Tag: OSBP

Former Director of the Navy’s OSBP shares Advice for Small Businesses Government Contractors

Posted on by Eric Coffie

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwrQvTaNh2I

https://govcongiants1.wpengine.com/podcast/emily-harman-former-director-of-the-navys-office-of-small-business-programs/

How to win government contracts as a small business?

Posted on by Eric Coffie

You might already be asking yourself on how to win government contracts. Well, there are a handful of routes that you can take in order to start working with the federal government and that’s going to be the focus of today’s blog. 

PREPARE YOUR BUSINESS.

Primarily, you need to make sure that your business is prepared to work with the government by meeting the necessary requirements.

These include having all the required business information such as the DUNS number and NAICS code in registering on the System for Award Management (SAM) database. 

Also, part of your SAM registration is uploading your capability statement and identifying that you have met the size standards to be considered as a small business and be able to take advantage of small business programs.

This is of utmost importance because before awarding the contract, each agency does a research first to see if you have the necessary resources in place. If you think, you are not qualified in doing so, then this should be the stage to see what you can do to make you more qualified. 

UNDERSTAND THE BIDDING PROCESS.

Before you land into a contract, you will most likely need to undergo a bidding process so it is key to understand how the bidding process works and what the types of government solicitations are there. 

To give you an idea, the four types of government solicitations include the request for a quote, request for proposal, an invitation for bid, and request for information. 

Regardless of the type of solicitation the government agency asks, you need to provide a responsive bid or proposal that complies to the procurement requirements and procedures.

Most importantly, you need to make sure that whatever the requirements are, you have looked upon it and resolved any issues that might compromise the project before agreeing on doing the contract. 

BUILD YOUR NETWORK.

Attend small business training workshops either online or offline to improve your understanding of how government procurement works and to assess the products and services each agency needs as well as communicate with other government contractors and learn from their experiences in the field.

Also, look for a mentor who can help you navigate the contracting process and to guide you on your decisions.

In doing so, the SBA is offering free workshops that you can join regardless of what state you are located and there are a handful of government contractors and consultants who are willing to assist you. 

FIND A CONTRACT.

There are a handful of platforms that you can use to find contracts and one of these is the Dynamic Small Business Search (DSBS) which is mainly used by government agencies. You can also use this to search for subcontractors to do half or a little portion of your overall contract. 

Then, there are also other federal business opportunities listed in the FedBizOpps.gov which is now under the SAM database that government agencies ought to use to advertise all contracts over $25,000

Lastly, you can also secure a contract with the  U.S. General Services Administration (GSA). However, you first need to pay for a Past Performance Evaluation report and also provide six to 20 email addresses of your past customers. 

SEARCH FOR SUBCONTRACTING OPPORTUNITIES. 

If you are a small business and you don’t have the experience in becoming a prime contractor, there are a handful of subcontracting opportunities that you can look at on SubNet. 

The SBA, GSA, and the Department of Defense also maintains a directory of prime contractors with subcontracting plans.

Lastly, you can also search for contracts over $25,000 on the Federal Procurement Data System, USASpending.gov or on any small business offices such as the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) or the Office of Small Business Programs (OSBP). 

RESOURCES

If you want to learn more about winning in this federal contracting arena, then be sure to click the links below.

https://www.sba.gov/federal-contracting/contracting-guide/how-win-contracts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_-uiGSnkSQ

https://govcongiants1.wpengine.com/can-you-successfully-win-government-contracts/