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How would I go about getting a government sponsorship?

What's the best way to go about getting government IT contracts?

  • Small company (30 people).  Woman, minority owned.  Custom software dev (open source, oracle, .net) and business analytics (hadoop, big data).  Been operating since 2007.  Over $100k in revenue each year.  Lots of references. Wondering how you go about getting GSA or other contracts.  Are there good consultants that you can reco?

  • Answer:

    Please consider the free articles offered at the links below, provided by a volunteer site specializing in assisting small business through the Non-Profit, Micro Mentor.   Here is a brief extract: POINTS OF ENTRY The best place to start in determining a government contracting entrance point is with successful commercial performance of services or product development. Very few, if any, commercial firms make the transition without that bridge. From maintaining buildings to keeping the lights on, from grounds maintenance to flight maintenance, look for niches that can be pursued based on successful past performance, transitioning via industry teaming via subcontracts, partner roles with larger companies or in small business set aside orders for minor items and simpler services provided directly to the government. The service venue is the most common entry point and services are at times the vehicles to achieve product development tailored to agency needs. http://www.smalltofeds.com/2013/01/your-entry-points-into-small-business.html http://www.smalltofeds.com/2013/02/10-misconceptions-about-small-business.html

Ken Larson at Quora Visit the source

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Start at http://sam.gov to get registered. You will need a D-U-N-S number. You probably already have it since your business is reasonably established, but if not it's trivial to get. Ignore the upsell offers from DnB and just get the free number as a federal contractor. The registration application is long and will have additional references how to get certified as a woman-owned minority small business. Congratulations on your success, by the way. :) Once in the system, you will see lots of bidding opportunities. Don't forget about state level. There are books written about how to bid on contracts. Go to your library and start reading. Don't hire consultants until you read a few books. You will probably save a lot of money and should realize you do not need them.

Leonid S. Knyshov

Kable is a global specialist consultancy working with business services and ICT suppliers to government.

Angelo Bueti

Get smarter than waiting for RFPs.  Get proactive.  Examples include: - Explore open source data (FPDS, http://USASpending.gov) to understand what IT service contracts might exist especially for small businesses.  A lot of work recycles itself.  Be ready. - Network with larger IT businesses that have already won contracts to see if you can help them lower their prices by subcontracting work to you (small business trade events, join AFCEA, etc.).  Many will reject you, but there will be some that you can create a real relationship with in order to gain revenue and meaningful past performance. - Similar the point immediately above, find businesses that no longer qualify as a small business (NAICS code standards) and then become a potential prime contractor for them on their expiring contracts.  They "flip" the lead role to you which gives you a leg up on customer knowledge and a credible subcontractor to "prop you up" while you grow.  There are a lot of tricks, tools and techniques to help support a strategy to identify, pursue and win contracts.

Brian E. Lindholm

#1:Read all of Ken Larson's posts #2: Is it a typo, or do you really mean that your 30 people brought in a total of $100K/yr?  That's $3.3K/yr per person.  Presuming 2000 hours of availability per person, that's about $1.60/per hour per person.  Something is wrong with your accounting.

Dennis Copeland

I agree with Dennis above, hopefully that is a type in your numbers or you mean $100k revenue per employee, not in total for the company.

Theresa Wilt

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