Tag: bid

Raffa Gibbard: Establishing Success One Contract at a Time!

Posted on by Eric Coffie

Learn how Raffa Gibbard won more than five contracts one contract at a time after waiting for two years!

BACKGROUND

Raffa Gibbard is the owner of Brave One Contract Agency, a contracting company providing construction and recycling services.

Gibbard was a former army engineer stationed in Afghanistan and Kuwait, but came back to the United States to take a vocational rehab. That’s when she learned how to do government contracting and afterwards built her company in 2017.

Currently, she has over ten years experience in both construction and contracting with the Army.

Gibbard is also part of GovCon Giants where she shares her knowledge and experience of the VA Entrepreneur / Employment Track. You can listen to that podcast here. 

WINNING HER FIRST AND SECOND CONTRACT

Raffa Gibbard didn’t win a contract right after building her company. In fact, she waited for years for an opportunity to come.

She was then part of GovCon Giants and the North Carolina Military Business Center. She was also part of an apprenticeship program where she learned to do sales and marketing and took advantage of the Small Business Administration’s resources.

Then after over two years, she won her first few contracts. These were two fencing jobs, but from different federal buyers. 

She didn’t really face any problem with her second fencing job in Indiana, but her first contract in North Carolina almost never happened.

She actually won that first fencing job last March 2020, but because of the COVID lockdown, the federal buyer kept putting it off until October of last year. 

However, she again faced another problem because her fence installer ended up closing his shop and declared bankruptcy.

Because of that, she needed to find another fencing company. Fortunately, the new installer provided more staffing and manpower which made the job easier and faster. 

Right after doing that contract, she then went to Indiana to also do the second fencing job. She found a company who’s willing to be her sub and they were able to execute it. 

“Things just don’t happen as people think,  like I said, get awarded, ‘Oh, next week we’re in there, we’re gonna finish it four days, and now I’m invoicing and I get paid.’ It takes a little bit of elbow grease, a little bit of tears, a little bit of breathing because to get— sometimes, it’s just obstacles and we don’t see those obstacles that we go through.”

ALMOST LOSING MONEY

The third contract that Gibbard won is a tile job in DC. This job, although there were challenges at first, opened two other contracts for her company. 

The problem that they encountered was that the buyer’s chosen tile color was actually too light and is not the shade that they think it was.

This was a problem because Gibbard already paid for everything, from her crew’s hotel to the tiles and other materials, and if their sub will pull out of this project, she will not get any returns. 

Fortunately, they were able to put the tiles in place… and the federal buyer even gave them two other contracts: the first one is for a ceramic tile and the other one is the same set on their first contract but for elevators. 

BEING CALLED BY THE CONTRACTING OFFICER

Right after that, a contracting officer called her to bid for two asbestos removal jobs with the Salisbury Veterans Affairs.

Because this opportunity is not publicly posted and the CO was the one who called her, she directly made the paperwork. 

“Oh, it felt great. I couldn’t believe it. I was like, ‘Really? You want me to do this?’ So, when he gave it to me, I had the paperwork back to him within probably two hours, and the next day, I called to make sure everything was right.”

HER NEXT GOALS

Although Gibbard is happy that she won contracts after years of waiting, she knows that she hasn’t arrived yet and she needs to look for more. 

“You know what? I still don’t feel like I’ve arrived… I’m still under 200,000. And I have people who are relying on me… So, I still have a little anxiety, but it’s not so much the fear of failure; now, it’s more, ‘Can I keep it going?’”

She plans to be in the position to work on a huge contract, like an eight million parking garage contract or some hospital construction, in the future. 

ADVICE FOR SMALL BUSINESSES

1. Put in the time and effort. 

Gibbard believed that anyone can be in her place, as long as they put the time and effort to keep working and staying true to their goals.


“There’s nothing interesting about what I do. I’m not charismatic. I, you know, I got here because I just did the work. I just kept pushing.”

2. Have endurance to face challenges. 

Gibbar’s success didn’t happen overnight. She waited for years and she had a lot no’s before she came to her first yes.

The key is to have endurance to face all of those setbacks and problems. While trying to make ends meet, she joined organizations and industry days and reassessed her business over and over, until the first contract came in. 

“It (Success) isn’t necessarily something that happens quickly, but I really believe if you’re committed and you keep pushing, it will eventually, opportunity will present itself to you.”

RESOURCES

If you want to learn more how Raffa Gibbard won more than five contracts after waiting for two years, then be sure to click the resources below.

You can also visit the GovCon Giant website or the new GovCon Edu where you learn everything about government contracting!

06: Establishing Your Success One Contract at a Time! – Raffa Gibbard

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KclRt-K652E

031: Raffa Gibbard & Renona Riddle Brown: Women Entrepreneurs Discuss VA Veteran Employment Track

https://govcongiants1.wpengine.com/podcast/031-2/

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Awarded $138M for dredging of the Corpus Christi Ship Channel

Posted on by Eric Coffie

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. LLC, Houston, Texas, was awarded a $138,951,462 firm-fixed-price contract for dredging of the Corpus Christi Ship Channel. Bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work will be performed in Corpus Christi, Texas, with an estimated completion date of June 20, 2023. Fiscal 2021 civil construction; civil operation and maintenance; and non-federal Port of Corpus Christi funds in the amount of $138,951,462 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Galveston, Texas, is the contracting activity (W912HY-21-C-0015).

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock is an expert at keeping waterways and shorelines clear. Founded in 1890, this company is a stalwart of dredging services in the US, mainly in the East, West, and Gulf Coast region. It also provides dredging abroad. Dredging involves enhancing or preserving waterways for navigability or protecting shorelines by removing or replenishing soil, sand, or rock. Great Lakes is involved in four major types of dredging work: capital (primarily port expansion projects), coastal protection (movement of sand from ocean floor to shoreline to alleviate erosion), Rivers & lakes and maintenance (removal of silt and sediment from existing waterways and harbors). Great Lakes also provides environmental & remediation clean-up services. (www.dnb.com)

Mastermind Monday: Why are you scared to be in the arena?

Posted on by Eric Coffie

Don’t be afraid to build a relationship and bid on government contracts!

BE THE MAN IN THE ARENA

Do you know what ITA stands for? Well, this stands for In the Arena based off of Theodore Roosevelt’s quote which is called The Man in the Arena:

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

The reason why we highlighted this quote is because we want to encourage all of you to get in the arena. Talk to people in your space. Talk to our podcast guests and if you’re similar to them, build a relationship with them.

However, the problem is people are trying to do everything alone. They’re an island by themselves.

They are sitting at home on their computer trying to price jobs, but have no one to overlook their mistakes and do things that are a must for bidding and overall govcon activities. 

Just take our very own Maria Martinez for example. She is a kindergarten teacher who has no govcon background, but when she dive into the arena and started building relationships with others, she succeeded and won multiple contracts. 

“She did not let people say, the cynics, tell her that she couldn’t do it. She tried. What happened when she tried? She succeeded… So again, in the arena. The credit belongs to the man who is in the arena.”

So, what are you going to do now? Well, you need to do the activities. And with this, we have some advice below. 

ADVICE FOR SMALL BUSINESSES

1. Learn from people. 

When you jump into the marketplace without learning the basics, it is very easy to get in trouble. 

However, you can avoid this if you are studying from people who are living and breathing all of this stuff every day. 

We actually did have a student that won a contract but his price is 20,000 lower than the production cost. This is a huge problem. Good thing he was able to talk to the manufacturer about this, but what if he wasn’t?

“Learn from people. Listen, learn, learn, learn, first.”

2. Do your market research. 

The government buys everything. The thing is they don’t always buy it the same way that you’re thinking. 

For instance, if you have a specific niche service and you looked it up on FBO but nothing comes up, that service might have been bundled with other services. 

The key is to know where to do your market research and not just rely on things posted on beta.sam.

So, what you’ll do is look based on your NAICS or PSC code and go to USASpending, FPDS, or to similar platforms that showcase past procurement data.

3. Just do the activities.

You need to start doing your govcon activities. This means not just bidding but doing your business development. 

As said above, Maria Martinez didn’t just get lucky, she does the activities. So, what you need to do is to start reaching out to people and building relationships with them. 

4. Be a subcontractor.

In this marketplace, we always do this all the time that if we cannot win a contract as a prime, we’re contacting the prime to be their subcontractor.

The way we do this is we just call them up and tell them that we looked at the project that they won and that we’re all aware of the scope of work that it entails, and with that, we can execute a piece of that work.

8. Stick with the experts.

Stick with the people in your industry that are doing this every day. You can learn from them through our podcasts, but we highly recommend that you build a relationship with them as it is much better. 

RESOURCES

If you want to learn more about how to build a relationship and bid on government contracts, then check our full video below. 

You can also visit the GovCon Giant website or the new GovCon Edu where you learn everything about government contracting!

Why are you scared when bidding government contracts?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDrHSxbIPdU

 

Donnie Harris: Retired Contracting Officer with an Unlimited Warrant to Write Billions in Contract Actions

Posted on by Eric Coffie

Navigate the government contracting market with retired military contracting officer Donnie Harris.

BACKGROUND

Donnie Harris is a retired military contracting officer who served two decades for the Coast Guard Office of Chief Counsel, Procurement Law Division, and the Clerk of the Court/Paralegal for the Coast Guard Court of Military Appeal.

Throughout his tenure, Harris participated on various radio shows and trained thousands of military and civilian personnel on topics ranging from preparing a statement of work to updates on the FAR.

Over the course of these years, he managed complex and high-profile procurements totaling $1.2 billion from the acquisition to the pre-award phase. 

After retiring, he was employed by numerous companies that wanted to utilize his procurement experience. 

CONTRACTOR PURCHASING SYSTEM REVIEW AUDIT

What that audit means is when you’re dealing with a cost reimbursable contract, you have to have an approved purchasing system that is approved by the government.

Huge companies like Booz Allen Hamilton use this process in order to ensure that everything, from the reqs and certs to the subcontractor agreements, are dated and signed correctly.

The reason is that if you fail too many audits, then that’s going to go into your past performance.

You may have an outstanding technical solution, but because you’re not able to pass an audit and it is reflected in your past performance, then you’re probably not going to win.

This is why Harris worked with a whole department in Booz Allen that was strictly dedicated to doing this audit. 

SUBCONTRACTING GOALS

Under the subcontracting goal, huge companies that do federal works need to subcontract a certain percentage of their work to small businesses. 

For instance, you’re not going to get a small business who can build a $3 billion bridge. The reasons may include the fact that they don’t have the infrastructure, the resources, and the technical knowledge and expertise to build a bridge.

Still, these small businesses can do some of the legwork, like dirt removal, concrete, and other of the small jobs. This is where the subcontracting goals come into place. 

However, depending upon the requirements, there are firms that really don’t have to adhere to the subcontracting goals, especially if there’s no subcontractors out there that can perform that type of work.

This happens when the vendor or the offerors have done their market research and found that no small business can fulfill the requirements.  

SMALL BUSINESSES ARE MISINFORMED

In Harris’ experience, he had to disqualify a lot of small businesses because they did not even maintain the basic requirements needed. 

For example, in putting solicitations online, they use keywords that only certain companies know. Why? Because this shows the level of expertise that that company has.

Apart from that, contracting officers have specific requirements depending on the contract. So, if you don’t follow any of these, then you can certainly be disqualified. 

For instance, if it is written that you need to use an 8 1/2 X 11 size of paper, then you need to really send your proposal using this size.

These are just the little things people on the government side uses in order to eliminate companies that could really not fulfill the requirements.

THE CONTRACTING PROCESS

The government usually receives two proposals: the technical proposal and the pricing proposal. 

The technical proposal is going to address how you are going to match or apply the requirements. Within this, the agency usually asks for your resumes, technical capabilities, resources, and past performance. 

Meanwhile, the pricing proposal is how are you going to price it. This includes what labor rates you are going to use and what labor categories you are going to use to accommodate these requirements.

Now, let’s say your technical proposal and your price proposal are both acceptable and you won a single award. Then, you will move to the negotiation, the final offer, and the kick off meeting about certain requirements. Lastly, you will start working.  

On the other hand, if it is going to be a multiple award, that’s when the agency will issue different task orders or requests for quotes towards you and other companies in the pool. 

What will happen in this kind of award is that you will price every time there’s a task order and that agency will choose the lowest bidder.  

RESOURCES

If you want to learn more on how to navigate the government contracting market with retired military contracting officer Donnie Harris, then be sure to click the resources below.

You can also visit the GovCon Giant website or the new GovCon Edu where you learn everything about government contracting!

011: Donnie Harris – Unlimited Warrant to Write Billions in Contract Actions

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_H15m0jKgY

SOURCES SOUGHT: SOF Enterprise Professional Services (SEPS)

Posted on by Eric Coffie

This Request for Information (RFI) is for Market Research purposes only and shall not be considered as an invitation for bid, request for quotation, request for proposal, or as an obligation on the part of the Government to acquire any products or services. In accordance with FAR 15.201(e), responses to this notice do not offer and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. No contract awards will be made from this notice and no solicitation is available at this time. No entitlement to payment of direct or indirect costs or charges by the Government will arise as a result of contractor submission of responses to this announcement or the Government’s use of such information.

The acquisition of services will be in support of the SOF Enterprise Professional Services (SEPS) acquisition, which will focus on acquiring Knowledge-Based Services, as defined by the Department of Defense taxonomy for the acquisition of services. This Acquisition will be a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) Set-aside. A USSOCOM single award IDIQ contract for current similar services, SOCOM Wide Mission Support, Group C (SWMS-C), will be ending January 30, 2022, and it is the Government’s intent to extend the current contract through July 31, 2022.

  • Original Set Aside: Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) Set-Aside (FAR 19.14)
  • Product Service Code: R499 – SUPPORT- PROFESSIONAL: OTHER
  • NAICS Code: 541611 – Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services
  • Place of Performance: Tampa, FL 33621 USA
  • Original Response Date: Jun 03, 2021, 11:00 am EDT
  • Full details via beta.sam.gov

    govcon logo Check out our RESOURCES page for a sample letter that we use in response to government market research.

Missouri Department of Social Services awarded $190.2M contract for full food services at Fort Leonard Wood

Posted on by Eric Coffie

Missouri Department of Social Services, Jefferson City, Missouri, was awarded a $190,206,883 firm-fixed-price contract for full food services at Fort Leonard Wood. Bids were solicited via the internet with five received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of March 30, 2026. U.S. Army Field Directorate Office, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, is the contracting activity (W9124J-21-D-0002).

The Missouri Department of Social Services is responsible for coordinating programs to provide:

While many programs give needed financial assistance and services, other units work toward reducing the financial dependency of the citizens on government assistance.

The Department of Social Services also has teams dedicated to:

The Department of Social Services is administrated by a director who is appointed by the Governor and approved by the state Senate. This department director, in turn, appoints the division directors.

There are over 6,700 budgeted employees in the department, and the Human Resource Center (HRC) guides the overall human resources management system for DSS team members. (https://dss.mo.gov/ddo/)

Learn From These Millennials in Government Contracting

Posted on by Eric Coffie

Learn from Mebz Manji and Branden Coffie, the two millennials of government contracting!

USHER THE NEXT GENERATION IN!

As we get older, we become more fearful to try new things because the world has beat us up and the world has stolen our sense of imagination and wonder.

With this, GovCon Giants want to inspire you out there by bringing the youth in this marketplace.

We may have this thought that millennials and the new generation of youth are lazy but we want to show you that these people are courageous and fearless to do something new. 

“We’re going to go against the myths and we’re going to show you about people who are actually not lazy and we’re going to show you that the millennial generation that really, they want to get up and they want to make stuff happen, and they’re working with us, supporting the movement, supporting what we’re doing. We are bringing the next generation of government contractors and ushering them in.”

MEBZ MANJI

Mebz Manji came from East Africa and moved to the US to study. He built his company a year ago and decided to build a business in the government marketplace.

His first contract was an $8,000 contract to supply clay targets to Westchester county. Then, this contract was followed by more contracts of the same product. 

After that, he and his friend moved to other products like staples, and decided to find a mentor to guide them. That’s when they found us, GovCon Giants. 

1. Provide more than what’s needed. 

The reason why Manji’s first contract was followed by more contracts was because he ensured to provide the best service. He went all the way to Westchester, New York to make sure that the clay targets were perfectly delivered.

So, if you want to have this kind opportunity come knocking on your door, make sure that you know what your target market wants and give your best to deliver what they need. 

“One of the things that I say all the time, the government does not get the best people, they get the people who actually go to them. So, that’s why there’s so much room and opportunity for all of us who want to be better contractors, who want to actually give good service, to charge even a higher price because they’re not getting the best people, they’re just getting the people who respond and oftentimes that’s people who are accustomed to doing government contracts they take it for granted.”

2. Reach out to people.

The other reason why Manji is with us right now is because he reached out to people. Aside from reaching out to GovCon Giants, he also reached out to the guy whose story was used as the basis for the movie, War Dogs. 

“I think a lot of us we, so many of us have watched the movie War Dogs, I don’t know how many of us actually thought to reach out to the guy who was the movie based off.”

BRANDEN COFFIE

Branden didn’t graduate in college and was pursuing acting before he joined the GovCon Giants team. 

He has no knowledge or experience about government contracting and never really cared about where the money came from. However, just recently, he started working with us while also working with his first consulting client. 

1. Just do it. 

While editing some of the GovCon Giants videos, Branden stumbled upon one of Maria Martinez’ videos where she talked about how she got her clients. Then, fascinated how Maria thought of consulting as not difficult, he decided to do it. 

He basically just followed what Maria did from market research to calling possible clients. Right now, he has one client out of three people he talked to. 

2. Educate prospects.

One thing that Branded did when he called his prospects is he educated them about the opportunities on their door and how he can help them get it. 

He’s just 23 years old but because he knew who he was calling and what they lacked in getting contracts, they agreed to work with him. 

If you want to know some parts of his opening spiel, here it is:

“Listen, I’m not selling you anything. It’s not solicitation. This ain’t got none to do with that okay? I’m presenting to you an opportunity to just expand your company in the government arena. You guys had three contracts last year. That’s great. Very small contracts, but we can make that way bigger. We can get way more contracts, like it’s not a problem because you have it, you know, you have very big selling points.’”

3S TO REMEMBER

1. Stop giving excuses.

All of us are afraid. The person on the other end is afraid. The business owner’s afraid. The executives are afraid. We are all afraid. No one is completely confident and positive that these things are gonna work. 

Mebz Manji and Branden Coffie are just like us. Whether you have a degree or not or you entirely know everything about this marketplace or not, you can do things that they did, you just have to try. 

“No one has absolute certainty with any or everything that they do. So, we’re just, remember that in your head that we’re all operating out of some fear, right? Some of our fears are stronger than other fears. Some are more prevalent than others but I just want to continue to encourage you, continue to be able to show you, demonstrate you, give you other examples.”

2. Stop comparing yourself to someone else.

To be transparent with you, both Mebz and Branden did not feel that what they did were accomplishments and that’s because they’re comparing themselves to others. 

“That’s the wrong way to do it. We should not be comparing ourselves to someone else because for what they’ve done and what they’re doing is huge, right?”

3. Solve problems not sell things. 

One thing that makes these two young people different is they are not afraid to do their own research.

Branden found an industry and place where there is limited competition and limited opportunity and Mebz found a small municipality in New York where a customer has a need.

“How many times do I tell everyone, find someone who has a need, solve that problem. You’re a problem-solver and the more problems you can solve, the bigger problems you can solve, the more money you make. You’re providing solutions. We’re not selling anything. I keep telling people this. We’re not selling them.”

RESOURCES

If you want to learn more on how to start in government contracting and get inspiration from successful people, then be sure to click the resources below. You can also visit the GovCon Giant website or the new GovCon Edu where you learn everything about government contracting!

Learn government contracting from MILLENIALS!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tk23zoNhUW8

 

Archer Western Federal JV awarded $205.4M contract for construction of a new 916-car parking structure and of a new spinal cord injury/community living center

Posted on by Eric Coffie

Archer Western Federal JV, Chicago, Illinois, was awarded a $205,442,643 firm-fixed-price contract for the construction of a new 916-car parking structure and a new spinal cord injury/community living center. Bids were solicited via the internet with two received. Work will be performed in San Diego, California, with an estimated completion date of March 11, 2024. Fiscal 2021 civil construction funds in the amount of $205,442,643 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles, California, is the contracting activity (W912PL-21-C-0004).

Archer Western Federal Jv was founded in 2012. The company’s line of business includes the construction of nonresidential buildings. (www.bloomberg.com)

Dean Marine & Excavating Inc. awarded $130M contract for dredging/construction services within the Great Lakes and Ohio River division

Posted on by Eric Coffie

Dean Marine & Excavating Inc.,* Mount Clemens, Michigan (W911XK-21-D-0001); Geo. Gradel Co.,* Toledo, Ohio (W911XK-21-D-0002); Great Lakes Dock and Materials LLC,* Muskegon, Michigan (W911XK-21-D-0003); The King Co. Inc.,* Holland, Michigan (W911XK-21-D-0004); Luedtke Engineering Co.,* Frankfort, Michigan (W911XK-21-D-0005); MCM Marine Inc.,* Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan (W911XK-21-D-0006); Morrish-Wallace Construction Inc., doing business as RYBA Marine Construction,* Cheboygan, Michigan (W911XK-21-D-0007); and Roen Salvage Co.,* Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin (W911XK-21-D-0008), will compete for each order of the $130,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for dredging/construction services within the Great Lakes and Ohio River division. Bids were solicited via the internet with nine received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 2, 2025. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit, Michigan, is the contracting activity.

Dean Marine & Excavating Inc provides excavating equipment and contractor services. The Company offers seawall construction and repair, dredging, foundation piles, project design, trucking, equipment transportation, environmental cleanup as well as marina construction and towing services. (www.bloomberg.com)

SOURCES SOUGHT: Powered and Unpowered Exoskeletons for Human Performance Augmentation During Maneuver or Logistics Support Activities

Posted on by Eric Coffie

THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY for Powered or Unpowered exoskeletons which are capable of meeting the basic requirements described below. This is not a Request for Quotation (RFQ), Request for Proposal (RFP), or an Invitation for Bid (IFB). It is a market research tool being used to determine the availability and adequacy of potential sources for planning purposes only. Responses to this notice are not considered as offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of responses nor otherwise pay for the preparation of any information presented or the use of any such information. Any information and/or samples submitted may not be returned, and no payment will be made by the Government.

  • Original Set Aside:
  • Product Service Code: AC12 – National Defense R&D Services; Department of Defense – Military; Applied Research
  • NAICS Code: 541715 – Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology)
  • Place of Performance: Natick, MA 01760 USA
  • Original Response Date: Mar 12, 2021, 06:00 pm EST

Full details via beta.sam.gov

govcon giants logo Check out our RESOURCES page for a sample letter that we use in response to government market research.