First IG live with special guests Laurie joins us and talks about building a world class business, guest legendario ask questions about canceling a client and transferring the information to another.
Month: July 2020
060: Dr. Ramsey Smith – Helping engineers and researchers find applications for their technologies
Today’s guest, Ramsey Smith, BS Chemistry, Ph.D in Atmospheric Chemistry. Was a Postdoctoral Fellow at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GFSC) where his research spanned the areas of laboratory atmospheric chemistry to ground based remote sensing of planetary atmospheres. Today he is the CEO/Founder of Geaux Innovation Agency – provides strategy, R&D, and commercialization services for science and technology-based entrepreneurs, ecosystem builders and investors.
In today’s episode we discuss how he helped engineers and researchers find opportunities both then and now.
Former Director of the Navy’s OSBP shares Advice for Small Businesses Government Contractors
With over 30 years of experience and service as a contracting officer and a small business professional under the Department of Navy, Emily Harman shares her story and advice for small businesses government contractors to take advantage of.
HOW DID SHE START?
Emily Harman is an active and experienced Supply Corps Officer, a contracting officer, and a lieutenant in the Navy for seven years.
Then, when she was in the reserves, she was moved into the Office of Small Business Programs (OSBP) at the Naval Air Systems Command and became the director of the Navy’s OSBP.
She is now retired in the army but she is currently working as a keynote speaker and personal coach. She also has her podcast, Onward, wherein she features authentic stories from people who have faced and overcome adversity.
“My goal with that podcast is to help people see how they can apply what they learn about in the podcast to their particular situation and face adversity and overcome it.”
HOW CAN THE GOVERNMENT HELP SMALL BUSINESSES?
As a former director of the Navy’s Office of Small Business Programs, Harman shared her point of view on how the government can increase small business participation.
1. Technology
When she was still in the Navy, Harman created an initiative to make sure that there are a handful of opportunities that will be given to small businesses. She believed that to get more traction from these businesses, the government should utilize technology.
“In order for contracting, government contracting, and acquisition to really work, you have to have a better mix of government industry communication; and government contracting officers and acquisition personnels need to understand industry; and the industry needs to understand the government. I think, especially the government, needs to understand how their decisions drive industry behavior and impact the price of the contract.”
2. Stories
Apart from using technology, Harman also thinks of using story in terms of changing the behavior of small businesses. Regardless of what technology is being used, she believed that a good story will always resonate with people.
“It needs to go to the government. It needs to go to program managers… You’ve got to get the people, the targeted audience, to listen.”
WHAT IS HER ADVICE FOR SMALL BUSINESSES?
Harman also shared her advice to small businesses in order to prepare them in working with the government.
1. Roles of Contracting Officers
One thing that some contractors failed to consider that contracting offers are the ones who award government contracts but they are not the ones who came up with the requirements.
They are just making sure that all the requirements and specifications are transferred into the contract and are met by government contractors.
Things beyond that point such as market research, pricing, and others can only be answered by suppliers, other businesses, or other technical people.
To help you figure out which organizations within the government buy what you are selling, you can search for previous contract awards and do your market research on the Federal Data Procurement System website and visit your area’s Procurement Technical Assistance Centers.
2. Be a Credible Contractor
Another thing that Harman wants small businesses government contractors to do is making sure that they present their business in a credible manner.
She wants small businesses to be prepared in meeting government individuals during and even before considering a specific contract.
She doesn’t want contractors to talk to these people without even having any idea what these people want and what their business can offer as you will most likely look unprofessional and these people might think of all small businesses as unknowledgeable and inexperienced.
“Do your homework. Narrow down your niche. You can’t go after the whole government… the whole government’s huge. You’ve got to pick one or two customers that you want to target and put your effort into that.”
RESOURCES
If you want to watch the full interview with Emily Harman, then be sure to click the links below.
034: Emily Harman – Former Director of the Navy’s Office of Small Business Programs
Navy Veteran, Robert Brown, shares Experience as a Small Business Owner in the Federal Marketplace
Using his expertise and experience in various handiwork in the Navy, Robert Brown has started his own fuel company and became successful with it. Today, he shares his experience as a small business owner in the federal marketplace.
BACKGROUND
Robert Brown is a Navy veteran turned business owner of the full service fuel company, Broco Oil, while also serving the Chelsea Fire Department as a fire captain.
Together with his wife, Angela Brown, they established Broco Oil in order to provide heating oil and diesel for the marines and other commercial and residential customers.
What started as a small business with only one truck in 2007 turned into an acclaimed veteran-owned business in 2019 and currently has a fleet of over 35 trucks and 50 employees.
STRUGGLES IN STARTING A BUSINESS
When Brown started Broco Oil in 2007, banks wouldn’t approve him since he was just starting out and had no collateral to secure a loan. However, he worked his way out and got a loan from the Small Business Administration which he used to purchase an old fuel truck.
“The harder the work is, the more I want to pursue that avenue to see what I can do.”
Then, he gambles a lot by buying trucks that are old and then fixing those to be used in their business. He also sources a lot of stuff from various companies and develops a relationship with these people so that they could continue to work with them.
Apart from all of these, he had also realized that being certified as a veteran-owned business will not give them opportunities. A certification is just a piece of paper and the success relies on them.
LEARNINGS IN MANAGING A BUSINESS
Due to the struggles that he faced in managing his small business, he learned a lot of things that motivated him to continue moving forward.
Firstly, they need to network their business and let people know who he is and what his company does.
Then, he needs to make sure that they are able to build a relationship with their customers. Brown believed that even little contracts should be treated as big ones and just do everything to make the job done.
“We’ll act first. We’ll get the job done. And we’ll worry about everything else later.”
Most importantly, what matters to Brown the most is having a team who drives the whole company forward.
“We form together and guys that are behind on certain tasks, you know, are backfilled by these guys that got done with their day early. So, I try not to hire based on just performance. The personality should be right and they have to be willing to work in a team environment.”
ADVICE FOR SMALL BUSINESSES
The first piece of advice Brown wants to share is to do the job with or without a certification. Being certified is just a plus but what really matters is how your business can do the job.
Consider that there are a lot of huge businesses that will get the same opportunity as you are and most of the time these businesses will be given the job because they have more experience than you do.
“You actually got to get out there and work your butt off to now network and let people know who you are but let them know what type of service you can bring them.”
The second piece of advice Brown shared is to present your business according to who you are and what you can do.
He believed that the key in gaining different job opportunities for your small business is to put your face in front of your company name and not give an impression that you can do something that you can’t.
RESOURCES
If you want to watch the full video of the podcast with Robert Brown as he shared his experiences as a small business owner in the federal marketplace, then be sure to click the links below:
059: Bobby Brown, Broco Oil -Building a major oil company one truck at a time
Ronnette Meyers – How She Launched A Successful Federal Government Contracting Firm
How does one become a trusted partner for excellence in Federal Government Contracting Firm? Take it from the Minority Business Leader Award winner of 2020, Ronnette Meyers as she shares how she launched a successful federal government contracting firm.
ABOUT RONNETTE MEYERS
At 17, Ronnette was a single parent who juggled college and a young son. However, Ronnette attributed much of her success from learning the lessons of responsibility and public service at an early age.
Ronnette completed an associate’s degree while working for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) where she went on and built her 12-year career in the federal government.
And around 2005, Ronnette left her work with the FAA when she got a call from her mother, Jan Adams, who asked for her assistance in growing her own federal government contracting firm business, the JMA Solutions.
WHY DID JAN ADAMS START HER OWN BUSINESS?
Ronnette shared that her mother spent 24 years in the air force. And with her mother’s line of work, they have been traveling all over the world.
Her mother wasn’t going to retire anytime soon when a former Colonel that she used to work with in Germany reached out to her for a position in federal government contracting firm to support the FAA. The colonel needed someone with her capabilities to help run the program.
This is how she arrived in DC and started working for the company. But there was this one time that a customer said to Adams that:
You are a minority female service, why don’t you start your own business, so that we can stop paying you as the middleman and pay you directly.
With that piece of encouragement and riding on the trust she has built from her clients. She started her own business. And this is where; Adams asked Ronnette if she could help her build the infrastructure during her time off and weekends.
STEPPING OUT OF A PARENT’S SHADOW
Ronnette’s roles were to build Adam’s human resource policy and managed her contracts. She also did Adam’s payrolls and her lines of credit until she came on board.
Ronnette worked her way up to become senior vice president of corporate services. She did not only business development but also managed the HR department.
And eventually, Ronnette had to sit down with her mother thinking and planning about generational wealth. They needed to start thinking about their children and grandchildren and how they can secure their future. And that was how Ronnette made the decision to start JLAN Solutions.
Although Ronnette did open up stating as to how she had her reservations with separating from her mother’s business.
“When I was under the shadow of my mom, I could confidently speak from there. However, when it was time for me to come out on my own and speak for myself. I was afraid.” States Ronnette Meyers
Ronnette was one of the countless people who were actually afraid of starting their own businesses. However, what got her through that dilemma was to build up her confidence and believe in what she could do.
Because, in order to get to the next level. She firmly believed that one had to find their own voice and use it to produce results to push a great product.
She mentioned how she started JLAN in 2010, she admitted that she really didn’t do a lot but rather Ronnettte described it as taking a leap of faith.
However, she also backed her decisions with action by attending SBA emerging leaders programs which really helped her start building relationships.
THE GOLDMAN SACHS 10,000 SMALL BUSINESS PROGRAM
Ronnette shared that although she had a technical degree she admitted that she lacked the business courses and skills which the Goldman Sachs program helped her navigate. She has had a CPA from the program who helped her do her payroll, and the CPA really dived deep into the finances.
They handle your taxes especially pointing out where your money is going. How it is spent and where it could be properly allocated. And she came out of the program with three things.
- You need to hire a marketing manager to help get my name out there.
- Hire A COO to run my day to day operations so that I could focus on doing my business development and building relationships and bringing opportunities to the business.
- Lastly, you have to stop working inside your business at some point and start working on it to help it grow from the outside.
BALANCING WORK AND PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP
Talking about relationships, I took the opportunity to ask how Ronnette manages her employees.
You have to monitor your relationships with people. And keep a distance from them especially if you are leading them. You don’t want to cross that line of being a personal friend as that can be misconstrued.
Ronnette believes that it is necessary to keep a little bit of separation. In the military, or as she says it, you can’t fraternize with employees. But you can still allow them to help in decision making.
It doesn’t necessarily mean that you include them in making policy making and procedures. But if there are events or any roles your employees can play into it. You can definitely include them. But you have to find your own balance between putting your foot down and avoiding offending someone.
HOW DO YOU HANDLE FIRING SOMEONE
For Ronnette, letting someone go is a difficult thing to do. She remembers the first time she had to do it. Her heart shattered because she understands the impact it will have on the employee and that employee was a mom. It affected her income, her family, and her children.
To delve into the details, the employee was a travel agent, and her performance was down. Customers weren’t happy with the support they were getting from her.
However, even though it hurts your heart to let someone go. You have to think about what your business has built up to this point.
I have met with her in several occasions about her performance and it hasn’t improved. We need to part ways because you are affecting the work ethics. You are affecting the company and the brand.
Our goal is to be a trusted partner and we want to provide excellent solutions and outcomes. And if you can’t step up to the game, then the others will be affected.
PHILANTHROPHY
Working as a public servant and being exposed to the government at such a young age. Ronnette has a strong passion and commitment to giving back to the community especially to the youth.
So, I work out with a group of ladies and we were out walking this morning and we were talking about a vacant building that’s in upper Marlboro, Maryland. I shared to them how I wanted to establish programs for our young black Americans, our youth. There are so many programs where we can teach young men how to tie a tie and young ladies to be young ladies.
Ronnette elaborated that they can use that building and capitalize on the season that they were in with Black Lives Matter. Her vision was to expand and reach Youngstown, Ohio since Ronnette is from that area and she has seen firsthand how the students there can make better use of their time.
We need to help the young students. We need to give them direction. With all the oppression and conversation on black culture, it is our responsibility to guide them and get them off Fortnite and Minecraft.
Ronnette believes that we need to take action to help our community and what better way than to give the youth some structure and guidance on how to achieve their best.
FORWARDS NOT BACKWARDS
To end the discussion, we part with a few insights on the current situation of the community. It is true that the pandemic, financial crisis and race relations have gone and suck out much our positivity. But we mustn’t forget that we have much to be thankful for.
Focus on what you have and stay humble. You must not group one people over the other. Because if we all continue to cast a shadow over people because of the color of their skin. We will recede from progress.
Because if the best ideas and innovations are no longer able to step forward because it is limited from a narrow segment of the population. It shall hinder our nations progress and growth.
Think about it. If you were presented with ideas and solutions that can counter terrorism and foreign threats will you still think about whose hands or color they can come from?
Probably not.
Social Worker turned Businesswoman, Merry Korn, Shares Motivation and Success Story
With a mission to provide opportunities for the most challenged populations, Merry Korn built Pearl Interactive Network. And now, she shares her motivation and success story as a clinical social worker turned businesswoman.
BACKGROUND
Merry Korn is an experienced clinical social worker with over 30 years of experience and a bachelor’s degree of Applied Science and master’s degree in clinical social work from Ohio State University.
She had once worked in the Wellness Systems and then moved to American Health Holding, Inc which is a single-source provider of medical management services.
After working for more than 20 years, Merry Korn founded Pearl Interactive Network, a social enterprise that has a mission to provide job opportunities for the most challenged populations while also earning profits out of their comprehensive contact center services and end-to-end telehealth solution.
ABOUT PEARL INTERACTIVE NETWORK
1. SERVICES
The company is primarily providing services to both commercial and federal marketplace when organizations don’t have the necessary resources to do an activity within their internal management.
Their core competency is contact center services and under that main umbrella are providing help desk, inbound and outbound call center, and administrative services.
Then, they also provide innovative telehealth solutions through Pearl TLC. They provide vital signs and chronic conditions monitoring via smart phones or through their own technology, a 24/7 call center services managed by nurses and support care coordinators, transportation, and in-house support from social workers, nurses, and others.
2. GOAL
Apart from this, one of the main things that Korn also highlighted is the fact that a huge portion of their employees are from the most challenged populations including skilled and talented military spouses, disabled veterans, people living in economically challenged areas, and people with disabilities.
“I’m a clinical social worker that loves business and very early on I learned that you can absolutely marry a business and a for-profit mission. So we are considered a social enterprise, because from day one till now, our hiring priority is always populations with challenges to work.”
LEARNINGS IN NAVIGATING THE FEDERAL ARENA
As Pearl Interactive Network grew, they decided to venture into the federal marketplace but the transition was not easy.
“There’s such a huge investment in this federal infrastructure that it actually makes sense because it’s… just once you figure it out and you become an expert, there’s a lot of reasons just to stay focused on the federal.”
1. CREATE A VISION
One thing that she learned is that there are different paths for different people. What might work for the others might not work for them. So, she made her vision intact and worked hard to make their goals and direction together.
“I think success is a combination. Yes. Hard work is a big part of it. And then I think hard work, great team and luck. But it all starts with a vision. And I always had a vision of having a very large company, always.”
2. UPHOLD INTEGRITY
You need to operate with a level of integrity because once you do anything wrong, it will make a mark out of your paper.
“It’s such a small world and if you do anything wrong, that whisper turns into a yell. You have to be so impeccable with everything you do, the service you deliver, the quality of what you do and how you engage with people. And I like that. I like being a part of industry that for the most part, integrity is critical.”
ADVICE FOR SMALL BUSINESSES
She wanted women in the business industry to become politically active and to get involved regardless of where they are located. There are tons of opportunities that are being provided for women-owned businesses and she wants them to get involved and pay back to the community.
Then, she also advised businesses to prepare for opportunities and be very strategic about their processes. Trace opportunities that have deadlines year prior. Go to networking events and meetings. Most importantly:
“Take a realistic assessment of who you are and who your team is and as much as possible try to outsource your weaknesses.”
RESOURCES
If you want to watch the full video of the interview with Merry Korn as she shares her motivation and success story as a clinical social worker turned businesswoman, then be sure to click the links below:
From Social Worker to 1,000 employee firm w/ Merry Korn
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1BiJc9zPD8&t=1853s
036: Merry Korn – From Social Worker to Experienced Businesswoman
Darcella Craven Explains Motivation in Helping Veterans through VetBiz.com
As the President of the Veteran Resource Business Center, Darcella Craven shared how VRBC is helping veterans gain success in the federal marketplace.
BACKGROUND
Before becoming part of the Veteran Resource Business Center (VRBC), Darcella Craven was an army veteran who later worked in different private entities for various administrative roles while also working as a faculty at Sanford Brown College.
She also started her business but it failed that made her pay the Internal Revenue Service a significant amount of money. She didn’t want that to happen to other veterans. So, when an opportunity in helping veterans came, she accepted it.
“So that’s my reason for the push here is that it’s amazing to watch people make a decision that changes the course of their life. And so for me, that’s the thing. Whether that decision is, yes, here’s a business and this is what’s going to happen, or no, not right this time… I just appreciate that light bulb moment that you see with folks.”
Currently, Craven is the President of the Veteran Resource Business Center (VRBC). She also volunteers on various nonprofit events that aims to promote entrepreneurship, provide job opportunities, and celebrate small business successes.
ABOUT THE VETERAN RESOURCE BUSINESS CENTER
1. GOAL
The reason why the Veteran Resource Business Center was created is to assist veterans with startup and expansion opportunities for their small businesses in the areas of Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas and Iowa region.
The organization helps analyze problems and develops solutions to grow successful veteran-owned businesses as well as provide opportunities for immediate family members of military servants.
They are also part of a larger nationwide network of Veteran Business Outreach Centers (VBOC).
2. SERVICES
VRBC, on their own, has seven military posts and during the transition process of military members, they visit these areas. They have a week-long conversation with these people on what they will do afterwards.
“If they decide that entrepreneurship might be a thing they want to do, they can sign up for an additional two days, and that’s when we come in. We can give them this two-day entrepreneurship class, which is called Boots to Business. It’s about a 10,000 foot view of what entrepreneurship is.”
Other than going to these posts, VRBC also provides opportunities to their surrounding community and to the family members and spouses of military servants.
“So we might bring in an attorney or an accountant or a marketing expert to kind of help deliver those trainings so they can also know what resources are around them as well as what’s available to them nationally.”
THE PROCESS THAT VBRC FOLLOWS
When a veteran is interested in establishing a business, these people should have all the certifications and papers in place first for the assessment.
Then, they make sure that these people have their own business plan and understand what they have written into it.
“A part of our process there is to kind of make sure that they are shored up with their plan and they know what kinds of questions they have and then we get them prepared to talk to people that they may hire. Because it really is specific. I mean you need to know what you’re doing.”
So, a part of this process is to really teach these veterans on what their goal and their market are as well as help them develop a plan on how to reach their goal.
RESOURCES
If you want to watch the full video of the interview with Darcella Craven as she shared how the Veteran Resource Business Center aims in helping veterans gain success in the federal marketplace, then be sure to click the links below:
009: Darcella Craven – Veteran Resource Business Center President and Chief Fear Conquer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXZkdVKv_rw
009: Darcella Craven – Chief Fear Conqueror and President of the Veteran Resource Business Center
How Can I Become A Middleman In The Federal Market?
As you may have known by now, the federal government is looking to buy a lot of products and services from the private sectors. They have billions of budget to cater to each of their governments agency’s needs. And as a small business, you may have already considered working with them become a middleman in the federal market.
However, there are basic requirements for government contractors that you should meet. But we won’t tackle much about that here. In this podcast, we are listening in with Beruk as we tackle an overview of how to prepare and start your journey to succeed to become a middleman in the federal market.
FEDERAL CONTRACTING AND “WARDOGS”
Today’s caller, Beruk, posed a question, “How can I become a middleman in the federal market?” Beruk opened up that he just graduated with a bachelor in economics. He shared that his interest in the federal market was inspired by the movie WarDogs.
Based on a true story and directed by Todd Phillips, “War Dogs” follows two friends in their early 20s living in Miami Beach during the Iraq War. They exploited a little-known government initiative that allows small businesses to bid on the U.S. Military contracts. They started small and further enjoyed raking in big money and are living the high life as the movie progresses.
Watching WarDogs is kind of an entry level homework of what you can expect and do with federal contracting.
However, the federal contracting process is quite different from contracting with private agencies. Mainly because the contracts are regulated to encourage a competitive marketplace. This is to guarantee that the taxpayer’s money is properly used and promotes healthy socio economic goals.
Moreover, the government holds special rights in the contract that include changing its terms and condition and even abruptly ends it.
Lastly, the claims and legal actions of contractors must follow procedures of Contract Disputes Act as the federal government is a sovereign entity.
Now, that may come off as something difficult. And there have been plenty of myths going around that the government doesn’t pay.
FEDBID AND FREE COURSES ON GOVCON
However, there are plenty of resources on learning the ropes in the federal marketplace that deals with frequently asked questions and concerns. And most importantly deals with these misconceptions.
I advised Beruk that his concerns are all tackled in the resources available for free on my website at govcongiants.com. Basically, the course is a rundown of what you’ll need to get started and it also proves that you don’t need a degree to start this business, only the willingness to learn.
It also highlights how someone who isn’t certified can get access to government contracts and plan their bids. It also teaches exact strategies and the process we used to land contacts. And to ultimately answer Beruk’s question on how to become a middleman in a federal market with only the internet and a cellphone.
BUILD YOUR NETWORK
But fast forwards to after a few months of learning the courses we offered on the website. Or simply setting expectations of taking courses and doing your own homework. You should already be actively looking for eligible companies that are certified government contracts.
Because the truth is, there are a lot of businesses who can provide their products and services to the government. However, they are simply not aware of it. And this is how you come in and do the market research.
These businesses don’t know how to do business development simply because they’re not putting themselves out there and letting the government know they exist.
And you can add value to these companies by providing them a proposal. Creating a proposal is also offered on the course.
And when for example, you can show decision makers of these companies that within say a week. A list of all the potential clients, customers, partners, and protegees that they could work with in the federal government or in their area.
They are going to start listening to you. They’re gonna pay attention, they’re gonna sit up and they’re gonna ask you to tell them more.
It’s all about how you approach these entrepreneurs and businesses. But the first thing is you have to learn and become familiar and understand this stuff yourself through the courses.
If you start telling someone, “Hey! Listen, you know, I know about government contracts, and I think that I can help add some value to your company or any company who’s looking for it in that marketplace.” You start having a conversation and really quickly you’ll meet people that want what you offer.
But you will need to overcome another hurdle and that is to build your network and set up your LLC.
LLC (Limited Liability Company)
The next step or now that you’ve got their attention. You’ll need to start providing them with a price for the product.
The government has accepted your bid but how do you buy these products?
For example, you offer to sell the government hard drives. And you need to order 50 of them for $200 a piece.
Where do you get that kind of money?
How do you buy that product to sell to the government because the government’s not gonna pay you upfront.
This is where you need to get supplier credit and vendor credit. That’s where creating your LLC is very important. When you create your LLC you set up an actual business.
You can go and become a vendor or supplier to the people who make that product with LLC and we have a video on that at govcongiant.com.
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO CREATE AN INCOME IN THE FEDERAL MARKET?
Beruk provided an interesting question. To be entirely honest, people can work for months to years to become a middleman in the federal market before they can see any income. But that is because they aren’t actually doing anything.
It’s not just about signing up in FedBid and thinking that’s all you’ve got to do. That is far from the truth.
Your success depends on how active you are doing your market research. It depends on yourself. For one, I cited that I had college students who went to sell telescopes to the government in just a few months.
Simply put, if you are looking at the fedbid every day and you are actively bidding jobs. In four to six weeks, you can land a contract. But again, that is if you are actively doing it.
KNOWING WHERE TO START IN THE FEDERAL MARKET
In summary, before you think about going further into the federal market. One needs to do more homework as a lot of questions can be answered in free courses and resources.
What you really want to do in opportunities to consult with others who are in the same business is to ask about the complicated concepts that aren’t tackled in any videos or books.
The Do’s and Don’ts in Performing Your Government Contracts
As government contractors, you cannot freely do anything with your project the way you wanted it to be. You have guidelines to follow which are all in your contracts. To give you an idea, here are the do’s and don’ts in performing your government contracts.
FOLLOW THE SPECIFICATIONS.
Contracting officers have a very specific set of guidelines that government contractors should follow.
These people might not be the one who are the main reason why that project took place but for the fact that they have the authority to obligate the government’s spin and funds, then you shouldn’t defy them.
“We should be thankful that we are in a position to where somebody is calling us with the contract and opportunity that is not publicly posted to do a negotiation and a potential sole source.”
COMMUNICATE IN TERMS OF CHANGES.
Then, you should also communicate with your contracting officer if you want certain changes in your contract or there are parts that you find difficult to understand.
In most cases, when you do something that is not part of your contract, contracting officers will either not pay you or only pay the agreed payment based on the contract.
However, you can avoid it by writing all of your recommended changes in terms of a Request for Information and sending it to your contracting officers so that they can include the changes in your contract or exclude anything from the list of your responsibilities.
“If there’s a change of scope, you put it in the form of an RFI and you let them make the determination.”
STOP THE PROJECT.
The last thing that you should do is to stop the project if there are changes that are not part of your scope of work.
Don’t just do all of the things that are being ordered by the agency that you’re working with. Rather, communicate with your contracting officer and make sure that what you’re doing is still under your contract and if you are sure it is not, then temporarily stop your project.
“Don’t come back and ask for money for things that you took upon yourself without getting permission.”
Remember that the government and the contracting officer will just pay you if a project is done or a product or service is delivered according to their contract. Other problems that you might face in doing the project is not part of their problem. So, it is best to ask for the permission of your contracting officer first.
RESOURCES
If you want to watch Eric Coffie’s full video, then be sure to click the links below.
Negotiating a $5 million dollar contract do’s and don’ts
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXj_oSdNKb8
How to price a FedBizOpps contract, things to consider?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98Rdcck0e0Q
How to Bid a Job?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drxbXzQSfG0&t=146s
International Contracts – How to register if you are a foreign company