Tag: federal marketplace

Gabriel Ruiz: Army Veteran and SBA Award Winner

Posted on by Eric Coffie

Army Veteran, CEO, and SBA Award Winner Gabriel Ruiz shares his advice for small businesses and how he strategically gained success in the federal marketplace.

BACKGROUND

Gabriel Ruiz served the U.S. Army for 26 years as  a Communications and Technology Acquisition Officer until he retired in 2006 as a Lieutenant Colonel. 

Right after that, he built his own company, Advanced IT Concepts, Inc., providing technology services and solutions as well as engineering, training and implementing complex systems for the federal government and the commercial marketplace. Since then, the company has delivered $70M+ programs.

Apart from that, he had also established “CEO Hive,” a little program where he and other established business owners help small businesses and subcontractors gain success. 

“You don’t know which way the pendulum’s going to swing. Today, you’re a subcontractor. Tomorrow, you might be having the next Uber, so maybe you can reach back and pull others up.”

With all of this, he was recognized as the 2016 North Florida District Minority-Owned Small Business Person of the Year and the 2017 North Florida Small Business Person of the Year.

EXPERIENCE IN THE FEDERAL MARKETPLACE

Ruiz didn’t have any idea about being an entrepreneur but his experience in the military was the reason why his transition became easier. He was able to translate what he learned. 

“In many cases, our military folks, especially younger folks, do not know what they really have. The ability to stand up in front of somebody, and talk to them, and do brave things, and develop strategies, and develop courses of action, and all this is innate into the junior leaders, and that translate perfectly into industry, and many times our folks, our military transitioning folks, are not aware of that, that discipline, that dependency, that we know they’re going to show up on time. It’s invaluable.”

However, in managing his business, Ruiz also encountered a problem in not having a credit line and access to capital. Although he was able to get loans from institutions like the SBA, Ruiz stressed that small businesses should get credit lines for their businesses even if they don’t need it yet because as soon as they grow, this will help them. 

“Use the money wisely, and use it for growth, so it’s sustainable and you can repay your loans.”

Apart from that, Ruiz also made a mistake in not having a larger proposal capture business development team when his company is growing and he can no longer do the business development himself. 

“We have to invest. I tell young companies, business development people are expensive, but you might want to bring the right people, and pay them half time or a quarter time, and they’ll find you the right opportunities.”

INITIATIVE FOR OTHER SMALL BUSINESSES

Due to these experiences, Ruiz wanted to give back to other growing businesses; so, he created CEO Hive.

Through this initiative, he and other business owners brought about 15 subcontractors and taught them about the things that they know.

They also helped them in developing their accounting systems, credit lines, and security clearances so that they can chase opportunities together. 

“Anybody can win a contract, if they’re lucky, but it’s performing on that contract, and by developing these younger companies, we increase our chance of success by helping them get to that point.”

ADVICE FOR SMALL BUSINESSES

For 8a small businesses, Ruiz wants them to pull back from the program if they are not ready yet.

Do your homework first before diving into such an opportunity. Remember that the 8a program’s duration is only nine years but you can’t get any contracts during that period if you don’t have the credit line, the security clearance, the past performance, and the relationship.

Then, for those who want to transition from working for other companies to building their own, Ruiz encourages them to have a roof over their head first and not just directly jump at the opportunity. 

Lastly, he encourages small businesses to understand their customers and the regulations of the marketplace, get the right resources, network themselves and their business, and to never give up. 

“For companies to be successful, the leadership, the owners, have to be persistent. Don’t give up, right? Nobody’s going to tell you yes on the first pass, or the second pass, or the third pass, right? Don’t give up. That’s key.”

RESOURCES

If you want to watch the full video of the interview with Gabriel Ruiz as he shares how he strategically gained success in the federal marketplace, then be sure to click the link down below.

007: LTC Gabriel Ruiz –Army Veteran, System Integrator, Mentor and SBA Award Winner

https://govcongiants1.wpengine.com/podcast/ltc-gabriel-ruiz-army-veteran-system-integrator-mentor-and-sba-award-winner/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dl5U-bHUsEU

Beverly Kuykendall: Acclaimed Medical Supply Provider

Posted on by Eric Coffie

An acclaimed expert and medical supply provider with the federal government, Beverly Kuykendall shares her success story and her advice on how to gain success in the government marketplace.

BACKGROUND

Beverly Kuykendall is the President of Government Business of the huge medical supply company, American Medical Depot (AMD).

She is a graduate of Business Management in Cal Poly University in Pomona, California and had her Masters in Business Administration from Pepperdine University in Malibu, California.

Kuykendall had worked with huge organizations including Procter & Gamble, American Hospital Supply, Xerox, and Herman Miller. She also had her own consulting firm, Federal and Commercial Contracts, Incorporated. 

Due to all of these, she was recently recognized as one of South Florida’s 25 Most Influential and Prominent Women in Business and Leadership in 2015. She had also been acknowledged as one of the 50 Most Powerful Minority Women in Business, Entrepreneur of the Year by the Black Business Association of Los Angeles, and Advocate of the Year by the National Association of Minority Contractors of Southern California. 

“The definition of bravery is not that you’re not afraid; it’s being afraid and doing it anyway.”

EXPERIENCE IN THE FEDERAL MARKETPLACE

Kuykendall had a background with the government market through her affiliations with the huge corporations and also through her consulting firm. She had also helped expand Management Healthcare Products and Services, a company established by her husband, Calvin Jones, and Ron Johnson.

Then, she worked with AMD after she was offered by her first consulting client, Sukrit and Akhil Agrawal, to work with them. 

AMD started as an 8a company representing capital equipment companies to the federal government. Kuykendall knew it is a very attractive position to be in because they are eliminating other competitors and became a sole source in the federal marketplace. 

“We will represent you to the federal government and now we’re going to provide resources to the relationship because we don’t believe in pass throughs that don’t serve anyone. And we will represent your products to the federal government.”

Currently, AMD positioned itself as one of the prime vendors in terms of medical and healthcare products and services in the government marketplace. 

THREE THINGS TO DELIVER IN THE MARKETPLACE

The first thing that you should do is to demonstrate what is your customer’s return on investment when they work with you. 

“So, they invest in you by paying you as a consultant or paying you as a small one or two man company, no matter what you’re doing, they want a return on that.”


Then, you have to be able to offer your customer something that they couldn’t get without you. Kuykendall called it a strategic market advantage.

For instance, AMD had four divisions: a government team doing calls to Department of Defense facilities, an alternative site time that called on clinics and physical offices, an inside sales team that calls different facilities, a prime vendor team that both have onsite and arena representatives, and a project sales group team. 

All of these are targeted towards various markets and this is what makes AMD different from other healthcare and medical supply providers. 

Lastly, you should provide them an incremental increase in market share. 

ADVICE FOR SMALL BUSINESSES

Kuykendall believed in the importance of making a business visible for your target market and making it stand out from your competition.

“Make sure those local people know you right… It’s always good to go close to home. You don’t want to go too far away.”

She believes that by focusing on the area that is closest to you, you are not only gaining more capital, you are also helping shape the local economy in both direct and indirect manner. 

“That’s what you really want to do. You’re going to be able to have to create jobs and you want that local federal agency by awarding you a contract to help you with that because there’s also their mission. And they’re lending resources to the small business community.”

Although, both local and national influence is key in the success of your growing business, you must first be visible in your locality first, then move forward to the bigger marketplace.

Most importantly, it is key to understand your customers and know exactly how you can meet their needs or at least have a recommendation for them. 

Even if you already know some information, you should still ask them about it as they can surely put more information in your research. This way, you can use that information to gain a foothold on doing business with them or at least the next meeting.

RESOURCES

If you want to watch the full video of the interview with Beverly Kuykendall as she shares her success story and her advice on how to gain success in the government marketplace, then be sure to click the links below:

014: Beverly Kuykendall – On Consulting, Being Intentional, Prime Contracts and Supplier Diversity

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEvFgxe3FjM&list=PL6-jBNNcc98vTBvNhFYfUTeH0k-Vx2VBH&index=9

https://govcongiants1.wpengine.com/podcast/beverly-kuykendall-on-consulting-being-intentional-prime-contracts-and-supplier-diversity/

Navy Veteran, Robert Brown, shares Experience as a Small Business Owner in the Federal Marketplace

Posted on by Eric Coffie

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

https://govcongiants1.wpengine.com/podcast/059/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ys7lNLoJXs

How Can I Become A Middleman In The Federal Market?

Posted on by Eric Coffie

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. 

Similarly Situated Entities: The New Rule to Help You Meet the Limitations on Subcontracting!

Posted on by Eric Coffie

Starting out as a small business, but can’t meet the percentage of work? Read this article to learn more about similarly situated entities, the new rule to help you meet the limitations on subcontracting!

SIMILAR SITUATED ENTITIES

The latest class deviation issue, DARS Tracking Number 2019-O0003, about similarly situated entities on January 8, 2018 has created rules that favor the little guys in the federal marketplace. 

With this new rule, contractors can now meet their subcontracting percentage goals by utilizing what the government terms as a “similarly situated entity.”

A “similarly situated entity” means a first-tier subcontractor, including an independent contractor, that has the same small business program status as you are. 

Previously, your only option was to self-perform the entire percentage goal of your contract or not accept the contract at all. But with this new rule, you can now meet that performance goal with the help of a firm similar to your small business size. 

For instance, if you are on a contract as an 8a business, then you can bring in another 8a firm to help you meet your 50% requirement while you subcontract the other 50% to others. 

Note: If the project is a set-aside, the respective firm must have the same set-aside to deem you eligible for satisfaction of the requirements.

“So, this is great news for small businesses out there because a lot of times people are just getting started and you may not have everything that you need to get the wheels turning, so… the government is creating rules, policies to allow small businesses to really embark on this journey. So, they’re making it more favorable for the little guys to get started and to start growing their business.”

RESOURCES

So, for those firms that may find it difficult to fully staff up the job on a large contract, then this is an effective alternative that is now being accepted at the federal level.

However, if you can meet the percentage requirement, then this rule does not impact your firm at all. You can still self perform all of your respective prime contracting work within your ability.

With this in mind, if you want to learn more about certain federal contracting rules or how to navigate the federal marketplace overall, then check the resources below. 

You can also join us here at GovCon Giants or check the new GovCon Edu where you learn everything about government contracting!

Similarly Situated Entity helps Limitations on SUBCONTRACTING for small firms 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-4Lml2bZj4&t=132s

Explaining the rules for subcontracting small business contracts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajwQiCAS1No