Mentor-Protege Program will be open for all small business

Prior to the Small Business Administration's ruling on July 25th, the Mentor-Protege Program was only open to those businesses that were certified as an 8(a) company. While the Program will remain separate for 8(a) companies, the program itself will be almost identical.

The Program is designed to assist the Protege with developing their business. Protege's must submit a business plan which is approved by the SBA. This business plan then becomes the goals that the Mentor will assist in achieving. Not every relationship is the same, they are built on the needs and the strengths of the companies involved.

So as a Protege what type of mentors can you expect? A Mentor can be a company of any size but must be a for-profit entity. The only other requirement is that the Mentor must be able to demonstrate that it can fulfill all obligations needed by the Protege.

On the flip side, how do you become a Protege? You must qualify as a small business, which is determined by the size standard of the primary NAICS code. The SBA is also allowing for companies to submit an application to the program under their secondary NAICS if that is the business that the company is attempting to develop.

The new ruling will officially take effect August 24th and is rumored that the SBA will begin accepting applications to the program October 1st.

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25 Years and Counting

Back in the 1980’s a college student, attending Cleveland State University, was making ends meet while working for his older brother’s company. After graduation he continued to work for his brother’s company, Procurement Services, but as most brothers do they began to disagree about the direction of the business. One brother was very content with the consulting aspect that Procurement Services had been offering for years, while the other brother wanted to grow the company and broaden the scope of services.

In light of that, Government Contract Services, Inc. (GCS) was born on October 15, 1990. Our founder, Brian A Purgert, has continued to grow the company ever since. We began to specialize in assisting companies who needed to submit a quote or proposal for government work. Our Bid, Proposal and Award Program helps companies find opportunities within the Federal Government that they could fulfill. We would them assist in formulating a quote or proposal, depending on the type of opportunity. Once a client was awarded a contract our team would then help manage that contract.

The early years of GCS also coincided with the initiation of the Federal Supply Schedules (FSS). The FSS contracts have changed a lot since its inception, GCS has kept up with the changes. Today we focus on assisting companies obtain a GSA Contract and with those that are currently GSA Contractors.

However, we have not forgotten our roots of assisting with the submission of quotes and proposals. Government Contract Services, Inc. is a full service consulting firm that can take a company’s government sales to the next level. Interested in learning about how we can help your company? Send us an email, info@govconsvcs.com

What should you plan on for the new fiscal year?

Federal Agencies put together their budget at the end of each fiscal year for the next year. Once that budget is approved, it becomes their forecasting report. Forecasting reports differ slightly from agency to agency.  In general they are the list of goods and services that the agency will be spending their budget on throughout the year. Vendors can use these reports to get an idea which agencies have money allocated to their goods or services for the upcoming fiscal year.

So how do you go about forecasting for your company? First of all, we would suggest knowing which agencies you want to target. This can be done by looking at what agencies spent the most in your industry in previous years. USA Spending is a great resource for that information, USASpending.gov. Once you have your target list, you can begin looking at forecasting reports for those agencies. Most agencies have a page on their website dedicated to procurement. The Environmental Protection Agency’s page is a good example: EPA Procurement Forecasting Database.

Some agencies forecasting reports can be very general in the type of information they provide, whereas other are very detailed. Generally we can tell what they are forecasting (goods or services) and when they are looking at purchasing it. Some tell you how they plan on purchasing it (open competition, DoD EMall, GSA Schedule, etc.), who the technical point of contact is, the estimated value of the contract, etc.

Once you have your list of opportunities from your targeted agencies, what do you do with this information? First, we want to rank them by priority. Typically the opportunities that will be posted the soonest take first priority. We then recommend reaching out the point of contact. Whether it is the technical point of contact or the general purchasing point of contact found on the procurement page for that agency and begin a dialogue about that specific opportunity. 

When starting the dialogue you want to focus on two things, one being building a relationship with the potential buyer and the other being gathering information about the specific opportunity. The most important question to ask when inquiring about an opportunity is if there is an incumbent, if there is they should give you the name of the company. You also want to know if they are happy with them and what areas they are looking to improve. Some buyers are willing to share this with you while others are not so be prepared for a no when you ask. If there is not an incumbent than you want to find out if they plan on releasing a sources sought or RFI prior to the solicitation or if the statement of work has already been prepared. If the statement of work has not been prepared or finalized yet this means that you have a chance to offer up your industry knowledge and expertise to the buyer.

There are many different questions you can ask depending on the opportunity and the agency you are dealing with. Keep in mind the questions you ask when looking at a current solicitation and begin to ask those of the forecasted opportunities. Using forecasting reports as one tool in your government marketplace arsenal will give you the chance to be a more successful contractor. 

Government Marketplace- How well do you know it?

Most businesses that we talk to on a regular basis about their government sales have some kind of idea of the agencies that they want to sell their products/services to and what other companies will be going after the same opportunities. However, when we ask them where they came up with that information it is mostly based on their commercial business. While this is a great start there is a lot of information available that is specific to the government market.

So, what type of information should you be looking at? To start you want to have an idea of the following:

·         What agencies are really spending the most on your products/services

o   Who in those agencies are purchasing it

o   Does that agency have anything forecasted in your industry

o   How are they purchasing it i.e. GSA Schedule, Sole Source, etc.

o   What type of set asides do they purchase from

·         Who are the contractors that are being awarded the most contracts

o   Who are their largest buyers

o   Do they have any set asides

o   Do they hold any contracting vehicles i.e. GSA Schedule, Blanket Purchase Agreement, etc.

Being able to answer the above listed questions will give you a good idea of what agencies you should be targeting (along with why, how and when) and who you will most likely be competing with when going after those agencies opportunities.

There are a few sites that we would recommend visiting to start gathering this information:

·         https://www.fpds.gov/fpdsng_cms/index.php/en/

·         https://www.fbo.gov/

·         http://www.gsaelibrary.gsa.gov/ElibMain/home.do

And if you have any questions or want a point in the right direction you can take advantage of our free market research report to get started. Just schedule an appointment: http://government-contract-services.reservio.com/

Does your firm qualify for 8(a) status and the sole sourcing that comes along with it?

If you are a small business you have heard of contractors receiving a sole source because they are 8(a) certified. What does this mean and how do you get one?

First, you have to go through the grueling 8(a) certification process, which seems like you are allowing the Small Business Administration access to your life. If you make it to the end of the process with a certification than you are very lucky, these days SBA has been cracking down on requirements. So what exactly does is mean and what is this sole source?

A sole source contract means that the agency that is purchasing does not have to put that service and/or product out for bid. Right now this can only be done for firms that hold the 8(a) status, soon to be woman owned small businesses as well. The reasoning behind it comes from what it means to be an 8(a) firm.

To qualify to submit an application for the certification you need to meet the following:

·         Business must be majority-owned by an individual(s) (aka no holding companies)

·         That individual(s) must be an American citizen

·         Business must be majority-owned and controlled/managed by socially and economically disadvantaged individual (s)

o   In order to qualify as socially disadvantaged you need to belong to one of the following:

§  Black American

§  Hispanic American

§  Native American

§  Asian Pacific American

§  Subcontinent Asian American

o   In order to qualify as economically disadvantaged the individual(s) your net worth must be below $250,000

§  That does not include the value of the primary home, business or any retirement funds

·         Business must be considered a small business

·         Business must demonstrate potential for success

·         Principals must show good character

These are just the initial requirements, if you want to find out more information and if your firm qualifies take a look at the SBA’s 8(a) Certification Q&A: https://www.sba.gov/blogs/sbas-8a-certification-program-explained

Small Business Goals

For the second year in a row the Small Business Administration (SBA) has announced that the Federal Government has met its small business goal. 24.99% of federal contracts were given to small businesses, this is the highest percentage since the 23% goal was established in 1997. Though 24.99% is only a quarter of federal contracts that were awarded to in FY 2014, it accounted for $91.1 Billion in federal contracts.

The small business goals for FY 2015 are as follows:
Small Business 23%
Women-Owned Small Business 5%
Small Disadvantage Business 5%
HUBZone 3%
Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business 3%
Veteran-Owned Small Business 3%

If your business falls into one of these categories, or you think you may fall into one of these categories, and you are not doing as much government business as you want setup a time to discuss your situation with one of your consultants. At the very least our consultant will be able to answer questions and point you in a direction.

Schedule your free consultation today: http://government-contract-services.reservio.com/