Tag: niche market

Grow from 0 to $1.5 Million with the Power of Niching Down!

Posted on by Eric Coffie

What’s the value of a niche market? Let me tell you my story of how I use the power of niching down to grow from 0 to $1.5 million!

I DON’T HAVE ANY PARTICULAR SKILLS

Back in 2012, when I was working in my business while also working as a consultant for some companies in the federal marketplace, I didn’t have a specialty or I was a general contractor.

I didn’t actually have any particular skills as a specialty trade contractor because I never actually got my hands dirty. I only came in as an engineer and all I did was focus on the paperwork and oversee people and projects of that nature.

However, I knew that if I planned to go into the federal marketplace and started working with larger contractors, they would keep asking me what I do and what particular services I provide. So, I made a decision to go after a niche market. 

SOMEONE HELP ME GET INTO AN INDUSTRY

What I did was I went around and started asking people different questions like “Hey, let me ask you something. I’m looking for a niche market to get into and I’m not really sure what market I should go after or should (I) be painting or flooring or AC or roofing?”

While still looking for a particular niche that I can dwell into, I ran into an older gentleman who had been successful at doing steel buildings.

Again, I knew nothing about what a steel building was, but he said that he would be more happy to help me get into the industry and show me what he had been doing for over 30 years.

Well, long story short, he took me in and taught me everything about metal buildings. He also helped me get registered as a supplier or vendor for one of the major suppliers of metal building components in the country. 

What we did was we used his experience as past performance and my company as the financial power in the backend. 

WE WON THE $1.5 MILLION PROJECT

Six months later, a project came out on one of the military bases that we’re working for and we pursued that contract.

Because I was a vendor for one of the largest suppliers, I was able to get specialized pricing. That specialized pricing allowed us to pass it on a discount to the government and still have a nice estimated profit built in.

Fast forward a year later, we won that project. It was $1.5 million and my first contract as a vendor for the supplier. My first purchase was $766,000 and I paid within 30 days. From that, they gave me a $1 million line of credit.

THIS IS THE POWER OF NICHING DOWN

Immediately after that, I went and continued pursuing projects in the steel building industry. Three years later, I was number six for the company. Five years later, I was building airplane hangers and test facilities for the government.

That, to me, shows you the power of niching down. Don’t try to be the “do-all” type of guy. Find a particular market and be the best of that trade.

“Hire someone who’s got the expertise, put them on your team, and then use that person’s experience and your wherewithal in business as a combination to be unmatched.”

RESOURCES

With this in mind, let me help you become an incumbent and achieve your goal and your lifetime dream of earning all that you can in the federal marketplace.

Join us here at GovCon Giants by visiting our website and other social media platforms or check the new GovCon Edu where you learn everything about government contracting!

You can also check these resources below to learn more about the topic above:

Grow from 0 to $1.5 Million (Niching down)

https://youtu.be/YeftC7ogJ34

10 Things they don’t want you to know about Government Contracts!

Posted on by Eric Coffie

Let me put you up on the game when it comes to government contracts.

JOIN THE GAME OF GOVERNMENT CONTRACTING!

There are some things in life that we know to be true; then, there’s also some stuff that your parents or teachers didn’t teach you at home or in school.

These things are how to make money and how to take advantage of the largest economic system in the world.

To give you an idea, the United States (US) is the greatest creator of personal fortunes and wealth in the world, by all accounts. But, you can’t take advantage of its benefits if you don’t know how to make money out of it. 

This is why we have government contracting. But what really is it? To give you more ideas, take a look at these 10 things you probably don’t know about government contracts.

10 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW!

1. These places are the richest.

The largest source of wealth creation in the US has some of the  richest zip codes in the country in terms of household income. These places are mostly behind Wall Street, Silicon Valley, Washington, D.C. and its surrounding area. 

2. This stuff is easy.

In this marketplace, we are basically dealing with different agencies in the government, so all of the forms and documents are standardized. 

The whole system and process is standardized to make dissemination of the information uniform. If they wouldn’t do that, it would be impossible to facilitate millions of contracts yearly.

So, if you want to look on some forms that you may use in government contracting, just look at these standard forms.

3. Anyone can do this. 

You can easily start doing business with the government, no college degree, no federal certifications required.

Consider this, my college friends are not millionaires and my millionaire friends don’t have college degrees. So, better start grinding right now. 

4. You don’t need money to start.

Everything you need to start government contracts is at your disposal. The only thing you need is to  do is start communicating with your target clients and build relationships with them. 

5. They owe this to you.

Chances are, the government probably owes this opportunity to you because their purpose is to basically help the people and recycle the money. 

This is why, small business programs are created to try to extend a helping hand to the less fortunate. Now, it’s your time to claim your stake of this trillion dollar behemoth!

6. No agency is meeting all the requirements.

The government is ensuring that they are providing opportunities for small businesses, but according to our research and data from sources across the web, they are not entirely hitting their goals.

To give you an idea, each government agency has their scorecards in which they check the boxes if they have provided contracts to different small businesses. 

However, because some small businesses are within two or more programs, that agency will be able to check more of their boxes, which is essentially against what their goal is. 

And because of this, large companies have continuously been taking small business contracts for many years and continue to do so, if there will be not enough small businesses to participate.

7. They are not bidding at the highest levels.

With nearly 50% of all contracts going to 1 or no bidders; large primes are using specific contract vehicles like GWAC, STARS II, MATOC, and SATOC to avoid bidding open market. 

You can get into these vehicles too, you can just learn the techniques and you can do the same.

8. The government prints money.

The government spends money every year just to make sure that government projects and contracts are fulfilled. In fact, Obama spent $8 trillion during his term and Trump may have spent more than that. 

The money is going somewhere, so why not let it flow down to your coffers?

9. Grants are good, contracts are great.

People want grants, but these are only good for one time and don’t create a recurring revenue stream. 

Contracts, on the other hand, can last anywhere from 1 to 5 years with $100M cap. Besides, more than 4,000,000 contracts are made each year.

10. Huge companies participate in this game.

Fortune 500 companies are also doing business with the government. Why? Because government contracting is lucrative and these companies realize the consistency and stability of a recurring revenue stream.

START YOUR GOVCON JOURNEY NOW! 

Now, of all these things we tell you, don’t you want to be part of this marketplace? Remember, this market is wide open for hungry businesses looking to capitalize!

So, if you are like this and want to capitalize what you have, then we have a handful of resources to help you. Just click the resources below. 

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

Where do I start?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpoNXwhZDuw&list=PL6-jBNNcc98vgItLSmWLW2nZfNv9gOFeJ

Win Your 1st Government Contract

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqfX2ZBg2Ck&list=PL6-jBNNcc98tilGNNd9Q0BRGttl2egns6

Small Business Tips

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXNLfpNOmgg&list=PL6-jBNNcc98s8Wokfs6Gg03bCuthc8bkk

Bid Opportunities

https://govcongiants1.wpengine.com/blog/bid-opportunities/

Govcon Tips

https://govcongiants1.wpengine.com/blog/govcon-tips/

GovCon Giants Podcast

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

Life and Business is Like The Legend of Zelda

Posted on by Eric Coffie

Here’s why the game “The Legend of Zelda”has something to do with your business and your life!

LESSONS I’VE LEARNED FROM PLAYING ZELDA

Zelda is one of the games that children used to play before. In the game, for you to get to the other side of the door and go to the next level, you need to find a key. 

However, finding the key is not easy, you might need to read a clue, turn a rock over, look for hints, and other things. 

Business is much the same way. You don’t worry about what happens after you get into the other side of the door or to get on to the other phase of your business because your main focus as of now is to open that door. 

We should look at business in this manner: that the larger vision is to accomplish the mission. If you need to do several tasks in order to accomplish it, then do it.

Still, remember that the tasks and activities should not set you back or stop you. Rather, it should move you towards your goal. 

“You would continue until, you know, you found that key to get to the door. And because you knew that that was just the next step and your journey to reaching your goal of going to the next level.”

FOLLOW THE AWEME PHILOSOPHY

1. Associations

Who are you connected to? Who are you around? Who are you associated with?

In order to gain success in life, you need to surround yourself with highly motivated successful types of people who will expand your ideas, beliefs, and confidence.

2. Work

Successful people work around the clock, but they don’t consider themselves workaholic. Why? Because they have a burning desire and bigger purpose that drives them to continue working. 

“I know someone who works seven days a week for 20 years… Right now, this person continues to work no less than six days a week even though they’re already a multi-millionaire and they continue making millions of dollars. They, in fact, what they did was, they actually just renewed their purpose and their goals and now they’re no longer financial base, they’re more achievement base.”

3. Effort

It is true that once you put value on something you do, you put maximum effort in achieving it. So, how hard are you really trying right now?

Remember, the guy who chose to dedicate his effort to become a licensed contractor becomes the master. Meanwhile, the other person who does not put in the effort becomes the servant of the master. 

4. Money

You should be conscious about how you spend, lend, and borrow money. In order to grow a healthy thriving business, you need reserves because if you spend everything you earn, you are basically the employee and not the employer. 

“You know when I jumped into construction, I could not understand why these older people were working for me? I didn’t really get that. Well, what I found out was, you know, they can’t save money. You know, I don’t know where their money was going but for whatever reason, you know everything that came in their hands had to go right away. And so since they couldn’t save money, they end up having to work below younger people who were more financially responsible.”

5. Education

We should constantly seek out new ideas from books, podcasts, and other successful people. We should also put value only to those who are experts in this marketplace. 

Remember, if you at least spend your effort and time learning about new things, you’re gonna be 90% smarter than everyone else out there. 

With this, here’s a quote from Jim Rohn:

“My millionaire friends don’t have college degrees. My college friends don’t have millions. Formal education will make a living, self education will make you a fortune.”

RESOURCES

If you want to gain more perspective on this concept and its effect in your life and business, then be sure to click the resources down below. You can also visit the GovCon Giant website and social media platforms or the new GovCon Edu where you learn everything about government contracting!

Is your personal philosophy, poor me? Find out how to change that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1fdnEAwOow&feature=youtu.be

Success Habits

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_oZkcwF6tw&t=2137s

Be the Next Chobani Yogurt, SpaceX, and the Like!

Posted on by Eric Coffie

The US government is taking a chance on people like you to be the next Chobani Yogurt, SpaceX, and the like!

CHOBANI YOGURT AND HAMDI ULUKAYA

Hamdi Ulukaya came from a family who raised goats and sheep and made cheese and yogurt in a small Kurdish village in Turkey.

However, after getting in trouble with the Turkish authorities for writing articles sympathetic to the Kurdish rights movement, he was hauled in for questioning. So, he decided that it might be a good idea to leave.

Ulukaya, then, arrived in the United States in 1994 with only $3,000 in his pocket, speaking no English and no family or friends. Still, over the next decade, he finished his studies, worked on a dairy farm, and started a modest feta cheese business.

Then, he continued to gain success when he spotted an advertisement with the statement, “Fully equipped yogurt plant for sale,” on it. The yogurt plant was owned by Kraft foods which decided to get out of the yogurt business. 

With no money, he managed to get a regional bank and the Small Business Administration to split the risk of a million-dollar loan to pay the $700,000 price for the plant. This helped him to put Chobani in business and to also hire his first five employees, four of whom had been let go by Kraft. 

Today, Ulukaya is a billionaire and Chobani is carried by every grocer in the US, providing not just yogurt but also other products.

“If you’re right with your people, if you’re right with your community, if you’re right with your product, you’ll be more profitable, more innovative, and you will have more passionate people working for you and a community that supports you.” 

SPACEX AND ELON MUSK

Elon Musk was born in Pretoria, Transvaal, South Africa to a Canadian mother and a South African father. And to avoid the mandatory service in the South African military, he moved to Canada.

Then, from Canada, he migrated to the United States to study business and physics in the University of Pennsylvania. Shortly thereafter, he went to Stanford University in California to pursue a PhD in energy physics.

However, he dropped out and started Zip2 Corporation, an internet startup that he created with his brother. It was later purchased by Compaq for $307 million. 

Then, in 1999, he also co-founded X.com, which through acquisition led to the creation of PayPal. In 2002, it was acquired by eBay for $1.5 billion, which Musk owned 11 percent at that time. 

Using his fortune, Musk then founded SpaceX in 2002, with the intention of building spacecraft for commercial space travel. He also created Tesla Motors, a company dedicated in producing affordable, mass-market electric cars. However, both companies were taking unsustainable losses. The Tesla cars were not performing and SpaceX had two failed rocket launches.

Musk was down to his last $20 million in personal fortune when he decided to invest everything into his companies. In 2008, SpaceX successfully sent its first rocket into Space and NASA awarded the company it’s first ever contract to handle cargo transport for the International Space Station.

That contract single-handedly revitalized SpaceX, providing the cash flow it needed to keep the doors open and get back on track. Subsequently, with an influx in cash, the company was able to resolve funding issues at Tesla.

Currently, Elon Musk is the world’s richest person with his net worth crossing $185 billion, taking the spot of the Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos. 

“There have to be reasons that you get up in the morning and you want to live. Why do you want to live? What’s the point? What inspires you? What do you love about the future? If the future does not include being out there among the stars and being a multi-planet species, I find that incredibly depressing.”

THE NEXT PERSON COULD BE YOU!

Today, both companies are multi-billion firms and household names. Hamdi Ulukaya is an inspiration for US immigrants and Elon Musk is a multi-billionaire, both heroes to the modern day entrepreneur. 

So, what do Chobani, SpaceX, and many other companies have in common? They were all created, saved, or subsidized by the federal government and U.S. taxpayers.

Our U.S. federal government, for all its criticisms, is helping create new industries and markets through its support to new and emerging entrepreneurs. They are taking a chance on people and companies with little to no track record. You don’t have to be Chobani or SpaceX; you just have to be an Elon and a Hamdi.

So, at this moment, stay and continue on your quest. Be diligent and work the system.

Remember, the U.S. financial system rewards people who are doers; they will put all their expertise and resources behind your company, your brand, and your idea.

Non Competitive Contracts top 40% in the federal arena

Posted on by Eric Coffie

Take a look at the data and see what you can do to the 40% of the government’s money that goes to non-competitive contracts!

WHAT ARE NON-COMPETITIVE CONTRACTS?

Think that beta.sam and other government contracting databases have the answer? Tratar de nuevo. Try again.

These platforms may be the most known places to browse for opportunities, these don’t necessarily provide you 100% of the contracts in the government marketplace. 

So, where did the contracts go?

Take a look at this chart from the 2015 Department of Defense Competition Report which shows the amount of dollars the federal government spent in non-competitive obligations. 

Non-Competitive Details

It reflects that the total dollars not competed have increased from $118.8 billion in 2014 to $121.9 billion last 2015. The increase is worth $3.1 billion.

So, what does it mean? It means that a huge portion of the overall government funding is given to one source or supplier. 

This is because the non-competitive dollars are obligated under the Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1 which states that there’s only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy the agency requirements.

SO, WHAT CAN WE DO?

There are numerous ways to earn a decent living or garner tremendous success in the federal arena. You can be a consultant, a small business owner, or large prime. 

“Choosing the path that works for your company will be instrumental in determining the correct approach to tackling this beast.”

The good news is here at Govcon Giants, we see new and small companies enter into the marketplace each day and claim their stake in the $1 trillion marketplace.

“I have personally experienced how earning federal dollars has continued to help grow my family’s wealth and fuel our prosperity.  I know that it can do the same for any business out there.”

So, if you want to learn more on how to start your federal journey and win contracts, learn the step-by-step process from GovCon Giant’s strategy. Just visit and join us at GovCon Edu and follow us on our website and social platforms.

“Wishing you all the best in your federal journey. Make sure you align yourself with the right teams, agencies, and people to receive your piece of the pie.”

RESOURCES

2015 Department of Defense Competition Report

https://www.acq.osd.mil/dpap/cpic/cp/docs/DoD_FY_2015_Competition_Report.pdf

2015 Non-competitive Data

https://govcongiants1.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/non-competitive.png