I have been trying for over three years now and it getting harder every day . Most of the large companies already have the subcontractors in a pool before the solicition even comes out on Fed biz opps ,

It also depends on whether you target smaller jobs or much larger jobs, as well as what industry you are in. Anything to do with the government will require its own overly concentrated effort, and it may be worth it, but you will work hard for it, especially if you are not a big player. I created a separate thread for the smaller businesses. http://community2.business.gov/bsng/board/message?board.id=GovernmentContracting&thread.id=35

Not all federal agencies uses the FBO to post future contracting opportunities. Most of the VA agencies (hospitals, medical centers) in the state of Florida do not use the FBO. They have their own short list of contractors. Very difficult to break into their circle. On top of not using FBO, their contracting does not afford 'new'companies (includes SDVBOs)the equal opportunity to bid contracts. Most, if not all, contracts are 1) so large bonding becomes an issue, and2) contract awards arebase on past performance leaving new companies non-qualifying to bid.

Hi all: Everyone is correct in referencing Fedbizopps as the first stop when looking for federal opportunities. FedBizOpps is government's one-stop virtualmarketplace that allows you to identify opportunities posted by the entireFederal contracting community. GSA Schedules is also another good resource to mention. There are also additional opportunities to check out like teaming and subcontracting arrangements. Business.gov's page on How to Find Contracting Opportunities, provides information on where to find procurement opportunities. While those resources will help you find where the opportunities are, it is not where you should start. The first place you should start is with SBA so that you can classify your business as a small business. Next you must register your business in the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) in order to even do business with government. Here's a page on a few steps to get you started with registration. Besides registering in theCCR being a requirement, an advantage is that when government wants topurchase a certain product or service, the contracting official willhave a chance to view your company when searching the CCR to identifyqualified small business contractors. Message Edited by ZanetaB on 04-07-2009 11:45 AM

Make sure you have all the necesary insurance, bonds,... stuff in place. Because securing gov't work requires a lot of extra paper work and you might have to make additional inventments first