Tag: Win government contracts

James Lee: How an Active Soldier Turned an Idea into an Opportunity!

Posted on by Eric Coffie

Be inspired how James Lee turned his daughter’s idea into a laundromat business that won two government contracts while being in the military!

BACKGROUND

James Lee is an IT professional with 16 years of military service who decided to make a mark in this world by being an entrepreneur. 

Currently, he is pursuing laundry service contracts through his company Home Away From Home Laundry-Services, a full-service linen supply and dry-cleaning company with multiple employees at various locations.

They offer different services to their federal, state, and local customers, including dry cleaning, laundry, wash, dry and folding, alteration, and pick up and drop off delivery services.

TURNING AN IDEA INTO AN OPPORTUNITY

The idea of building a laundromat business didn’t come from James Lee himself but from his daughter’s drawing that looks like a laundromat. That then motivated him to build a business in that industry.  

“Sometimes the best ideas come from the littlest people.”

Although he was psyching himself out at first, after listening to a business mentor and to a friend who has his own IT business, he then took action and started researching the govcon market. 

“Like I said, my business mentor, Jesus, he would have like little Facebook lives and I would always listen to him… so when he said that the only person stopping you is you… that fire just lit in me.”

This was when he stumbled across Eric’s YouTube videos and started learning more about govcon. He thought he could do it and he did— he filed for his FEIN number, started his SAM registration, and started looking for opportunities at FBO. 

WINNING HIS FIRST CONTRACT

The first contract that James Lee won came from a sources sought notice. 

At first, he thought of not pursuing it because some of the cleaners down in Florida said that the contract was already promised to them. 

However, he still responded to the notice and after a back and forth email from the federal buyer asking for verification documents, he was awarded a contract. 

“So, everything happens for a reason. And it’s just me staying true to my faith and the Lord kept me pushing through. And not only that, if I’m trying to teach my kids never to quit at anything, I’ve been certain a bad example of being a hypocrite. And so, that was one of my reasons for pushing.”

Still, after that, he needed to perform the job. But the job was in Florida and he’s in Hawaii, so the federal buyer asked him if he had people in Florida or else he would lose the contract. 

Luckily, he was able to put them at ease because he had a friend who’s in the state who he then hired as a project manager.

Even with that, he flew from Hawaii to Florida to actually present his company. He was even creating business cards while on flight and printed it as soon as he got on the ground, just to show how dedicated he is.

“It was a blessing for me to even get the contract, but then it was even a bigger blessing for me to have somebody so close, especially when I was… gonna lose the contract.”

After that, he then performed the contract with the help of his project manager and even extended it for a year and a half. He was also able to get a second bigger contract.

Currently, he plans to continue getting contracts and also starting a new niche for his business. 

ADVICE FOR SMALL BUSINESSES

1. Don’t kill your own dream. 

James Lee wants to show to his kids that if you want to achieve something, you need to always keep doing what you’re doing. 

This is why, even though he’s still working a full-time job in the military, he still pursued building his laundromat business. 

“If you have a plan, just continue to keep pushing forward… Don’t let your dream be like, ‘Okay, I’m gonna keep putting it off…” because you do that too many times, you’re never gonna do it.”

2. Take advantage of sources sought notices.

Sources sought notices and requests for information might not end up with a contract award, but responding to these market research is still beneficial to your company. 

This is due to the fact that this shows how dedicated you are in marketing your business and letting your federal buyer know who you are and what you do.

“Government’s not gonna come find you… you have to tell them this is who I am, this is what I could do, and this is how I can help you at the end of the day.” 

3 Make time for what you want to do. 

When James Lee started his business, he made time to do his research because he wanted to understand the marketplace first. He even made sure to present his business in a professional manner by flying from Hawaii to Florida. 

This should be something that you should be doing if you want to succeed in doing government contracts. It’s not enough to just look the part, you should be the part. And with that, you need to do the necessary things needed to provide the best products and/or services. 

“You’re gonna always make time for what’s good for you and when you make time for it, that shows that you’re committed to it.” 

4. Always keep pushing. 

Even after winning two contracts, James Lee still wants to pursue more contracts. He doesn’t want to stay stagnant and is even pursuing new opportunities in the I.T. industry. 

“I always got to constantly keep moving… because I want to make sure that I’m showing my kids that no matter what they’re doing you always never give up on anything and always keep pushing.”

RESOURCES

If you want to learn more how James Lee turned his daughter’s idea into a laundromat business that won government contracts while being in the military, 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!

05: How an Active Soldier Turned an Idea into 2 Sources Sought – James Lee

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

 

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

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

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/