If you are able to compete in a Marketplace with less than 1% of your competition, how long would it take you to jump all over the opportunity? A company’s trajectory can be completely changed for the better when it competes in the under-tapped marketplace of the Federal Government. With government contracting work, you can open the doors to additional business that larger companies are not eligible to receive.
The United States Federal Government is the world’s largest purchaser of goods and services, spending around $500 billion each year! Government agencies and corporations that do business with the government are mandated by law to spend approximately 23 percent of their budget with small, disadvantaged companies. Yet, get this – less than 1% of small businesses in the US compete in this vastly under-tapped marketplace. Small businesses are leaving a lot of opportunity to grow on the table!
The Federal Government is a huge conglomerate of over 130 agencies. These agencies purchase everything – from office supplies to window washers to landscaping services and so much more. Really, just about anything you can imagine an organization would need.
Federal agencies must publicly list their contract opportunities. Many of these contracts are set aside exclusively for small businesses. In some cases, these set-aside contracts might consist of certain types of tasks on larger contracts. In others, entire contracts may be reserved for small businesses. When a contract is set-aside for one specific small business, it’s called a sole-source contract.
In order to do business with the Federal Government, you must start by doing the following:
- Determine if the Federal Government purchases what you sell
- Obtain a DUNS Number (check out my blog on DUNS numbers for more information)
- Identify your NAICS code(s)
- Register in the System for Award Management (SAM)
