How to make money with government contracts

Navigating the process of landing government contracts is no easy task, though, especially for firms that have never done it. We profile six entrepreneurs who fought hard to procure large, multiyear federal contracts. Read on for tips from these contractors, now generating millions in business from the government. James «Rock» Rockhill, who retired from the U. Air Force in after 21 years as a fighter pilot, was used to doing big things: working as an air-traffic controller at Luke Air Force Base, near Phoenix; flying Fs for several hundred combat hours in Operation Desert Storm, Bosnia and Serbia; and training young military pilots how to fly fighter jets. But when Rockhill started to build a small company around providing aviation services for the federal government, advisors told him he was aiming too high in bidding for multimillion-dollar contracts. I think I [sold it] for just a few dollars above that,» Rockhill said. Rockhill formed two other companies—a flight school for Navy pilots and a fixed-base operation services firm—to help supplement sales. InRockhill started bidding for what he referred to as the «big, rare contracts,» which involved pilot training, aircraft maintenance and supplying aircraft. This expansion of federal contract work has helped TRG grow to a company of employees today spread among 25 U. While running a business that’s fully dependent on federal contracts has its cons—during last year’s shutdown, the government was late in paying TRG’s invoices—Rockhill said immediate growth will still come with applying for bigger contracts. For Kristen and Michael Nevils, entrepreneurial inspiration came on the coattails of Hurricane Wilma, which ripped across southern Florida in Michael, an Army veteran-turned-inventor, dreamed up a portable container, one that could hold 65 gallons of potable water and be hand-pumped to siphon water for cooking, brushing teeth or flushing the toilet.

And while that may seem like it is a lot of money and opportunity up for grabs, the process of winning government contracts is one that is challenging and requires a lot of knowledge and attention to detail. So, where should people start? Great question! This article on the ins and outs of government contracting is a good place to begin. Department of Commerce, about bidding for and winning government contracts. Bassette has over 20 years of experience in public and private organizations providing fiscal, operations, procurement, marketing, small business development, and government-related services. Department of Transportation, Office of Civil Rights to develop a national small and disadvantaged business enterprise program. And when it comes to learning about and positioning your company to win contracts , she says that it is important for small business owners seeking to win government contracts to learn and to familiarize themselves with the rules of government contracting because it is another language and requires a lot of work. First things first, before small businesses can apply for federal contracts they must be certified and recognized by the Small Business Administration SBA along with other requirements that must be adhered to. Without entry or registration into this database, you will not be able to do work with the federal government. Then you will have to determine your business size to qualify for government set aside contracts. From there, she says that is it critical to develop your own strategic growth plan and learn the federal contracting language. If you continue to do good business and build relationships you can really be successful. There are also many different contracts. Looking for contracting opportunities can be as simple as going online. These forecasts are planned federal contracting opportunities that will identify upcoming opportunities per quarter. And for those who are looking for sub-contracting opportunities, you can visit SubNet. Beyond the language and completing the qualifying steps, it is also important to hone in on the relationship and proposal building process before you approach a federal agency.

Determine Your True Costs To Best Price Out a Project

All business owners, especially women owners, know that getting to a million in revenues is a tough hurdle. But there is one way to lower the bar: government contracting. Better yet, in the federal-contracting ecosystem, female-owned businesses seem to be on remarkably even footing with the male-owned competition. But isn’t federal contracting all about airplanes and highways? Not at all. In that translated to quite a bit of work for women-owned businesses. Do the math. Moreover, the competition will only tougher as government budgets contract. In other words, the sooner you get started, the better. First step: Learn what products and services the federal government wants and the way through the procurement maze. Check out:. The next step may be as a subcontractor to an experienced prime contractor.

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Federal spending is up. No matter how you might feel about that politically, it means great opportunity for government contractors. And that in turn means unprecedented opportunity for small and emerging businesses. Here at National Small Business Weekthe SBA set up a total of nearly four hours of training on how to compete for federal government contracts—with panelists including top SBA officials, contractors, and those who recruit subcontractors for the country’s largest companies—companies that do a lot of government business.

Granted, there’s something a bit meta about the U. But setting that aside, whether you want to contract directly with the government or carve out a niche as a subcontractor, we learned six key things about getting on the government payroll.

There are currently at least 31, federal contacting opportunities listed on the government’s clearinghouse website more on that in a minute.

But, in a way, 31, is worse than zero—at least if it’s your role to comb through them all and figure out which ones you might actually want to compete.

Well, the No. That can narrow scope of your search considerably. You have to articulate what you. Small businesses can feel like they’re at a disadvantage when competing against larger entities. Sure, you might be more nimble or customer-focused than a big organization with a matching bureaucracy, but playing with big boys can feel like a real fight. In government contracting, however, that model can be turned on its head. For one thing, the government formally sets aside opportunities run by womenmembers of economically or socially disadvantaged groupsservice-connected disabled veteransand businesses located in certain underprivileged geographic areas.

Of course, there are a lot of restrictions; see each program for more details. Beyond that, the government tries to set aside about a quarter of its contracts for small businesses.

That’s a goal, not a reality—but it sets the tone. If you want to do business directly with the U. Government, your company needs to be registered with the Central Contractor Registration database. CCR can also be a great tool for you, as well, because it lets you look at how many competitors in your industry are already doing business with the government. Maybe it will clue you in to what makes a business attractive to the feds, or even give you an idea about subcontractor opportunities.

For all the government contracts out there, landing them isn’t easy. These big contractors usually maintain their own databases of potential subcontractor partners, and you have to register with them separately from the government’s site. Check out the big firms’ websites of course, but also keep in mind Supplier Connectiona shared database that connects potential subcontractors to 16 major contractors.

In theory, every single government contract going out for bid is supposed to be listed on www. That might mean opportunities to latch on as a subcontractor. Sure, government can seem impersonal, but relationships are very important. It’s easy to lean too hard on cold calls and databases. So while filling out the forms is a prerequisite, get out of the office, network, and try to meet the decision makers both in the government and in the large contractors.

And do it in person, if possible. As you do that, you’ll bump into us. Like this column? Sign up to subscribe to email alerts and you’ll never miss a post. The opinions expressed here by Inc.

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

The decision of how to price the goods or services you offer to the government is the one step in the contracting process where you are the expert and we are not. Given that there are so many different types of businesses out there and so many different ways of pricing, our best advice is to be as competitive as possible. Let’s add a little perspective to the «hammer» story. The ship has over 3, sailors, carries 85 warplanes, with support personal for them about 2,along with the pilots. They will useballpoint pens, 1. Each crew member will eat three meals. The actual story is that they had a special order for a «small» amount of these special tools, if they had waited one hour, not one day, the cost to the government and the taxpayers would have made those hammers cheap at any price. So, the buyers actually got a great deal, not one that’s fovernment worthy, but in the long run, it did save the taxpayers money. So when you are pricing your «widget» out, remember that there are usually two sides to the «story» that you keep hearing in the bars. At the same time, however, you also need to make sure that you cover all of your costs and protect your profit. Here are some simple formulas that might help you figure out what your basic costs and profit might be. Overhead Expenses: This includes items such as rent, gas, electricity, business telephone calls, cleaning, insurance, office supplies, postage, repairs, maintenance, delivery and freight charges, packaging and shipping supplies. Add an amount to the cost of each item. Check your competition for what they are charging, and how to make money with government contracts accordingly. This establishes your profit margin. Remember that just because this is a «government» contract joney not mean you can add 2, percent profit. Overhead Expenses: Calculate all the costs related to operating your business from home, and arrive at a total cost per month. Divide contrzcts by the average number of hours worked per month, to obtain your hourly expense.