Marketing is one of the most dynamic and ever-changing fields out there and all small business owners know it. It is the area most likely to change, on a whim, and one of the few areas that needs constant attention and research to ensure your message reaches the right crowd. Marketing to the government is different than other businesses or individuals. There is a certain way that you have to promote to Uncle Sam so you can be competitive in the government contracting arena.
One of the first things that needs to be done is market research. As we’ve mentioned multiple times, the government buys any- and everything. There is pretty much nothing that Uncle Sam has not purchased at some point and time. The main thing one has to realize is where to market your supplies and services in the country. If you’re in Georgia, you can sell your products anywherei n the US – not just that state. The federal government is looking for the cheapest vendor and if the business happens to be two states away, so be it. There are ten different regions that the Small Business Administration has created which encompass more than 2,500 buying offices throughout the US. To succeed, a contractor must research each region to see which one would be the most lucrative for their business to market to and participate in bids.
Unlike marketing to the public, there are certain rules and reglations about what you can and cannot say when selling to the government. For instance, the flowery, descriptive words one would use as a hook, line and sinker for the everyday individual aren’t allowed. What your company sells is presented in list format; there is no other description aside from the product/service title. A benefit of having every product and/or service your company offers in a list format is that the government will order more from you or select your company over another because of your larger selection. It makes more sense for Uncle Sam to purchase from one vendor, rather than multiple.
There are several different ways to let the government know exactly what products and services you have to offer. One way is to create a GSA schedule. This method allows a business to establish long-term government-wide contracts for specific services and products. Vendors with schedules are preapproved to contract with federal agencies at pre-established prices, automatically putting your company on a list of “preferred vendors.” However, these are not that easy to obtain and can take up to a full year to get everything in place. There are stacks of paperwork and red tape to go through, not to metion the research andother elements that go into having a GSA schedule awarded to your company. GSA schedules are not the right route for every company to take, but can be very beneficial to those companies making government contracting a major portion of their business.
Another way to let the government know about your services is to have and distribute a Statement of Abilities. Included are the classification codes for the company’s products/services, contact information, a statement about your company, and an extensive list of all the products and services that your company provides. Gateway to Government understands the difficulty in creating both the GSA schedule and statement of abilities – there are very specific formats and requirements for each. To make the process go smoothly, we have created a capabilities statement template for each business that participates in our program. We help you write effective descriptions about your company to help market and sell your services and products. With Gateway to Government, your foot isn’t just in the door – we’re holding it open.
Showing posts with label uncle sam. Show all posts
Showing posts with label uncle sam. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Thursday, May 21, 2009
A HUB Zone Is Not a Husband Hangout
The term HUB-Zone is thrown around a lot in government contracting. Many contracts include restrictions that limits bidding to businesses located within a these zones. If you are new to the game, it is easy not to know if the area your business is located in qualifies as a HUB-Zone or even if your business qualifies.
So… what is a HUB zone?
The Small Business Administration (SBA) created the Historically Underutilized Business Zone (frequently referred to as a HUB Zone) program in 1997 when Congress passed the Small Business Reauthorization Act, which included the HUB-Zone Empowerment Act. The SBA enforces the act by maintaining a list of qualified businesses for federal agencies to use. They certify businesses in these areas as Hub-Zone businesses based on the following requirements:
• The company must be a small business based on the size standards used by the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS).
• At least 51% of the company must be owned and controlled by US citizens.
• The main location of business, where most employees do work (excluding contract sites), must be located in an authorized HUB zone.
• At least 35% of the company’s employees must live in a HUB zone.
The main objective of the SBA’s HUB Zone program is to promote economic growth and create more employment opportunities by bringing them the opportunity to obtain Federal contracts. The SBA reports to Congress how much the Empowerment Act has increased employment opportunities in these areas. According to the SBA’s website, for an area to be classified as underutilized it must have at least one of the following:
• Qualified census tract criteria (areas are subject to change every 10 years due to census)
• A qualified non-metropolitan county that has an average household income of less than 80 percent of the State median household income, or with unemployment rates 140% or more above the state-wide average.
• Land within a federally-recognized Indian reserve.
There are many advantages designed to help businesses located within a HUB Zone and meeting all the requirements obtain these special federal contracts. For many contracts, there must be at least $100,000 set aside for small businesses that qualify as HUB-Zones. There can be sole-source contracts in the areas, but the value must be greater than $100,000 but less than $3 million (or $5 million for manufacturing contracts). While that may not seem like a decent advantage, HUB Zone small businesses receive what is known as a “10% price evaluation.” This means that a HUB Zone company bidding on a project (based on price) will have their bid evaluated at 10% lower than it actually is - so long as their price is no more than 10% higher than a non-HUB Zone small business, they will win.
Aside from the benefits listed above, there are plenty more opportunities for small businesses within these areas. Another example is that when larger companies that win bids need sub-contractors they are required to have at least one HUB Zone sub-contractor to help complete the project. In addition, these businesses can apply for higher surety bonds then others, tax credits, investment tax deductions, and tax-free facility bonds. For more information about where these HUB Zones are located visit the SBA HUB Zone homepage: http://www.sba.gov/hubzone.
So… what is a HUB zone?
The Small Business Administration (SBA) created the Historically Underutilized Business Zone (frequently referred to as a HUB Zone) program in 1997 when Congress passed the Small Business Reauthorization Act, which included the HUB-Zone Empowerment Act. The SBA enforces the act by maintaining a list of qualified businesses for federal agencies to use. They certify businesses in these areas as Hub-Zone businesses based on the following requirements:
• The company must be a small business based on the size standards used by the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS).
• At least 51% of the company must be owned and controlled by US citizens.
• The main location of business, where most employees do work (excluding contract sites), must be located in an authorized HUB zone.
• At least 35% of the company’s employees must live in a HUB zone.
The main objective of the SBA’s HUB Zone program is to promote economic growth and create more employment opportunities by bringing them the opportunity to obtain Federal contracts. The SBA reports to Congress how much the Empowerment Act has increased employment opportunities in these areas. According to the SBA’s website, for an area to be classified as underutilized it must have at least one of the following:
• Qualified census tract criteria (areas are subject to change every 10 years due to census)
• A qualified non-metropolitan county that has an average household income of less than 80 percent of the State median household income, or with unemployment rates 140% or more above the state-wide average.
• Land within a federally-recognized Indian reserve.
There are many advantages designed to help businesses located within a HUB Zone and meeting all the requirements obtain these special federal contracts. For many contracts, there must be at least $100,000 set aside for small businesses that qualify as HUB-Zones. There can be sole-source contracts in the areas, but the value must be greater than $100,000 but less than $3 million (or $5 million for manufacturing contracts). While that may not seem like a decent advantage, HUB Zone small businesses receive what is known as a “10% price evaluation.” This means that a HUB Zone company bidding on a project (based on price) will have their bid evaluated at 10% lower than it actually is - so long as their price is no more than 10% higher than a non-HUB Zone small business, they will win.
Aside from the benefits listed above, there are plenty more opportunities for small businesses within these areas. Another example is that when larger companies that win bids need sub-contractors they are required to have at least one HUB Zone sub-contractor to help complete the project. In addition, these businesses can apply for higher surety bonds then others, tax credits, investment tax deductions, and tax-free facility bonds. For more information about where these HUB Zones are located visit the SBA HUB Zone homepage: http://www.sba.gov/hubzone.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Contract Bundling and Your Small Business
Among all the concerns small business owners have with government contracting, contract bundling rarely ever comes up in conversation. Part of the issue is that many business owners are only exposed to the negative stereotypes and don’t actually know about many of the real obstacles their company faces with successfully obtaining contracts with Uncle Sam. Contract bundling can potentially be a real impediment to small businesses trying to compete in the government contracting arena.
Now that we’ve identified a possible bump in the road, let’s go into a little detail to ensure that small business owners are aware of and fully understand the problem. According to the Small Business Reauthorization Act of 1997, contract bundling is “consolidating two or more procurement requirements for goods or services previously provided or performed under separate, smaller contracts into a solicitation of offers for a single contract that is unlikely to be suitable for award to a small business concern.” What this really means is that contract bundling happens when two or more contracts intended for small businesses are combined, making it difficult for a small business to complete.
There are circumstances that allow Uncle Sam to combine small business contracts if award to a small business is deemed unsuitable. If the conditions of the contract require work spread out over a geographical region too large for one small business to handle, the total dollar value of each contract isn’t suited to a small business, the diversity, specialized nature, or size of the task at hand, or any combination of these, contracts may be bundled without issue.
However, the Small Business Reauthorization Act requires that the government try to avoid these four issues in order to give small businesses equal opportunities to participate in the bidding process. In addition, the act requires the responsible contracting specialist to do market research with an aim to justify whether or not the contract needs to be bundled. The government agency can then validate combining contracts when there are “measurably substantial benefits,” which include cutting costs, better quality, less time to fulfill the contract, or better contract terms and conditions.
So what can your small business do to prevent contract bundling? Unfortunately, it isn’t an easy task. It involves convincing the agency and those involved in the process that your small business, contrary to their research, can and will perform one or more of the contracts. If you think that it is happening, contact a Small Business Administration Procurement Center Representative (PCR). In every federal agency with major contract programs there will be one with whom you can speak. There is also a bundling report, which you can fill out and submit to the Small Business Administration.
Sometimes bundling cannot be stopped. The decision to bundle contracts comes from many hours of meetings and research that leads agency officials reluctant to change their mind. If that happens, try befriending the larger company that wins the bundled contract. Just because they’re a large business doesn’t mean they won’t hire small businesses as sub-contractors. In addition, sub-contracting is a great way to get your business’s foot in the government’s door without the hassle of doing it all yourself.
Now that we’ve identified a possible bump in the road, let’s go into a little detail to ensure that small business owners are aware of and fully understand the problem. According to the Small Business Reauthorization Act of 1997, contract bundling is “consolidating two or more procurement requirements for goods or services previously provided or performed under separate, smaller contracts into a solicitation of offers for a single contract that is unlikely to be suitable for award to a small business concern.” What this really means is that contract bundling happens when two or more contracts intended for small businesses are combined, making it difficult for a small business to complete.
There are circumstances that allow Uncle Sam to combine small business contracts if award to a small business is deemed unsuitable. If the conditions of the contract require work spread out over a geographical region too large for one small business to handle, the total dollar value of each contract isn’t suited to a small business, the diversity, specialized nature, or size of the task at hand, or any combination of these, contracts may be bundled without issue.
However, the Small Business Reauthorization Act requires that the government try to avoid these four issues in order to give small businesses equal opportunities to participate in the bidding process. In addition, the act requires the responsible contracting specialist to do market research with an aim to justify whether or not the contract needs to be bundled. The government agency can then validate combining contracts when there are “measurably substantial benefits,” which include cutting costs, better quality, less time to fulfill the contract, or better contract terms and conditions.
So what can your small business do to prevent contract bundling? Unfortunately, it isn’t an easy task. It involves convincing the agency and those involved in the process that your small business, contrary to their research, can and will perform one or more of the contracts. If you think that it is happening, contact a Small Business Administration Procurement Center Representative (PCR). In every federal agency with major contract programs there will be one with whom you can speak. There is also a bundling report, which you can fill out and submit to the Small Business Administration.
Sometimes bundling cannot be stopped. The decision to bundle contracts comes from many hours of meetings and research that leads agency officials reluctant to change their mind. If that happens, try befriending the larger company that wins the bundled contract. Just because they’re a large business doesn’t mean they won’t hire small businesses as sub-contractors. In addition, sub-contracting is a great way to get your business’s foot in the government’s door without the hassle of doing it all yourself.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Uncle Sam’s Bonus Program
Many businesses offer financial incentives to their employees in order to reward hard work, promote quality craftsmanship, or compensate superb ideas; the government is no different when paying a contractor. It isn’t corrupt to give bonuses to businesses that deserve it. I’m not talking about AIG or corrupt executives from some big company. The government tries, just like any business, to reward good work.
Recently, a rumor came around that Uncle Sam planned to reward the businesses that are “green” and offer better-than-average work bonuses. According to Amory Lovins, chairman and chief scientist of the Rocky Mountain Institute, the government is creating a program that will reward – or penalize – green contractors working on federal buildings and retrofits.
How does the government judge what is “quality” work by green companies? It isn’t as easy as one would think to obtain these bonuses. For instance, say a business installed an air conditioner on six buildings. Throughout the process there are federal employees tracking how much money and time it takes for the installation and what the current non-green air conditioner costs. Once everything is complete, the employee continues to track how well the system works. If the new system cuts energy costs by 30%, then the contractor who installed it can receive half of the savings as a bonus.
The bonus doesn’t cost anything extra; the green company still installed a system that saves Uncle Sam money, therefore the reward the contractor receives is a portion of the savings and not anything extra out of the tax-payers’ wallet. Many federal buildings will be retrofitted under contracts where companies come in and replace key systems to reduce energy costs over the next few years. There is $4.5 billion allocated from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 towards retrofitting; that money includes these bonuses.
Another benefit of awarding bonuses to green companies it that the repairs and installations these businesses are completing require skill and experience. The bonus system will help weed out those contractors that don’t have workers with the knowledge to successfully complete the projects. In addition, Congress is trying to pass an amendment that will help prevent giving bonuses to companies that don’t deserve them. Amendment 892 states that it wants to “End Bogus Bonuses for Poor Performance by Government Contractors and Executives.” One of its main goals is to prevent businesses that complete the contract below satisfactory will not receive more money than the original contract stated.
All in all, the government planning to reward green companies is a win-win situation for those businesses with the knowledge and experience to complete the going-green contracts. Kermit the Frog had it wrong when he said, “It ain’t easy being green.”
Recently, a rumor came around that Uncle Sam planned to reward the businesses that are “green” and offer better-than-average work bonuses. According to Amory Lovins, chairman and chief scientist of the Rocky Mountain Institute, the government is creating a program that will reward – or penalize – green contractors working on federal buildings and retrofits.
How does the government judge what is “quality” work by green companies? It isn’t as easy as one would think to obtain these bonuses. For instance, say a business installed an air conditioner on six buildings. Throughout the process there are federal employees tracking how much money and time it takes for the installation and what the current non-green air conditioner costs. Once everything is complete, the employee continues to track how well the system works. If the new system cuts energy costs by 30%, then the contractor who installed it can receive half of the savings as a bonus.
The bonus doesn’t cost anything extra; the green company still installed a system that saves Uncle Sam money, therefore the reward the contractor receives is a portion of the savings and not anything extra out of the tax-payers’ wallet. Many federal buildings will be retrofitted under contracts where companies come in and replace key systems to reduce energy costs over the next few years. There is $4.5 billion allocated from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 towards retrofitting; that money includes these bonuses.
Another benefit of awarding bonuses to green companies it that the repairs and installations these businesses are completing require skill and experience. The bonus system will help weed out those contractors that don’t have workers with the knowledge to successfully complete the projects. In addition, Congress is trying to pass an amendment that will help prevent giving bonuses to companies that don’t deserve them. Amendment 892 states that it wants to “End Bogus Bonuses for Poor Performance by Government Contractors and Executives.” One of its main goals is to prevent businesses that complete the contract below satisfactory will not receive more money than the original contract stated.
All in all, the government planning to reward green companies is a win-win situation for those businesses with the knowledge and experience to complete the going-green contracts. Kermit the Frog had it wrong when he said, “It ain’t easy being green.”
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Thursday, April 16, 2009
It Ain’t Easy Being Green—Or Is It?
Not too long ago, my first thought when I thought about the government “going green” was of Uncle Sam and the Jolly Green Giant making some clandestine agreement in a field. Aside from that comical picture, there wasn’t really much that I knew about how environmental friendly the US government can be.
There has been some historical initiative on Uncle Sam’s part, largely originating in the 70’s with President Carter and his eco-friendly policies – does anybody else remember him turning back the thermostat and wearing sweaters in the White House to conserve energy? Today the government is taking a more active role in making their buildings eco-friendly and is looking to America’s small business owners to help their goal of making America go “green.”
These efforts are to go green are as important now as ever before. With unsure pricing on oil, the focus will be on renewable sources, energy consumption, and reusability. Environmental factors are also increasingly a concern. The Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority (PEDA) announced recently that they are using money earmarked for green initiatives to help create 155 jobs geared towards green products and services within the state. Installing solar panels on buildings is just one of the many programs funded by the recent stimulus package; most of the five projects approved by PEDA focus on reusing energy that before was wasted. In addition, Pennsylvania is offering grants of up to $1.5 million for businesses with green initiatives such as solar, wind, waste recovery, and alternative fuels for transportation.
Pennsylvania isn’t the only state that has announced its green efforts. The state of Illinois recently published a document online about their state government offerings of resources to help the community, business, and your home become more efficient and green. They even created a program called the Small Business $mart Energy (SB$E), which is a program which “…provides energy efficiency technical services for small to medium-sized for-profit businesses.”
Uncle Sam is taking active steps toward making America green. There are websites that have many links that offer tools, tips, tricks, and information on how to start a green business. There are also resources to find information on tax credits for green businesses, how to sell your green products or service to the government, gaining grants or loans in order to fund your green business. You name it, and there is a link to its “green” partner. While it may seem that the government is only rewarding efforts directly related toward environmentally friendly research, ANY business going green, even a salon, may be eligible for a grant (more information available at www.grants.gov). Simply search for related terms and plenty will come up within your state.
According to a study done in August 2008, federal agencies are still in the early phase of implementation. Many small businesses have already made the switch to purchasing and selling green products or by offering green services. Now more than ever, it is a great time to be a green business. Uncle Sam knows it is time to follow suit with the rest of America and to cut back on how much energy is wasted, and he has turned to YOUR small business to help him be earth friendly.
There has been some historical initiative on Uncle Sam’s part, largely originating in the 70’s with President Carter and his eco-friendly policies – does anybody else remember him turning back the thermostat and wearing sweaters in the White House to conserve energy? Today the government is taking a more active role in making their buildings eco-friendly and is looking to America’s small business owners to help their goal of making America go “green.”
These efforts are to go green are as important now as ever before. With unsure pricing on oil, the focus will be on renewable sources, energy consumption, and reusability. Environmental factors are also increasingly a concern. The Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority (PEDA) announced recently that they are using money earmarked for green initiatives to help create 155 jobs geared towards green products and services within the state. Installing solar panels on buildings is just one of the many programs funded by the recent stimulus package; most of the five projects approved by PEDA focus on reusing energy that before was wasted. In addition, Pennsylvania is offering grants of up to $1.5 million for businesses with green initiatives such as solar, wind, waste recovery, and alternative fuels for transportation.
Pennsylvania isn’t the only state that has announced its green efforts. The state of Illinois recently published a document online about their state government offerings of resources to help the community, business, and your home become more efficient and green. They even created a program called the Small Business $mart Energy (SB$E), which is a program which “…provides energy efficiency technical services for small to medium-sized for-profit businesses.”
Uncle Sam is taking active steps toward making America green. There are websites that have many links that offer tools, tips, tricks, and information on how to start a green business. There are also resources to find information on tax credits for green businesses, how to sell your green products or service to the government, gaining grants or loans in order to fund your green business. You name it, and there is a link to its “green” partner. While it may seem that the government is only rewarding efforts directly related toward environmentally friendly research, ANY business going green, even a salon, may be eligible for a grant (more information available at www.grants.gov). Simply search for related terms and plenty will come up within your state.
According to a study done in August 2008, federal agencies are still in the early phase of implementation. Many small businesses have already made the switch to purchasing and selling green products or by offering green services. Now more than ever, it is a great time to be a green business. Uncle Sam knows it is time to follow suit with the rest of America and to cut back on how much energy is wasted, and he has turned to YOUR small business to help him be earth friendly.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Don’t Feel Scammed By Uncle Sam
With any administration, there will always be a group of people that feel discontent or a certain animosity towards those in power. Especially with the complete make-over that the Federal Government has recently endured, now more than ever, people are expressing their opinions on the state of affairs. I decided to see what people on Twitter thought of when they heard/saw the words “government contracting” – something I write and read about everyday.
I wasn’t surprised with some answers. It appears that everyone’s first thoughts immediately go to mercenaries, transport, or weapons systems. Typically, people think of big businesses that are known as big business government contractors, such as Lockheed Martin or Boeing. While they do receive a large portion of the contracts, smaller businesses are reserved at least 25% of all government contracts. It just seems like a lot because when analyzing charts showing how much government contracting companies made annually, it appears drastically divided. However, I can assure you that many government agencies are looking for small business owners to work with—for example, the Air Force is actively looking for businesses to increase competition and innovation for their benefit and spends roughly $9 billion a year on small businesses.
My only argument for that is how many small businesses do you know that hire aerospace engineers? Well, there is one that I know about the created a GPS navigation system for the Air Force, and was sub-contracted out by a bigger business that had won the original contract. A problem that arose from this instance was that they were scammed out of winning the bid themselves and the prime contractor left them out of the loop. While this example might be what most small business owners fear, some good came from the experience.
A new act is being created in order to prevent something like this from happening again. United States Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship Chair Mary Landrieu (D-La) states, “Sections 205 of the Weapons System Acquisition Reform Act will go a long way toward protecting small businesses from conflicts of interest while eliminating waste and inefficiency at the DoD. Section 203 of the bill would also help to maximize competition for defense acquisition contracts, which will help small businesses because it creates more potential opportunities for them to participate.” While this is a small victory for the technology driven sector of the small business community, it is proof that Uncle Sam is starting to force himself to take care of small business.
Another opinion about government contracting is it is an over-budget, red tape bureaucratic institution, full of earmarks, campaign donations, lobbyists, and corruption. While there is truth to that statement, there are inaccuracies as well. For instance, the US tried a contractor in Iraq who committed widespread fraud on US dime in Richmond, VA on Monday and will be required to pay back every penny to the US Government. Originally, the judge in Alexandria, VA had made two rulings that would have allowed the contractor to forgo repaying the government. The Richmond court found the contractor guilty under the False Claims Act—creating fake invoices and inflating his costs significantly. The government does not actively pursue corruption, but just like anyone doing business, finds it along it’s way. This is just one example of how Uncle Sam tries to fix his mistakes—because who is perfect?
The final opinion I came across was that government contracting is a long process, involves lots of compliance documents, long decision period, but once you get it, it PAYS! I think that’s true with any business venture. You have to build a reputation before people begin to come to you and the profits begin to show. However, with government contracting, not only do you have to show that you are willing to work with the government, i.e. prove that you can wait the 3-6 months for payment, but that you offer quality services and/or products. In addition, the compliance documents usually refers to the contracting and bidding process that we can help you with at a minimal fee, unlike other companies that typically charge anywhere from $135 to $235 per hour!
There are many negative connotations with the words “government contracting” and it really shouldn’t be that way. The US government is the largest buyer in the world and just because the media mentions the nastier sides of it doesn’t mean your business shouldn’t benefit. As this article proves, while there is corruption, red tape, and big businesses involved in federal contracting, Uncle Sam tries hard to favor small businesses, punish the corrupt, and allow the red tape be a barrier against future fraud.
I wasn’t surprised with some answers. It appears that everyone’s first thoughts immediately go to mercenaries, transport, or weapons systems. Typically, people think of big businesses that are known as big business government contractors, such as Lockheed Martin or Boeing. While they do receive a large portion of the contracts, smaller businesses are reserved at least 25% of all government contracts. It just seems like a lot because when analyzing charts showing how much government contracting companies made annually, it appears drastically divided. However, I can assure you that many government agencies are looking for small business owners to work with—for example, the Air Force is actively looking for businesses to increase competition and innovation for their benefit and spends roughly $9 billion a year on small businesses.
My only argument for that is how many small businesses do you know that hire aerospace engineers? Well, there is one that I know about the created a GPS navigation system for the Air Force, and was sub-contracted out by a bigger business that had won the original contract. A problem that arose from this instance was that they were scammed out of winning the bid themselves and the prime contractor left them out of the loop. While this example might be what most small business owners fear, some good came from the experience.
A new act is being created in order to prevent something like this from happening again. United States Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship Chair Mary Landrieu (D-La) states, “Sections 205 of the Weapons System Acquisition Reform Act will go a long way toward protecting small businesses from conflicts of interest while eliminating waste and inefficiency at the DoD. Section 203 of the bill would also help to maximize competition for defense acquisition contracts, which will help small businesses because it creates more potential opportunities for them to participate.” While this is a small victory for the technology driven sector of the small business community, it is proof that Uncle Sam is starting to force himself to take care of small business.
Another opinion about government contracting is it is an over-budget, red tape bureaucratic institution, full of earmarks, campaign donations, lobbyists, and corruption. While there is truth to that statement, there are inaccuracies as well. For instance, the US tried a contractor in Iraq who committed widespread fraud on US dime in Richmond, VA on Monday and will be required to pay back every penny to the US Government. Originally, the judge in Alexandria, VA had made two rulings that would have allowed the contractor to forgo repaying the government. The Richmond court found the contractor guilty under the False Claims Act—creating fake invoices and inflating his costs significantly. The government does not actively pursue corruption, but just like anyone doing business, finds it along it’s way. This is just one example of how Uncle Sam tries to fix his mistakes—because who is perfect?
The final opinion I came across was that government contracting is a long process, involves lots of compliance documents, long decision period, but once you get it, it PAYS! I think that’s true with any business venture. You have to build a reputation before people begin to come to you and the profits begin to show. However, with government contracting, not only do you have to show that you are willing to work with the government, i.e. prove that you can wait the 3-6 months for payment, but that you offer quality services and/or products. In addition, the compliance documents usually refers to the contracting and bidding process that we can help you with at a minimal fee, unlike other companies that typically charge anywhere from $135 to $235 per hour!
There are many negative connotations with the words “government contracting” and it really shouldn’t be that way. The US government is the largest buyer in the world and just because the media mentions the nastier sides of it doesn’t mean your business shouldn’t benefit. As this article proves, while there is corruption, red tape, and big businesses involved in federal contracting, Uncle Sam tries hard to favor small businesses, punish the corrupt, and allow the red tape be a barrier against future fraud.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
