Before you bid: |
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| Understand the Small Business Administration (SBA) size standards required for your industry (www.sba.gov/size). |
| Use a Procurement and Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) (www.aptac-us.org/new/index.php ) for help registering on the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) database. |
| Take an online procurement training course. Check out the SBA's at www.sba.gov/gcbd/accessing_contracts/ |
Bidding |
| Get some experience. Consider subcontracting or entering a joint venture with a company that has experience in the federal contracting arena. |
| Find a mentor. The SBA has a formal mentoring program where big companies subcontract to small ones to get them up to speed on the process. |
| Seek out help from the SBA's Procurement Center to help you find contracting opportunities (www.sba.gov/GC/contacts.html). |
| Do your homework. Know your competitors as well as the contracting agency or organization you're working with. |
Following Up: |
| The Business Matchmaking program (www.businessmatchmaking.com) is a way to meet face to face with contracting organizations. Since the face-to-face events are held only four times a year, be sure to check their online database. |
| The more you bid, the better your chances of landing a lucrative contract. You have to spend money to make money. |
| If you feel your company lost a contract unfairly, know the appeals process. You only have five days to get all your paperwork in. Consider enlisting a contracts attorney or an outside consultant to help. |
How to Navigate Government Contracting
Confusing size standards, contract bundling, and competition from savvy big companies, make federal government contracting tough for small businesses. Preparing a strategy before you begin the bidding process is key to getting your slice of the pie: