MAN IN THE ARENA

Do you know what ITA stands for? Well, this stands for In the Arena based off of Theodore Roosevelt’s quote which is called The Man in the Arena:

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

The reason why we highlighted this quote is because we want to encourage all of you to get in the arena. Talk to people in your space. Talk to our podcast guests and if you’re similar to them, build a relationship with them.

However, the problem is people are trying to do everything alone. They’re an island by themselves.

They are sitting at home on their computer trying to price jobs, but have no one to overlook their mistakes and do things that are a must for bidding and overall govcon activities. 

Just take our very own Maria Martinez for example. She is a kindergarten teacher who has no govcon background, but when she dive into the arena and started building relationships with others, she succeeded and won multiple contracts. 

“She did not let people say, the cynics, tell her that she couldn’t do it. She tried. What happened when she tried? She succeeded… So again, in the arena. The credit belongs to the man who is in the arena.”

So, what are you going to do now? Well, you need to do the activities. And with this, we have some advice below. 

ADVICE FOR SMALL BUSINESSES

1. Learn from people. 

When you jump into the marketplace without learning the basics, it is very easy to get in trouble. 

However, you can avoid this if you are studying from people who are living and breathing all of this stuff every day. 

We actually did have a student that won a contract but his price is 20,000 lower than the production cost. This is a huge problem. Good thing he was able to talk to the manufacturer about this, but what if he wasn’t?

“Learn from people. Listen, learn, learn, learn, first.”

2. Do your market research. 

The government buys everything. The thing is they don’t always buy it the same way that you’re thinking. 

For instance, if you have a specific niche service and you looked it up on FBO but nothing comes up, that service might have been bundled with other services. 

The key is to know where to do your market research and not just rely on things posted on beta.sam.

So, what you’ll do is look based on your NAICS or PSC code and go to USASpending, FPDS, or to similar platforms that showcase past procurement data.

3. Just do the activities.

You need to start doing your govcon activities. This means not just bidding but doing your business development. 

As said above, Maria Martinez didn’t just get lucky, she does the activities. So, what you need to do is to start reaching out to people and building relationships with them. 

4. Be a subcontractor.

In this marketplace, we always do this all the time that if we cannot win a contract as a prime, we’re contacting the prime to be their subcontractor.

The way we do this is we just call them up and tell them that we looked at the project that they won and that we’re all aware of the scope of work that it entails, and with that, we can execute a piece of that work.

8. Stick with the experts.

Stick with the people in your industry that are doing this every day. You can learn from them through our podcasts, but we highly recommend that you build a relationship with them as it is much better. 

RESOURCES

If you want to learn more about how to build a relationship and bid on government contracts, then check our full video below. 

You can also visit the GovCon Giant website or the new GovCon Edu where you learn everything about government contracting!

Why are you scared when bidding government contracts?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDrHSxbIPdU

 

Top 10 Agencies for 8a this 2021

Posted on by Eric Coffie

If you’re a business owner eligible for 8(a) certification, any challenge to participating in the program, such as its lengthy application process, will be overshadowed by the opportunities it can offer.

Getting your 8a certificate can reduce competition for government contracts, give you access to sole-source contracts, and offer entry into the All Small Mentor-Protégé program.

However, a reality that many business owners seeking the certification fail to consider is that there is also competition among 8a firms and it’s vicious. How do you surpass that?

There are so many contracting officers in the federal industry looking for small businesses to spend their money on. There are different types of customers within each agency and different marketing strategies needed to win but don’t worry, we are here to help you.

Allow us to narrow down your target market. With that in mind, here are the Top 10 Agencies for 8a that you should keep your eye on this 2021.

1. Department of the Army (DA)

The United States Department of the Army is the Military Department within the United States Department of Defense. They are the agency that is capable of defeating enemy ground forces and indefinitely seizing and controlling those things.

The Army awards billions of contracting dollars annually. They have five buying commands and each has specific major buying command purchases, from combat systems to medical research and health services to construction projects. The Army has a very large secondary market: subcontracting, which is why they also encourage small businesses to pursue subcontracting opportunities.

2. Department of the Air Force (USAF)

The Department of the Air Force defends the country through the control and exploitation of air and space. 

The Air Force has small business specialists around the country who can help your company identify and respond to every type of procurement opportunity they offer. Business opportunities, relating to expiring contracts, facility engineering, and space force procurement, is found on their website.

3. Department of the Navy (USN)

The U.S. Department of the Navy aims to protect the country from wars at sea. The contracting functions of this agency are decentralized which means your market research should extend beyond the geographical bounds of your city, state, and region. 

The first presentation of your company’s capabilities should be directly given to the Small Business Professionals at the Navy and Marine Corps activities that buy your products or services so that you get additional points of contact for marketing the customer.

The Department of the Navy wants quality solutions for its requirements in a timely and cost-effective manner thus outstanding “past performance” is considered one of the most valuable assets.

4. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services provide high-quality care at lower costs to more than 100 million people through Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and the Health Insurance Marketplace.

To support its own programs, CMS needs to procure a wide range of supplies and services including (but not limited to) the following: Research Studies and Demonstrations, Consultant Services, Utilization of Health Services, Provider Fraud and Abuse, Health Quality and Standards, Professional Advisory Services, Computer Programming, Data Processing, Office Supplies, Computer Hardware, and Software

5. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is America’s civil space program and the global leader in space exploration.  They develop and fund space technologies that will enable future exploration and benefit life on Earth.

If you are interested in working with NASA, as a small business owner, you can go to their website and identify which NASA Center is your target market. Each center has listed out the NAICS codes of the product or service that they intend to acquire.

6. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is one of the major operating components of the Department of Health and Human Services. They protect America from health, safety, and security threats, both foreign and in the U.S. 

This agency conducts critical science and provides health information that protects our nation against expensive and dangerous health threats, and responds when these arise. For small businesses engaged in scientific research and development (R&D), research funding is available.

7. Public Buildings Service (PBS)

Public Buildings Service acquires space on behalf of the federal government through new construction and leasing and acts as a caretaker for federal properties across the country. They are primarily funded through the Federal Buildings Fund, which is supported by the rent from federal customer agencies.

To get information on planned federal contracting opportunities, they have provided the GSA Forecast of Contracting Opportunities Tool, which assists vendors to learn about potential prime contracting opportunities early on in the process

8. United States Coast Guard (USCG)

The U.S. Coast Guard is the principal Federal agency responsible for maritime safety, security, and environmental stewardship in U.S. ports and inland waterways, throughout the 4.5 million square miles of U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), and on the high seas.

The Coast Guard Acquisition Directorate manages a multibillion-dollar recapitalization investment portfolio of acquisition programs across three major product lines: surface; aviation; and command, control, communications, computers, cyber, and intelligence (C5I) systems.

9. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)

The FAA issues and enforces regulations involving manufacturing, operating, and maintaining aircraft. They rely on equipment, systems, supplies, services, and construction provided by commercial, educational, and non-profit businesses to function as an agency.

The FAA’s contracting activities are managed by a headquarters office, two centers, and three service areas with eight regional offices. Among the many contracting methods, the FAA, like other agencies, has certain planned contracts reserved for small businesses that are 8a certified.

10. Department of State (DOS)

The Department of State works to fight terrorism, protect U.S. interests abroad, and implement foreign policy initiatives while building a more free, prosperous, and secure world

Available projections for contracting opportunities that small and small disadvantaged firms may participate in can be found on the agency’s website under its procurement forecast. 

RESOURCES

The list found in this article and their respective ranking was taken from usaspending.gov, wherein federal agencies were ranked from highest to lowest, according to their cumulative government spending in 2021 for 8a certified businesses.

State and Local Contracts Might Be Worth the Risk!

Posted on by Eric Coffie

With the new changes and new packages being provided to state and local governments, contracts within these areas might be worth the risk!

STIMULUS PACKAGES FOR THE STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

As everyone already knows, here at GovCon Giants, we preferred federal contracts over state and local contracts. 

There are various reasons why and some of these is the fact that there are always delays in payment whenever someone in the office fails to do the paperwork on time. 

However, given the instances in the past year and the new stimulus packages being provided to state and local governments, contracts within these areas might be worth the risk!

Besides, the government at this point has now passed two stimulus packages. The first one was in March and the other one was in December 2020. Both packages are injecting money back into states and local governments. 

The other thing is that President Biden is now attempting to pass a new 1.9 trillion trillion dollar stimulus package which will surely give a whole lot more money into that for state and local governments. 

“The good thing is that all of you folks have been working, getting paid even if it’s a little bit late. You’ve still been getting paid. They haven’t abandoned you and that’s the wonderful thing. That’s what’s giving me hope about state and local contracting.”

So, to help you navigate this marketplace, written below are the ways you can take advantage of these new opportunities in doing state and local contracts!

ATTEND ANY LOCAL ADVISORY BOARD MEETING

If you’re thinking of going to the local contracting arena, it is best to take a look at the local advisory board for your local city or municipality.

You may have to do some searches or call the local municipal offices, but definitely see if you can get some inside information with the local advisory board for your particular arena and your area. 

Why? Because there’s a lot of good things going on.

For instance, in Miami-Dade County, we have a Small Business Development Center that is designed to help small businesses and a Small Business Enterprise Advisory Board for Construction.

What you will find with these is that these boards usually have meetings that you can attend to. 

First and foremost, you’re going to meet people like you who are starting or already navigating in this marketplace for years. This could also help you learn who are the good contractors from the bad contractors.

“You have to get active. You got to participate. People have to see your face, know your name, and be able to identify you.”

Apart from that, you will also learn how your local government procures goods and services, and that’s so critical if you want to be in this arena. 

CHECK ANY LOCAL SMALL BUSINESS RELATED DOCUMENT

Aside from attending the above-said meetings, you can also check and analyze any local documents related to your industry because they often issue reports and minutes that you can go back into.

Primarily, you can see in these reports the members of the board that are providing their services and are officiating these meetings.

These reports also highlight the issues that were brought forth by the board in which you can start learning and investigating in order to make the best possible decision for your business.

Then, if you also want to see how much contracts were given to set-asides for minority groups, these reports may also highlight this.

Most importantly, these reports also highlight the companies that are doing state and local contracts together with the data related to their businesses, including the total value awarded, costs of work, and percentage completion.

So, if you want to navigate this marketplace, is it best to do your own research using these resources because this may either lead you to your first contract or a possible partnership, among other things. 

“I always remind people to start with the research. Let the research guide your activities.”

THERE MIGHT BE HOPE FOR STATE AND LOCAL CONTRACTS

The gist of this whole article is that if we continue along this trend of bringing on stimulus and propping up the economy, then that’s great news for small business contractors who are considering starting at the local level.

“The government is making sure in putting dollars and putting not just dollars, they are putting their voice behind ensuring that they prop up small businesses to keep the economy flourishing.”

Although you still need to have capital to sustain your business until you get paid, at the very least, we don’t see any time soon that the state and local government will leave small businesses behind because there is so much money flowing around.

RESOURCES

So, with the new packages being provided to state and local governments, GovCon Giants think that doing contracts in these areas might be worth the risk!

However, consider that if there are warning signs of things changing, we definitely want to be here to step in and let people know about the change in climate.

With this in mind, if you want to learn more about this matter, then check the resources below. 

You can also join us here at GovCon Giants or check the new GovCon Edu where you learn everything about government contracting!

ALERT: State and Local Contracts might be worth the risk Part 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-o04pXqCGE&t=313s

State and local contracts might be worth the RISK – Part 2 of 2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpjGtrrOwUs&t=617s

Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. awarded $279.8M contract for engineering support services and supplies for the conception, design, development and delivery of integrated systems, networks and supporting infrastructure

Posted on by Eric Coffie

Booz Allen Hamilton Inc., McLean, Virginia (N6523621D4800); CSSI Inc., Washington, D.C. (N6523621D4801); DIGITALiBiz Inc., Rockville, Maryland (N6523621D4802); Serco Inc., Herndon, Virginia (N6523621D4803); and Scientific Research Corp., Atlanta, Georgia (N6523621D4804), are awarded a cumulative $279,803,380 multiple-award, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract with provisions for cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price task/delivery orders. The contracts are for engineering support services and supplies for the conception, design, development, and delivery of integrated systems, networks, and supporting infrastructure on a non-emergent basis along with the corresponding engineering, technical, and management support services and equipment for air traffic control, meteorology and oceanography, and aviation command, control, communications, computers, combat systems, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance electronic systems. These contracts include a single five-year ordering period with an estimated cumulative value of $279,803,380. These contracts also include a two-year option ordering period. The option period, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of these contracts to an estimated $400,000,000. Fiscal 2021 working capital (Navy) funds in the amount of $25,000 ($5,000 per awardee) will be obligated at the time of the award. Funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Work will be performed in Charleston, South Carolina (77%); and San Diego, California (23%). Work is expected to be completed by May 2028. If options are exercised, work could continue until May 2030. The contracts were competitively procured by full and open competition via the Naval Information Warfare Systems Command – Electronic Commerce Central website and the beta.sam.gov website, with five offers, received. Naval Information Warfare Center Atlantic, Charleston, South Carolina, is the contracting activity.

Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. provides technology and management consulting services. The Company offers consulting, analytics, digital, engineering, and cyber solutions. Booz Allen Hamilton serves customers worldwide. (www.bloomberg.com)

Leilani Lacusong: From Accountant to 8a Contractor

Posted on by Eric Coffie

For over five years, Leilani Lacusong learned doing government contracts and now, she shares her story and what she learned from winning her first contract!

 BACKGROUND

Leilani Lacusong has over 25 years of experience doing accounting in the architecture, engineering, and construction industry as a project and staff accountant all the way to becoming a Chief Financial Officer. 

Currently, she is the Principal at Leis Consulting Group where she does government contracts for over five years while also providing accounting services, on the side. 

Apart from that, Leilani is also working along with some of our GovCon Giants to gain contracts as a community. 

STARTING IN THE FEDERAL MARKETPLACE

When she quit her former job, Leilani was faced with the fact that she had no clients and no job. However, she believed in herself and started researching. 

She built Leis Consulting Group in 2015 and she went after 8a and other certifications.

She called people for three months regarding these small business certifications and instead of paying someone to fill the 8a application, she did it herself. 

Although, she was informed that she can’t be an 8a, she continued to pursue this certification until she became 8a certified in 2016.

However, reality hits her. Becoming part of the 8a program doesn’t mean having those VIP tickets that will provide you contracts. 

So, she reverted back to doing accounting while researching more and navigating different  govcon databases.

That’s when she learned about homeless veterans, traditional homes for the probationers, and other opportunities that she already had previous experiences with. 

GETTING HER FIRST CONTRACT

Leilani then got her first contract on September 23, 2017 where she did a carpet cleaning project in Abilene, Texas for three years.

“I thought I won a million dollars, but it’s only 65,000 for five years, so I  didn’t really look at it that way. I think it just affects the high of winning a contract. It didn’t matter if it was like twenty thousand, thirty thousand—”

Although this contract gave her a lot of challenges, it also strengthened the way she viewed government contracts. 

Primarily, the people that she hired to do the project didn’t show up, so she just did the job herself. Fortunately, a pastor assisted her in accomplishing the job for three years. 

Apart from that, the contract itself is $65,000 for three years which is a very small contract considering its time period. 

However, she still performed the project and viewed it as a very humbling experience.

“It’s like, ‘Wow, the government really trusted me, so, I have to perform, you know, like they trusted me and my company.’ So, you know what? I have to deliver what I need to deliver and maybe do more.”

SACRIFICES AND DRIVE

Between 2017 to 2019, Leilani continues to bid with no hits. This then affects her tremendously.

She began sabotaging her relationships and there comes a point where she needs to do accounting on the side just to pay her bills.

However, she knew that these sacrifices were needed to achieve her goals, so she never gave up. 

“I just did not give up, you know. I don’t know what kept me going. I think it’s because of that hunger… for trying to get the contracts. I’m like, ‘That’s all I want to do. I just want to work hard with contracts.’”

ADVICE FOR ASPIRING GOVCON GIANTS

1. Be patient.

Patience is very important when you’re doing every activity in order to win a contract. It will not happen as soon as you want it. You need to wait. You need to think. You need to continuously reinvent yourself. 

“You have to be patient. It’s not going to come overnight.”

2. Be humble.

Stay grounded wherever part of your govcon journey you are because no matter how huge your contracts are, you have to go right back to where you started again after accomplishing that.

In fact, why not share what you learned? Besides, there are tons of contracts and money for all of us in this marketplace, we have enough projects to pass around.

“You have to share… I think humility and being humble, I think it’s the key to, you know, so people really want to work with you.”

3. Be consistent.

Success won’t happen when you don’t do your activities consistently. You need to have a system. You need to have structure. You need to know what you are doing. 

“My advice to people is how to eat live and walk and really digest the government world because if you don’t, you’re going to get lost in the shuffle, you’re going to be frustrated, and you’re not going to know your next move. So, I said just be consistent.”

4. Be part of a community.

When you’re doing contracts alone, it will surely become lonely, but it will not be that lonely if you become part of a community who also have the same aspirations as yourself. 

“One thing I really, really learned is you have to have a community. You have to have a village. It’s kind of like having kids, you have to have a support system because there are things that you’re missing out.” 

RESOURCES

If you want to learn more on the sacrifices and lessons Leilani Lacusong learned, then be sure to click the resources below. You can also visit the GovCon Giant website or the new GovCon Edu where you learn everything about government contracting!

02: Making a Giant with Maria and Leilani Lacusong. From Accountant to 8a Contractor

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmJi3lamQUw&t=2606s

Cecil Whitlock: Did You Know that You Can PURCHASE an 8a Company?

Posted on by Eric Coffie

Did you know that you can purchase an 8a company? Let’s answer this question together with Cecil Whitlock!

BUYING AN 8A COMPANY

Cecil Whitlock started his career in the federal market by working with different large companies.

He was then hired at the J2 Engineering, Inc. when the company is close to graduating in the 8a program because the company already outgrows the necessary numbers that small businesses can leverage. 

Then, at some point, he bought the company when the owner approached him about buying it because he chose to go back to law school. 

As the new owner, he still needed to make sure that the company continued working even after the program, so he went and bid on some MATOC and SATOC contracts on top of the sole source contracts that the company was already working on. 

Whitlock highly recommends these to 8a companies as these contracts last for over five years and even if you graduate from the 8a program, you can still keep these contracts and continue bidding on it. 

“I suggest that, you know, everybody, especially 8as, learn how to bid these contracts… and once you learn how to do them and get involved into them, you see that it’s a great thing.”

Apart from that, the company also leveraged the partnerships that they have with some of the largest corporations, including AECOM.

They continued bidding and winning on different million dollar worth of contracts until they had tapped out on their bonding and Whitlock decided to sell the company to a much larger firm in 2015. 

WORKING FOR THE MIAMI NATIONS

After selling the company and retiring, Whitlock decided to work again and in this instance, as the Managing Director of the 8a tribally-owned company, Miami Nations Enterprises. 

When he came in, Miami Nations wasn’t even formed yet, so there are things that they should do in order to keep the business afloat. 

In this case, Whitlock brought not just sole source work, but also IDIQ contracts because he knew that going after sole source contracts is not enough to sustain the whole company. 

“You need these IDIQ contracts. I think those are the easiest way to grow and it limits your competition.”

Currently, the company is involved in a handful of million dollar contracts with different teaming partners in order to get more past performance bonding for the company. 

ADVICE FOR SMALL BUSINESSES

1. Offer value. 

Consider that Miami Nations has a handful of teaming partners and these companies offer value in the contracts that they’re going after. 

Not because you’re an 8a or a tribally-owned company, someone will already give you a contract opportunity. This market doesn’t work that way. 

So, what are you bringing to the table? 

“I don’t give people business. I team and we work together on getting business or I’m out there getting business myself.”

2. Team with other companies.

Aside from being able to go after million dollar worth of contracts with a teaming partner, this could also help you in getting your past performance. 

Consider that when you team with someone, even if you only provided twenty thousand worth of work and the whole work is worth a million, you can still say that you did a million dollar job and you can also use that in your future projects. 

“I can’t stress how much past performance does for you. If you’re out there and you don’t have any past performance, if you team with somebody, you get that past performance for that… So, that’s pretty nice.”

3. Take advantage of the SBA. 

The Small Business Administration (SBA) is a helpful organization, but you need to use their services to your advantage. 

You should not just wait for them to do the work because if you think that the SBA is just going to give you a sole source project, you’re going to be sitting at home with no money on hand. 

Rather, you should prepare everything needed for them to do their job. 

“I like all the SBA people that I work with. They do a very good job, but you’ve got to help direct them to do the job for you.”

RESOURCES

If you want to learn more on how Cecil Whitlock bought an 8a company, then be sure to click the resources below.

You can also visit the GovCon Giant website or the new GovCon Edu where you learn everything about government contracting!

Did you know that you can PURCHASE an 8a company? with Cecil and Eric

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZgQ1o3t_f0&t=343s

Judy Bradt: Fierce and Determined Best Selling Author of “Government Contracts Made Easier”

Posted on by Eric Coffie

Learn from the fierce and determined best-selling author of Government Contracts Made Easier Judy Bradt!

BACKGROUND

Judy Bradt is an expert speaker and author of the Amazon #1 Bestseller “Government Contracts Made Easier.”

She has over 32 years of experience in federal business development and strategy through her past affiliation to the Canadian Embassy as a Trade Commissioner and helping thousands of small and established businesses succeed. 

She also continues to provide the above said services through her company Summit Insights, wherein they provide consulting services for established companies to win government contracts. 

“The biggest lessons I’ve learned over the last 10 years are understanding not just the mechanics, but what happens on the journey to building relationships between humans in the federal arena. And that’s become the core of my practice. That’s what sets what I do apart from everyone else that you’ll talk to.”

3 THINGS YOU CAN DO RIGHT NOW

1. Celebrate what you earned and what you learned. 

Whatever it is that you went through or you are going through, celebrate it by yourself or with your family.

Take a moment to check what you have experienced this past month or year. Whether it is an accomplishment or failure, reflect on it and celebrate it. 

“One thing I want you to do, is you’re launching your federal 2021, is stand up and celebrate. That’s the first thing.”

2. Do your hotwash.

If you continue spending thousands of dollars over the course of months without even analyzing where that money goes, then it’s most likely that you will be left empty handed the next time you check your pocket.

So, the second thing that you should do is clean up and do your hotwash. Analyze your contracting activities. If you failed to achieve your goal, what made you reach that point? 

“You hit, fall, you clean up the fields. You make things tidy and make things ready for what’s ahead as the fields go quiet. If you’re a gardener, you’re planting bulbs, you’re throwing in pepper over top of the bulbs so the squirrels don’t get them. You’re readying things for the year ahead. And that’s what October, November, December is all about in the natural world, in the natural flow of federal contracting. So, hot wash, then cleaning things up. It’s your after action review.”

3. Give thanks. 

It’s pretty sure that a lot of people have helped you towards where you are right now; so, why not give thanks to their little ways?

Write a thank you note to your employees, to that contracting specialist who helped you with your papers, to the contracting officer who approved your contract, and many others.

Be  natural. Just give thanks. Make it clear what difference they made to you and also to the way you were able to serve their agency. That’s not hard. 

“Remember we talked about their personnel files? Those letters from industry set your people apart from the ones that they’re competing against for promotions. That thank you letter that you write is life-changing. It is career altering in a good way.”

FOCUS, CONNECT, AND WIN!

1. Focus.

The first bucket that you should fill is to focus on what agency you want to serve. This also means that you should understand what they do and what they are looking for. 

2. Connect.

Be in front of the right person with the right message and information at the right time.

“Buck up, be brave, make the call.”

3. Win.

The third bucket is to understand that your first win is not the million dollar or the micro-purchase win, your first win is the fact that they return your phone call or they open your email. 

“Your next win is the conversation where you feel that connection, where you’ve made a difference for them because you’ve talked to that individual, federal human, about a thing that you know matters to them, because you did your research in the focus stage.”

RESOURCES

If you want to learn more from Judy Bradt, the fierce and determined best-selling author of Government Contracts Made Easier, then be sure to click the resources below. You can also visit the GovCon Giant website or the new GovCon Edu where you learn everything about government contracting!

079: Judy Bradt – Fierce, Determined and Best Selling Author of Government Contracts Made EasiER

https://govcongiants1.wpengine.com/podcast/079/

079: Fierce, Determined and Best Selling Author of Government Contracts Made Easier!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7cGPtfDks4

Learn Everything about ISO 9001 with Marla Nelson!

Posted on by Eric Coffie

With almost 30 years of quality management experience in manufacturing, Marla Nelson shares what ISO certification is and why it is important to be certified in doing government contracts. 

BACKGROUND

Marla Nelson graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Technology from Colorado State University. 

She started off her career as a line former at the Dearborn Stamping Plant and became a quality manager and production superintendent, thereafter. Then, when the automotive industry was not doing well, she moved to Las Vegas and worked for a prime contractor for 13 years.

Currently, Nelson is the CEO of Advantage Quality Professionals Nevada and is a lead consultant at Core Business Solutions, a management consulting firm helping small businesses for their ISO 90001 certification needs.

WHAT IS ISO 9001?

ISO 9001 was established by the International Organization of Standards in 1987. It’s an international standard based on the seven world-class business practices, representing the risk-based approach to business excellence.

“Instead of just winging it and hoping that you produce the parts and offer the services that your customer wants, you have a very disciplined approach to how you put your processes together, how you document them, and how you provide excellence that you’re meeting all requirements.”

This standard was not necessarily a requirement for all companies but being ISO 9001 certified really proves a point that you have met the standard quality and requirements of your customers. 

WHICH STANDARD IS BEST FOR YOUR BUSINESS? 

Consider that the ISO 9001 is just the basic standard, it still has a lot of other standards under it so that it can cater other kinds of services.

If you are in the aerospace or are providing products and services to the military, then the AS9100 is the right standard for your business. 

Then, if you are providing medical devices including N95 masks and all of the needed personal protective equipment, you need to get ISO 13485 certified.

Meanwhile, the ISO 9000 is more common in the creative and innovative type of industries that provide cannabis, cosmetics, CBD oil, and others. This standard is needed in order for these industries to exercise good manufacturing practices.

Lastly, with all of the incidents of data breaches in the cyber security industry, the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) was also established.

HOW TO FAIL THE CERTIFICATION AUDIT?

1. Be an ineffective leader.

In the audit, every single person in your company will be subject to an audit for the leadership interview. This means that all of your people need to face the auditor and not just your quality manager.

“They want to know how is the leadership making sure that everybody has the resources, that they need to be effective, how does the leadership let everybody understand, help everybody understand that they contribute to the effectiveness of the business.”

2. Don’t prepare for the audit, just wing it.

Regardless of how many times you have been audited, you need to always be prepared as to not waste your auditor’s and your team’s time and effort.

“That’s what you don’t want to do because you’re going to be wasting the auditor’s time and that’s one of the things they don’t like. If they ask you a question and you have no idea what they’re talking about because you haven’t read the standard, you haven’t prepared for this, you’re going to make their job harder, and it also puts pressure on the rest of the team because remember it’s not one person being audited, it’s the entire company. So, if you’re winging it, that means everybody else is winging it.”

3. Argue with your auditor. 

Your auditor will never enjoy a healthy debate and no matter how much you want to argue with your philosophy on their requirements and other matters, you should never do it. Rather, just answer the questions and provide evidence. 

“It really doesn’t matter if you think the context of the organization is stupid. It doesn’t mean anything. All it means, a lot it tells the auditor is that you haven’t read the standard and you don’t know what it is. So, Eric, I think just a few weeks ago on one of your podcasts you talked about a SWOT analysis: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, right? That essentially is the context of the organization.” 

4. Just buy an ISO certification in a box.

You should be the one to put everything together for your company and not just any other services you saw from the internet. 

“All the documents that you create are supposed to represent your actual business practices. So, if you have a work instruction that says, “I put all rejects in this corner and put it on red paper with green ink,” your auditor is going to go the floor, be looking for rejects on red paper with green ink, and if it’s not you’re violating your own policies, and they might write you up for that, you might get a finding for that.”

THINGS TO REMEMBER!

1. Products don’t get certified.

When you get an ISO certification, you’re not certifying your products. Rather, you are certifying your process and organization as to say that you have the ability to meet your customer’s requirements.

2. Your consultant can’t certify you.

Your consultant’s job is to just define your process, do an internal audit of your whole organization, and make sure that you are meeting the standards. They’re not in your organization to certify your business because that’s the auditor’s job. 

3. Be compliant.

If you are the one manufacturing raw materials, then you can directly have an established quality management system in order to get your organization compliant.

However, in the case where you are buying raw materials from another company, then you should check if they are certified in processing that raw material and reevaluate them every year, in order to know if they are still meeting the ISO standards. 

RESOURCES

If you want to watch the full video as Marla Nelson shares everything about ISO 9001 and how this affects your business in doing contracts with the government, then be sure to click the links below:

Sell parts components to Aviation and Defense industry

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZHJFsgdN9k

Win Government Contracts as a Consultant!

Posted on by Eric Coffie

Is it possible to make money in the government marketplace as a consultant? Yes, it is. And in this blog, we’ll show you the winning process! on how to Win Government Contracts as a Consultant.

FIND CONTRACTING CLIENTS

As a government contracting consultant, you will represent different businesses. However, you will represent no one if you don’t even try to find your own clients. 

With this, you need to reach out to small or big business owners who may be searching for consultants but for those who are not yet in the marketplace, you can ask them if they are interested.

“The first thing I will say, anyway, about here who’s interests of being a consultant is identify a potential client and then send them an email. Say, ‘Hey listen, you know, I’m now learning about government contracting. I’ve got, you know, time on my hands and I think, you know, it might be a good relationship for me to start helping you, you know, work in the government space.’”

AGREE TO A FEE STRUCTURE

If they agree for you to represent them, that’s when you can talk about a fee structure.

As a consultant, you’re not necessarily working for them but you are working with them so your fee might really be different than their normal employee. With this, you can have a standard consulting fee of 25% of the profit. However, if you’re basically an employee of the company and you’re getting monthly paychecks, that fee might be lower than that number. 

Your consulting commission might also be lower if you are still new in the industry because you haven’t proven yourself yet. Because of this, it is not expected for you to command a monthly retainer plus commission on top and it is most likely that your client will just pay you in a straight commission.

Still, this fee structure will certainly change if you have worked longer with that company or have won contracts for years. 

The case is, regardless of what your fee structure, both you and your client should agree to it. 

GET A FORECAST LIST

Afterwards, you can then do your research and then create a forecast list for your client. 

As part of this process, you need to understand both the background and preferences of your client and their target agencies. In most cases, you will need to look for agencies that are within their NAICS codes and those that buy the same products and services that they sell. 

The most important thing in this stage is you will have a forecast list of your client’s target agency with all the necessary information that you can use for other research and for the next steps. 

PREPARE THE CAPABILITY STATEMENT

A capability statement acts as a resume so you need to ensure that it has all the necessary information about your consulting clients.

With this, you need to fix any wrong information and make sure that their business information on any government contracting database has the same information in this paper. 

As part of this phase, make sure that you also have an email from that same company. For instance, you might have a personal email address which can be jef@gmail.com but in this case, you will put jef@skanska.com.

“You wanna make sure that whatever efforts that you do, you get recognized for them to be at the capability statement that you sent out and via the emails that you use when you send out emails to your prospective agencies, OSDBUs, (and) small business liaison officers.”

APPROACH SMALL BUSINESS SPECIALISTS

Regardless of what agency you want to do business with, you certainly need to approach their small business specialists first to let them know what projects you’re interested in. 

In this meeting, you first need to bring your capability statement together with other important business documents just to increase your credibility. 

“There’s no way around it. If you show up without a capability statement, you’re going to see, well the first thing is you’re unprepared; and second, you’re gonna seem very amateurish and like you don’t belong.”

Then, you also need your forecast list because that specific agency’s specialist will surely ask for specific projects that brought you in their agency.

With this, if you could provide a list, this person can either provide information or let you talk with the person in charge of that project or put you in contact with a list of their prime contractors. 

“Again, if you don’t have a project in mind or several projects in mind, then how can you expect the person to help you? So when you go get ready to set up one of these meetings, you want to have in mind already some products that you’re interested in.”

RESOURCES

If you want to learn more about winning government contracts as a consultant, then be sure to click the links below:

How to get started as a consultant – no experience no money needed 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRctmnGoPYw

Want to make money as a Government Consultant, follow these steps

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1801TXW3pQ&t=28s

How to Make Money as Government Consultant – Becoming Rich in America

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1G5y7RROf20&t=17s

Do you need help trying to identify your first consultant client?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3YoXfvrj54&t=3s

As a consultant, whose email address should I be using?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMGwsav_nuw

Resource specialist Maria lands her first consultant client

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCcC6ek9mZU&list=PL6-jBNNcc98uqNR3ZYm1ZR3hwLS-YEhUP&index=5

CONTRACT OPPORTUNITY: Commercial Trailer Repair Service

Posted on by Eric Coffie

The Texas National Guard has a requirement for inspections, service and repair of commercial trailers. This sources sought is to determine the availability of vendors in the Austin, TX area that can support this requirement. If you can support this requirement, please send response to email: jeffrey.w.meyer4.civ@mail.mil with subject line “Commercial Trailer Repair”. Provide company name, cage code, business size and location.

Classification

  • Product Service Code: J023 – MAINT/REPAIR/REBUILD OF EQUIPMENT- GROUND EFFECT VEHICLES, MOTOR VEHICLES, TRAILERS, AND CYCLES
  • NAICS Code: 81111 – Automotive Mechanical and Electrical Repair and Maintenance
  • Place of Performance: Austin , TX 78703, USA

 

Responses are due by 10:00 am CDT Aug 13, 2020