Winning the Contract: How Ready Are You?

So you were awarded the contract. Do you know exactly what to do and where to go next? How ready are you to handle the next few steps and carry out the responsibility that you have in your hands?

First off, it is important to know the fact that the ball is now in your hands and that now is the right time to start to fulfill the requirements specified in the contract—it could be to put up a structure, render a service, of provide a product.

While it is impossible to come up with the complete list of tips and techniques to help you gear up for taking the responsibility of being the contract winner, here’s a comprehensive list of must-dos once you get that contract in your hands. And although one can say that the items should be obvious (and with common sense, should be readily understandable), many start-up companies and small businesses normally fail to get off the ground simply because they seem to take the obvious for granted and fail to do them.

• Make sure that you completely understand the contract. As tiresome as it can sometimes get with everybody reminding you about reading the contract, it is one big and critical thing to do so over and over again. Make sure that you understand in detail all the provisions indicated: the project requirements, the deadlines and delivery dates, the documentations requested, and other specifications.
• Take note of all the important contacts. Make sure to have a complete and clear record of the contact details of important people in the contract. Include their full names, addresses, contact numbers, and e-mail addresses. Have these details for the contracting officer, the administrative officer, the government inspector, etc. You should also find contacting the local Defense Contract Management Agency helpful especially if you’re working on a military contract.
• Work as specified by the contract. Do not work outside the provisions indicated in the contract. Any special instructions must specifically come from the procurement officer or the administrative contract officer. You will be held liable for any consequence or cost that may result from taking any action outside of those specified in the contract.
• Find immediate resolution for any problem or question that you may have with the contract. Immediately contact the designated officers for any queries and inconsistencies that you may find in the contract. Ensure that you have all lines of communication open and that you establish a professional relationship with your colleagues right away. Do not hesitate to request for assistance for anything that does not meet your understanding.
• Have every process and procedure well documented. While we live in this so-called paperless society, it is important to have all business transactions accurately and promptly documented. Make sure that your entire team understands their individual responsibilities and the time frame allotted for every relevant activity. This is to ensure that the entire project is accomplished smoothly and that all deliveries are carried out in complete compliance with the contract provisions.
• Establish a firm quality control process. Always check that your quality control process is at its best. Review your procedures every now and then and make sure they are accurately and properly carried out so every item or product delivered exactly meets the specified requirements. Make it a point that it is always updated to conform to the dynamic standards of today’s government contracting market.

StateAndFederalBids is the market leader of online sources for government bidding opportunity listing, research, and business intelligence. It boasts of of top-of-the-line features that help businesses filter government bidding opportunities to find the ones that perfectly suit their needs and specifications.

Big Mistakes to Avoid in Government Contracting

Doing business with the government through renewable and recurring term contracting has long been proven to be a viable approach in finding a stable and long-term means of generating income. But selecting, competing, and winning these term contracts is easier said than done—as the world of government contracting is a big paradox that needs to be carefully examined and understood.

While the government-contracting business can be a lucrative career for contractors on the hunt for that stable long-term income in the today's fickle economy, it can be a confusing labyrinth of rules and regulations coupled with prospects who may not even bother to reply to emails or voice messages. When done incorrectly, it can be a costly loss and cause a lot of frustration. But when done right, they can definitely provide a steady and long-term stream of profit.

State, local, and federal agencies are all moving toward the steady use of term contracts to ensure the efficiency of purchasing in order to minimize costs while at the same time establish stable and secure expenses. But many contractors often make critical decisions in haste for their lack of knowledge and information on the idiosyncrasies of the business. Steer away from ruining your set goals in the government-contracting business by avoiding the following common mistakes:

• Inability to perform proper market research. It should go without saying that conducting research is one of the first vital steps vendors should take if they want to get to know the agencies and other critical players in the market. This is an important strategy to understand their practices, regulations, preferences, and other relevant purchasing aspects that they can work on to ensure propositions are prepared and submitted accordingly.
• Inability to examine the competition closely. Conducting a competitive analysis is another critical aspect of the government-contracting business that should never be overlooked. The competitive analysis is a must-have instrument for vendors as it offers not only a good look into the agency’s pricing, delivery requirements, and other relevant regulations but also of the current serving contractor’s winning proposition and their potential to retain the contract when it is back up for renewal.

• Inability to create unique and top-notch propositions. Getting awarded for a contract does not always mean having the lowest price. Increasing your chances of winning an award means having a comprehensive understanding of the agency’s needs, presenting excellent credentials, including add-on services, and establishing trust and rapport with your client.
• Inability to establish different strategies and approaches. Vendors need to be flexible enough to plan, create, and implement various strategies and approaches that will help improve their probability of winning more contracts. They will also need to be well informed about an agency’s contracting specifications including their receptiveness to the competitors’ products, services, and marketing approaches.
• Inability to determine the right contract opportunity to pursue. While vendors should not be putting all their efforts and resources on a single project from one agency or shop around from a large number of government contracts and spread their chances thin, they should nonetheless be able to determine which opportunities and projects are not suitable for their business needs and which one are. Putting your business at a high risk by working hard on winning a project whose specifications aren’t compatible with your business credentials and qualifications can cost the company more and leave it with a big loss and a negative impact on its revenue in the end. 

StateAndFederalBids holds the world's largest database of almost 50,000 open government bids regularly updated by an excellent team of researchers, keeping you on top of the government-bidding game. 

Smart Tips for Female Small Business Owners

A foundation of the U.S. economy, women-owned firms and the number of female entrepreneurs continue to grow over the years. Women-owned businesses account for almost half of all privately held businesses, hire nearly 15 million workers, and generate almost $2 trillion in operational sales, as reported by the National Association for Women Business Owners—although more than 90% of these businesses have bellow-million-dollar earnings. 

In one of the surveys conducted, female business owners explained that wanting to be their own boss was one of their main reasons for starting a business. The list also included such factors as their enthusiasm with the experience of realizing one’s business goals and successfully overcoming the challenges that come with working for oneself, while keeping focused and maintaining a positive outlook ranked high on their roster of secrets and tips to success.

Below are some helpful management secrets every businesswoman should keep in mind:

1. Have a good understanding of the financial picture. You do not need to be a financial planner or an expert to be able to manage your firm’s money well. But financial knowledge really matters. Successful businesswomen know their way in handling balance sheets, understand their business cash flow, really run their firms by the numbers, and are focused on utilizing the financial picture in growing their business.
2. Set clear boundaries about work and home. Female entrepreneurs really enjoy their success when they are finally able to set a good balance between work and home. It takes a lot of discipline to be able to define the limits between work and leisure such that family and friends must know that when you are at work, you should only be reached for emergency purposes or that when you’re not at work, to be able to really have time to bond with the family or relax just for yourself.
3. Get help from contract workers.
   
   While many businesswomen are focused about growing and expanding their companies, many are hesitant and are afraid about tax costs, insurance expenses, and the economy in general. Hiring contract workers instead of getting full-time workers provides a long list of advantages, especially with a huge number of talented people being displaced by the bad market and on the hunt for work.   
4. Find an advisory and support group. Another vital factor that successful female entrepreneurs give credit to for their success is having a strong and reliable support network that can come from friends, family, and even business associates. Building up a network of professional contacts is also beneficial as they will provide good avenues for sharing business ideas, promoting the business, and meeting other small business owners. The American Business Women's Association and the National Association of Women Business Owners are just some of these organizations that are specifically aimed at helping women in the industry.
5. Keep up with innovation.
   
   Successful modern-day businesswomen never hesitate to make use of new tools that come with modernization and take advantage of the revolutionary social media to enhance their clientele base and reach out to other entrepreneurs in the industry. There are various software that deal with money management, leaderships skills enhancement, people skills training that can prove to be very useful in running the business. Also, networking can be a good way to meaningfully connect with other business owners.
6. Give yourself credit for your success. Even with the support group around it is equally important that you reward yourself not only when the business is flourishing but also even during the tougher times. This should motivate you into doing better and continue to pursue your business goals with a firmly positive outlook amidst all the challenges, changes, and competition in the industry.

Over the years, StateAndFederalBids has retained its edge over the competition as proven by its impeccable track record of successfully securing government bids, its prompt customer service and support, and its revolutionary market intelligence--unmatched anywhere in the market.

Why Do Small Businesses Fail?

Here’s a fact: three out of four business start-ups will not make it, and almost 50% of businesses that successfully get off the ground will cease operations within a year.

Running and making a profit from your small business is no walk in the park. But having a good understanding of the major points that blow a business into oblivion will help you steer clear of these mistakes and increase your chances of standing tough even beyond the initial years.

Let’s examine these common elements that could hinder your business from getting a good head start and eventually succeed.

Inadequate Business Skills and Qualifications

It should go without saying that anyone planning to run a business should possess the basic business and enterprise skills. Other business professions would also require certain qualifications and certificates for the owner to be allowed to operate.

A new business will largely benefit when staff and personnel are required to undergo training courses so they better understand the different variables that keep a business running well and good.   

Lack of Marketing Strategy or Business Plan

Every business needs a good customer base to boost its sales that will cover operational expenses and eventually make a profit. But this is far from being realized if consumers are not even aware that your business exists or know of any special offers you have on your products or services.

A clear marketing plan or strategy should help your business get customers by being describing your product effectively, giving your product or service a reasonable price, and selling or marketing your product or service based on its functions or features. 

Insufficient Market Research

It’s too sad to know that many business owners are guilty of making a product or selling a service that has little or very minimal demand. Failure to define your market and understand what it wants often results in poor or zero sales and eventually pull your business down.

Undertaking detailed and sufficient market research is critical to gather the right information that you will need about the potential demand for your product or service and be able to act accordingly based on these information.

Dysfunctional Management and People Problems

The moment you hire your first employee, your small business should be committed to complying with all the legislation and dedicate enough time and resource to ensure that your staff and personnel are well managed. Work on getting the right focus, vision, benchmarks, and the like and your team should be happy to work with you all the way.

Poor Finance and Cash Flow

Every business big or small needs enough cash, financial resources, and a good credit control system to meet all start-up expenses as well as the cost of operating until the business is finally fully established. If your financial capacity is not up to par with the costs that you have initially identified, then the business will have a hard time getting off the ground.

Personal Limitations

Your personal outlook, attitude, goals, and reasons for planning and starting a business will largely influence the way you put up your business and man it. Obviously, your business will demand a large investment of your time and efforts to give it a good start and to make it succeed.

It is vital that you understand your personal strengths and weakness, your aims and motivations to know how you can work your way to establishing your business well and giving it the best that it deserves so it will grow and flourish.

StateAndFederalBids is the world's leader in having the biggest and most updated database of tens and thousands of open government bids, ensuring that you are on the forefront of the most current government-contracting opportunities that perfectly match your business needs.   

On Government Contracts . . . and Winning Them

Everybody knows that entrepreneurs, start-up companies, and small businesses alike look into prospects of government contracting for additional income particularly during the initial years when stable revenue is still being worked on. And with a great number of these businesses competing for the same contracts, it’s critical to ensure that you give your business the advantage in the procurement process. Read on to find out how you can stay ahead of the game and increase your chances of bagging more government contracts:

• Accomplish all necessary registrations and get relevant certifications early. Prior to getting into the bidding process, it should go without saying that you need to be legally registered and certified if you want to be eligible to participate in as many of these bidding opportunities.

• Determine the product or service that you would like to sell to the government. While the government may not be interested in getting your business’s full collection of products or services, surely they have opportunities where you can highlight one product or service that you believe your business can uniquely offer. Carefully examining what the government agencies need (and eventually buy) is the first vital step in establishing a solid foundation for that winning bid.
• Focus your efforts on a select group of government agencies. Put all your efforts forth on a few of your most promising prospect agencies that should only include those that you are confident will greatly need your products or services. You wouldn’t want to risk losing your focus when you spread out your resources thin working with several agencies. 

• Talk to your prospects. While it may prove to be the difference that can get you that big contract, meeting up with prospective agencies is one of the critical steps that many small businesses keep on overlooking. These meetings are ideal venues to learn about an agency’s criteria and qualifications, goals, and other specifications particularly on their procurement projects.
• Understand the market and the bidding process by heart. A good working knowledge of how the market works, its history, major players, trends, and other key aspects will illustrate how well you can handle the job that the government agency will be hiring you for. This will likewise help you predict future market conditions and be fully equipped with the right skills and abilities to cope with the changes.
• Get help with SBA’s resources. Check out the Small Business Administration website and find great resources that should help you understand the bidding process better. The site also lists valuable contact information on SBS representatives of various local districts where you can easily locate the one nearest you so can discuss in details significant bidding practices, marketing strategies, and the like.  

With the U.S. government allocating more than $100 billion of awards to small businesses every year, it’s no surprise that more and more businesses are rigorously pursuing these contracting opportunities. While bidding for a government contract may not be a walk in the park, its rewards definitely makes the whole ordeal well worthwhile. 

RFPs, contracts, and government bids are excellent opportunities for you to do business with the government. At StateAndFederalBids we work hard to compile these so you can easily search them and find one that perfectly suits your business needs.

The Government Bidding Process: How Well Do You Know Your Contract?

Congratulations on winning that contract! But hey, now is not the time to relax just yet. In fact, your work has just begun. You need to meet all the terms specified in the contract and get the government the product or service (at the quality, cost, and timeframe that they chose you for over the other bidders) or you’ll find yourself in big trouble.

First Things First

It should go without saying that the first thing that you should do is to carefully read the proposal before finally signing it. While this may be a tedious work to accomplish, with most contracts containing several pages, it is of utmost significance that you and your business completely understand all the terms stipulated in the contract.


Of equal importance is identifying the office that will administer the contract. While it is generally the same office of the federal agency that awarded the contract, in the case of the Department of Defense however, a different administering office will be handling the contract. Make sure to contact the administering office if you have any concerns about the contract.

Contract Administration Provisions

Federal contracts contain a lot of general provisions that are unique to the government, making use of regulatory requirements that are only applicable to them. While they may be described in some parts of the Federal Acquisition Regulations, let us examine each of them more closely here:

Termination for Default

The government can legally terminate a contract if you fail to do the following:

• Perform the provisions as specified in the contract
• Deliver the product or service within the schedule specified in the contract
• Make progress and sabotage the contract’s overall performance

In the event that the contract is terminated for default, you will only be paid within the contract’s price for your products or services accepted by the government. If the latter needs those that you failed to deliver, they can still buy the same products elsewhere and have you pay for any excess costs.

If you can prove that your failure to make progress or to deliver can be excused, you do not have to worry about your contract being cancelled for default. In this case, a delay can be excused if it was brought by something beyond your control and not by your own negligence.

Termination for Convenience

When your contract is terminated for default and you are able to prove that the government’s decision is improper, the termination is treated as one for the government’s convenience or technically “termination for convenience.”

For its convenience, the government may unilaterally cancel a part of or an entire contract without the contractor being at fault. This kind of contract termination protects the government’s interests by enabling it to do so for products or services that are no longer necessary for their operation.

After a termination for convenience, the government will fairly and fully compensate you for all the work completed and those preparations completed prior to the termination of the contract plus a reasonable profit allowance.

Changes with the Contract

With the government’s needs changing every now and then, government business contracts normally include a clause that authorizes the contracting personnel to unilaterally order the implementation of changes on the contract terms and other specifications under it.

Changes should always be “within the general scope of the contract”—and not the contract’s general nature—which means that the change should be within the contemplation of the contracting business and contractor at the time when they both entered into the contract. When changes are ordered, a contractor is given reasonable adjustments in terms of time and costs.

Contract Payments

The fundamental obligation of the government in a procurement contract is ensuring prompt and full payments for products delivered or services rendered. The contract should clearly indicate the government office responsible for making payments and the invoicing instructions. Make it a point to keep your invoices as accurate and detailed as you can to ensure faster payment processing. You may submit a request for interest payments in cases when the government fails to pay on time.

Inspection and Testing

Contracts will indicate that the government can choose to inspect and test products that you deliver to evaluate and assess whether or not they conform to the requirements and specifications. A product that does not pass this phase will not be accepted by the government. The extent of the inspection and testing will vary depending on the product or service being purchased.

A great number of companies and organizations--big and small--largely depend on government bids and contracts for their entire (or most of their) business operations. While the bidding process can be easily understood and followed up on, doing business with the government is an entirely different story and can be a laborious job if you don't know exactly where to begin—and that is here with us at StateAndFederalBids. 

The Government Bidding Process: Identifying the Various Contracting Methods

In essence, choosing a contractor is largely based on information processing. First, the deciding government agency collects information about the participating businesses, evaluates every organization based on specified categories, and compares them based on the previous assessment to determine which is best. The theoretical process is basically the same regardless of the contracting method applied.

Here, the deciding government agency must come up with an excellently designed process that will help them get credible information about the participating organization, evaluate this information, and compare the organization options to name the best. In designing this process, the deciding agency must be able to put into consideration their main objectives of getting the best quality, schedule, and cost for the project/contract being decided on.

The Simplified Procedure

The 1994 Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act simplifies the government buying process. It has eliminated much of the restrictions on government procurements amounting to less than $100,000. The act allows federal agencies to make use of simplified procedures to canvass and evaluate bids of up to $100,000 instead of open and full competition. For all planned purchases over $25,000, government agencies are obliged to advertise in www.FedBizOpps.gov.

The current reform legislation likewise requires all government procurements under $100,000 but more than $2,500 to be secured only by small businesses, unless the contracting authority cannot get proposals from two or more small businesses that offer competitive quality, price, and delivery.

Agencies do not need to obtain competitive quotes for “micro-purchases” or procurements amounting to $2,500 in individual items or multiple item purchases whose accumulated amount is less than $2,500. Micro-purchases however are no longer reserved for small businesses, and agencies can use a government purchase card for micro-purchasing.

The Sealed Bidding Process

When the requirements are complete, clear, and accurate, the government contracts competitively with a sealing bidding process that makes use of an invitation for bid (IFB).

An invitation for bid will normally include a comprehensive description of the product or service, bid preparation instructions, purchasing and packaging details, clauses to be included in the contract, shipping and payment conditions, deadline for submission, among others.

These bids will be opened in public, read aloud, and recorded at the time designated in the invitation at the purchasing office. The agency awards the contract to the low bidder who is determined to have promptly and appropriately responded to the requirements enumerated.

FedBizOpps, which provides a direct link to these invitations, holds a regularly updated list of these government-wide IFBs. Contracting agencies browse the Central Contract Registration to search for qualified small business contractors; hence the need for small businesses to be registered here if they want to be considered to have business with the government.

The Contract Negotiation Method

In cases when a contract values more than $100,000 and requires the procurement of a specialized product or service, the government may issue a requestfor proposal (RFP) to prospective contractors who would be interested to provide solutions to the request including the price for completing the project (contract).

In other cases when the government is merely looking into the possibility of purchasing a product or availing of a service, it may send out a request for quotation (RFQ). A contractor’s response to an RFQ is not considered an offer unless the order is an offer by the government to the supplier for the purchase of particular supplies or services within specific conditions. The contract is only established with the supplier (contractor) accepting the offer.

It is worth mentioning that the government uses purchase cards for less-than-$2,500 purchases, sends written solicitations for over-$25,000 purchases, and makes verbal solicitations for purchases less than $25,000.

As opposed to the traditional government procurement process, today’s acquisition reform places increased significance on “best value,” where the government awards the contract not to the lowest bidder but to the one that relatively satisfies the requirements even at a slightly higher cost. Here, agencies will have to clearly state in their solicitation papers their complete evaluation criteria and other relevant factors that will matter most in awarding the contract.

The Consolidated Purchasing Programs

Government agencies will generally have common procurement needs, such as furniture, food supplies, lighting fixtures, computers, machine maintenance equipment, etc. By centralizing most of these purchases, the government is able to make great economical savings.

Modern-day procurement reforms have introduced multiple award contracts (new or modified acquisition vehicles) like government-wide acquisition contracts (GWACs) or multi-agency contracts that promote long-term contracts with fewer contracting agencies (vendors). These prominent vehicles enable government agencies to fill their requirements quickly by establishing orders on already-existing contracts without the need to start a new procurement process from scratch. Also, different businesses may be competitively awarded multiple tasks and contracts for the same products and services.

The Department of Veterans Affairs, the Defense Logistics Agency, and the General Services Administration are the three largest administrators of these consolidated purchasing programs.

  

StateAndFederalBids has the world’s most updated database that holds almost 50,000 open government bids that is regularly updated by a competent team of researchers, keeping you on the forefront on the latest in government bidding opportunities for your business.