As a consultant, I still feel a jolt of shock when speaking with clients about their business goals and nobody has ever considered entering the marketplace as a contractor for the government. As a result, I have an added passion to empower clinicians, psychotherapists, and other mental health professionals to expand from a 1:1 business model to macro practice.
What some of my readers may not be aware of, is that every year, the government awards billions of dollars in federal contracts to businesses to meet the needs of government agencies.
That’s Billions with a “B”!!!
Y’all…just indulge me for a moment.
Can I just take a quick detour to explain the quantity, the value, and ultimate prosperous ramifications of the marketplace, known as government contracting. So….to quantify what this all means, Jay Z personal net worth is $1.3 Billion ($7 Billion including all of his companies) and Kanye’s-“Ye” net worth is $2 Billion ($6 Billion including all of his companies).
Thus, You can reach 7-11 figures without knowing how to rap!! (hahaha)
So, now that I have your attention, you’re probably wondering to yourself, “how do you enter these opportunities?” If you are considering joining the world of government contracting, there’s a lot of information to know. Sometimes it can be confusing to figure out where to start. With clients, I would talk a lot about the General Services Administration (GSA) and the Multiple Award Schedules (MAS), but government contracting is a wide net. Right now, these terms may sound foreign…but stick around and you’ll learn really quickly their meanings and how to navigate those systems.
Here are some government contracting 101 basics you should know:
1. GSA? What…is that?
Researching for government contracting may often look like alphabet soup. There are a ton of acronyms and abbreviations that can sometimes get confusing ( I can write another post on the different acronyms if you like. Let me know in the comments). However, it’s important to have a good understanding of these terms in order to better comprehend the world of government contracting. Some basic terms to know:
- CO: Contracting Officer. An agency official entrusted by a federal organization with the authority to enter into, administer, renew or terminate contracts, along with related determinations and findings
- Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR): the set of rules regarding government procurement
- Federal Acquisition Service (FAS): the acquisition and procurement arm of the federal government
- HUBZONE: The Historically Underutilized Business Zone Certification Program reserves federal contracts for competition among small businesses that are located in specific rural and urban communities. Businesses must apply to the HUBZone program through the SBA.
- North American Industrial Classification Standard (NAICS): a standard used by federal statistical agencies in classifying business establishments for the purpose of collecting, analyzing, and publishing statistical data
- Small Business: An independently owned for-profit firm that meets the Small Business Administration (SBA) qualifications and size requirements.
My Recommendation:
Spend some time researching these terms. I will be a great benefit to you in the long run!
2. What is the first thing I need to get started?
First thing is get your game plan in order. You must lay the foundation and build up from there. You can’t just jump right into a federal contract—you need to do some groundwork first. In order to qualify for any federal government opportunity, you will need to be registered in SAM, which requires a DUNS number from Dun & Bradstreet. The Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS), is a proprietary system developed and regulated by Dun & Bradstreet that assigns a number, referred to as a “DUNS number” to a single business entity. If you don’t have a DUNS number, get one today. It’s completely free and is the first step in becoming a government contractor. Establishing a DUNS number for your business is essential for doing any business with the government.
Once you have your DUNS number, you can set up your SAM.gov account. The System for Award Management (SAM) is an official website of the U.S. government. There is no cost to use SAM. You can use this site for FREE to:
- Register to do business with the U.S. government
- Obtain your UEI number, your Unique Entity Identifier
- Update or renew your entity registration
- Check status of an entity registration
- Search for entity registration and exclusion records
For the sake of clarity, you will be in possession of TWO numbers after you register with SAM.gov: 1) your DUNs and 2) UEI .
My recommendation: While you are doing the groundwork, collect all your data/documentations and store them in one centralized location. You can use a cloud-base storage, CRM, Excel, or whatever. Keep those documents safe, secure, with limited access.
3. How do I Find Opportunities?
There are several different ways to enter the marketplace in search of opportunities.
The marketplace, a moniker used to identify the government contracting spaces, over several different avenues to do business with them. We recommend becoming part of the GSA Schedules program. GSA works with industry partners to make sure they are compliant with basic federal regulations and policies and offer goods and services at fair and reasonable prices. This partnership allows agencies to use streamlined ordering procedures to purchase, saving all parties time and money.
You can also search the contract opportunities search tool on SAM.gov to find other government contracting opportunities. View procurement notices from federal contracting offices to find opportunities to bid for federal business. These include pre-solicitation notices, solicitation notices, award notices and sole source notices. Manage your searches and track notices by creating an account.
My recommendation: Create a Gov Con Calendar or CRM to keep track of your activity. This will be very crucial as you begin to develop relationships.
4. Which Acquisition Tool is Best?
Before I go into my recommendations, lets define what the term “acquisition” means in the government contracting marketplace.
Acquisitions means the acquiring by contract with appropriated funds of supplies or services (including construction) by and for the use of the US government through purchase or lease, whether the supplies or services are already in existence or must be created, developed, demonstrated, and evaluated.
Please note that you are allowed to sell to the government without a GSA Contract. However, federal agencies prefer to use GSA Schedule contracts over the alternatives due to the guarantee that vendors are selling their products and/or services at the best rates, and the vendor offerings are compliant with federal government regulations. There is a major advantage to holding a GSA Schedule contract because it significantly reduces your procurement process in comparison to vendors without a GSA Schedule contract (This is Major Key!!) GSA’s MAS program aims to streamline the government procurement process for not only eligible federal, state, and local agencies, but also for MAS program contract holders. Having a GSA Schedule is a booster in conducting activity with the federal government.
5. Okay, I get tips 1-4, So all I need now is just a contract?
There is more to it than simply acquiring a contract. Contract acquisition is just the beginning. Many potential government contractors think they are free and clear once they gain a GSA Contract. However, as with most of the U.S. government, bureaucracy is a key element to factor in. In order to maintain your GSA Contract, you must remain compliant. Some of the tasks needed to stay compliant include updating your price list, monitoring commercial sales prices, reporting your GSA sales, and keeping a number of administrative documents up to date. GSA also provides a GSA Schedule Contractor Compliance Checklist which breaks down every detail of what needs to be in place to maintain your GSA Contract Compliance.
Are You Ready for the Next Step?
These are just some of the basics that you’ll need to know to enter the world of government contracting. If you want to move past basics and become a government contracting pro, attend my upcoming workshop starting October 29, 2022 @ 9am CST for three weeks. Registration is open now.
If you have any questions or need a consultation, schedule a call with today and click here.