Text Version A Veterans’ Guide: How to Win Federal Contracts Slide 1 A Veterans’ Guide: How to Win Federal Contracts This is about helping America’s veterans win Federal contracts. Welcome to SBA’s online course: A Veterans’ Guide: How to Win Federal Contracts. Jim O’Connor SBTN / October 15, 2009 Slide 2 Introduction This training program is designed to help veterans find and participate in Federal contract opportunities. It is a practical and easy to use guide indexed by subject matter so you can quickly and easily find or return to topics of particular interest. Review all or only sections of the course you are interested in. You will also find throughout the program -- multiple and direct links to targeted contract and veteran related resources. Slide 3 Veteran-owned Businesses Veteran-owned businesses represent a unique force within the American economy. They own approximately 3.2 million small businesses in America, of which some 200,000 are owned by service-connected disabled veterans. Historically, about one in seven veterans choose self-employment as their vocation. This is a significant percentage. Veteran-entrepreneurs are an incredibly important dimension in America and within the economy. That is why ---- the SBA is working closely with all federal agencies to increase the percentage of contract dollars that are awarded to veteran and serviced-disabled veteran-owned businesses. Slide 4 Office of Veterans Business Development SBA is committed to helping America’s veterans. The agency’s Office of Veterans Business Development promotes policies and programs that provide management and other assistance to small businesses owned and controlled by veterans and service disabled veterans. The office also acts as an Ombudsman – promoting full consideration of veterans in all government programs. As an extension of this Washington-based office, SBA has established veterans business development officers in each of its 68 district offices across the country, located around the country. Further, as a direct arm of assistance, SBA oversees multiple veterans business outreach centers. Slide 5 Veterans Business Outreach Centers Veterans Business Outreach Centers offer a full menu of business development services that include counseling, training, support applications and other business assistance tools. These comprehensive services are designed to aid veteran and service-disabled entrepreneurs as well as self-employed members of the Reserve and National Guard. At your convenience and after you complete this course, come back to this page and use the hyperlink to locate a Veterans Business Outreach Center. Slide 6 What You Need to Know Up Front There is no book you can read or course you can take that will give you all of the answers about how to be successful in the government contracting space. Sure – this training program provides a lot of helpful information. But, it’s only a starting point. Your success will come from continuous learning and hard work. Keep these 2 simple rules in mind: One, you don’t know what you don’t know. And, two, there is no substitute for knowledge. Find a mentor. Talk with successful players in the contracting space and learn what questions to ask, what mistakes to avoid and what others have done to be successful. Slide 7 The Federal Buying Market The U.S. government is the world's largest buyer of products and services. Purchases by military and civilian installations amount to nearly $500 billion a year, and include everything from complex space vehicles to janitorial services. Stimulus spending as a result of the Recovery Act – will expand this amount to almost $600 billion in 2009. In short, the government buys just about every category of commodity and service available. In 2008, veteran and service-disabled entrepreneurs benefited from $13.8 billion dollars in Federal contracts, of which service-disabled veteran entrepreneurs received $6.4 billion in contracts. Slide 8 Small Business Incentives Federal law requires government agencies to establish small business contracting goals. The goals however, provide incentives and opportunities for small businesses. The current, government-wide procurement goal is that at least 23% of all government buys should be awarded to small businesses. In addition, Federal contract goals are established for women-owned businesses, small disadvantaged businesses, firms located in HUBZones and service-disabled veteran-owned businesses. These government-wide goals, again, which are not always achieved, are 5%, 5%, 3% and 3%, respectively. They are important because Federal agencies have a statutory obligation to reach-out and consider small businesses for procurement opportunities. However, it is up to you to market and match your business products and services to the buying needs of specific government agencies. The three percent service-disabled veteran’s goal will open some doors – but you must still be able to sell your business on performance, price and ability. Let’s take a closer look at this…. Slide 9 Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Program To help federal agencies achieve the three percent government-wide goal for service-disabled veteran-owned businesses, Congress amended the Small Business Act and established a procurement program for small business concerns owned and operated by service-disabled veterans. This program – known as the Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Program – provides contracting officers the authority to award sole source or set-aside contracts to service-disabled veteran-business owners, if certain conditions are met. The contracting officer for a specific contracting activity determines if a contract opportunity for such service-disabled veteran owned businesses exists. Later in this program we will talk about marketing your business to the government. It is highly important that your status as a veteran or service-disabled veteran be highlighted in your CCR profile and other materials used to market to specific agencies. At your convenience, use the hyperlink to learn more about the Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Program. Slide 10 Unique Small Business Veteran Incentive Public Law 109-461, more commonly known as the Veterans First Law, provides unique authority and goals for the Department of Veterans Affairs. The law provides goals and makes it easier for the VA to buy from veterans and service-disabled veterans. Specifically, it changes the priorities for contracting preferences within the VA, by placing service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses and veteran-owned small businesses first and second, respectively, in satisfying VA’s acquisition requirements. The unique VA buying goals are: 10 percent for veterans and 7 percent for service-disabled veterans. Certain conditions must be met. In addition, you must register your business in the vetbiz.gov – vendor information database. At your convenience and after you complete this course, return to this page and use the hyperlink to learn more about this unique program and to register your business. Slide 11 How the Government Buys (in simple terms) The government applies standardized procedures to buy products and services it needs from suppliers who meet certain qualifications. Contracting officials use procedures outlined in the Federal Acquisition Regulation, commonly known as the FAR (http://www.arnet.gov/far/), to guide government purchases. The primary contracting methods used by the government are: Micro-purchases; Simplified Procedures; Sealed Bidding; Contract Negotiations; and, Consolidated Purchasing. Each of these contracting methods is discussed in the following. Slide 12 Micro-purchases Generally speaking, government purchases of individual items under $3,000.00 are considered micro-purchases. Such government buys do not require competitive bids or quotes and agencies can simply pay using a Government Purchase Card or credit card, without the involvement of a procurement officer. An important point to remember is that micro-purchases, unlike other small government buys under $100,000, are not reserved for small businesses. Slide 13 Simplified Procedures The Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994 removed many competition restrictions on government purchases under $100,000. Instead of full and open competition, agencies can use simplified procedures for soliciting and evaluating bids up to $100,000. Government agencies, however, are still required to advertise all planned purchases over $25,000 in Federal Business Opportunities or the FBO, the government’s online listing and database of available procurement opportunities. Simplified procedures require fewer administrative details, fewer approval levels, and less documentation. The procedures require all federal purchases above $3,000, but under $100,000, to be reserved for small businesses, an important point. This small business set-aside applies, unless the contracting official can not obtain offers from two or more small firms who are competitive on price, quality and delivery. Slide 14 Sealed Bidding Sealed bidding is how the government buys competitively when its requirements are very specific, clear and complete. An IFB or “Invitation For Bid” is the method used for the sealed bid process. Typically, an IFB includes a description of the product or service to be acquired, instructions for preparing a bid, the conditions for purchase, delivery, payment and other requirements associated with the bid, including a deadline for bid submissions. Each sealed bid is opened in a public setting by a government contracting officer, at the time designated in the invitation. All bids are read aloud and recorded. A contract is then awarded by the agency to the lowest bidder who is determined to be fully responsive to the needs of the government. Government-wide IFBs are available daily for review in the government’s online listing service, Federal Business Opportunities (www.fbo.gov). This electronic service, which is discussed in detail later, also provides direct links to available IFB invitations. Slide 15 Contract Negotiations Contract negotiations are used in many federal procurement actions. This is typically a more complicated process for companies wanting to sell to the government. It is also a method that is more time consuming for buying agencies. This is how it works….. In certain cases, when the value of a government contract exceeds $100,000 and when it necessitates a highly technical product or service, the government may issue a Request for Proposals. In a typical RFP, the government will request a product or service it needs, and solicit proposals from prospective contractors on how they intend to carry out that request, and at what price. Proposals in response to an RFP can be subject to negotiation after they have been submitted. When the government is merely checking into the possibility of acquiring a product or service, it may issue a Request for Quotation (RFQ). A response to an RFQ by a prospective contractor is not considered an offer, and consequently, cannot be accepted by the government to form a binding contract. Government-wide RFPs and RFQs are also available daily for review in the FBO. Slide 16 Consolidated Purchasing Programs Most government agencies have common purchasing needs. Sometimes the government can realize economies of scale by centralizing the purchasing of certain types of products or services. This is called consolidated purchasing and multiple award, acquisition vehicles are typically used. The most common multiple award schedules are GSA Schedules or Government Wide Acquisition Contracts, called G-WACs. These centralized buying vehicles are negotiated by the government with awards to many potential vendors and used by multiple agencies buying similar goods and services. Slide 17 The Rules If you want to participate in the Federal procurement arena, you have to know the rules. Understanding the government’s procurement rules is critical to your success as a government contractor.  The FAR is the roadmap for doing business with the government. It outlines all of the rules. It is a comprehensive guide indexed by topic. Do not be intimidated by its size or apparent complexity. It is an excellent resource tool. The most common FAR sections used by small business are: Subpart 8.4 – Federal Supply Schedules Part 13 – Simplified Acquisitions Part 15 – Contracting by Negotiation Part 19 – Small Business Programs Check out the FAR after you complete this course. You can access it by clicking on the hyperlink. Remember, it’s a tool – use it when you need it. (http://www.arnet.gov/far/) Slide 18 Size Does Matter As a small business, certain government programs may apply to you. The question then becomes, what is a small business, or more specifically, is your firm a small business? Over the years SBA has established and revised numerical definitions for all for-profit industries, and this numerical definition is called a "size standard."  It is almost always stated either as the number of employees or average annual receipts of a business concern. In addition to establishing eligibility for SBA programs, all federal agencies must apply SBA's size standards for contracts to be awarded to small firms. When you complete this course, come back to this section and click on the referenced hyperlinks to determine your small business size eligibility and to learn more about size standards. http://www.sba.gov/contractingopportunities/officials/size/index.html http://www.sba.gov/idc/groups/public/documents/sba_homepage/guide_to_size_standards.pdf Slide 19 How to Sell to the Federal Government Selling to the government is not as big of a mystery as you might think. There are several fundamental steps you should follow. They include: • Define your business and products using a DUNS number and NAICS code. • Register your firm in the CCR. • Market directly to agencies. • And, use established procurement vehicles. Each of these steps is described in the following. Slide 20 Define Your Products & Services You need to make it easy for the government to identify the products and services you sell, as well as to uniquely identify your business. Government agencies use the North American Industry Classification System, more commonly referred to as a NAICS code, to identify products and services by industry type. You can find the NAICS codes for your products and services by clicking on the referenced hyperlink. It is also important to note that you can use your NAICS code or codes to conduct online searches at the Websites of numerous federal agencies to learn what they are buying. http://www.census.gov/epcd/naics02/ To participate in contract opportunities within the Department of Defense (DOD), you will also need to know your Federal Supply Group or Class code. Again, this can be easily obtained by clicking on the FSG hyperlink. http://www.dlis.dla.mil/hcfsch21.asp A NAICS code, or codes, identifies the products and services your company supplies. It does not uniquely identify your business. The Federal government uses D-U-N-S numbers, provided by Dun & Bradstreet, to identify prospective vendors. You can obtain a D-U-N-S number at no cost to you by clicking on the hyperlink or by calling 866 705-5711. Slide 21 Register in the CCR The Central Contractor Registration, more commonly known as the CCR, is the primary source for agencies to learn about prospective vendors. The CCR is a government-maintained database of companies wanting to do business with the government. This database is a marketing tool for businesses and a searchable list of prospective vendors for the government. We have all heard the expression, “You’ve got to play to win.” Well, to succeed in government contracting, you have to register to participate. Registering your business in the CCR is a significant and primary step to sell to the government. At a convenient time, after you complete this training program, click on the hyperlink or icon to learn more about the CCR and, if you are ready, register your business. https://www.bpn.gov/ccr/default.aspx Slide 22 Tips for Developing an Effective CCR Profile Your CCR registration is an important marketing tool for your veteran-owned business. Follow these important steps: 1. Download the free CCR user’s guidebook. This is important - be prepared! Know the answers to the questions that will be asked before you attempt to complete the CCR registration and prepare your business profile; 2. Do your homework. Access the CCR site and perform a search -- or several searches, as if you were looking to hire a firm like yours. Carefully review the profiles of businesses in your area of expertise and use them as a guide when developing your own business profile. Learning from the wisdom of others makes things easier and can be very beneficial; 3. Treat your CCR profile as your business resume. As you would with your own resume, regularly review, update and strengthen your CCR profile; and 4. 4. Get feedback. This is very important. When you talk with contracting officers, mentors and other procurement professionals ask them for a candid appraisal of your CCR profile. Use this information to make necessary adjustments. Slide 23 Market Directly to Agencies Aside from some of the differences we have already talked about, selling to the government is not that much different than selling in the private sector. It all comes down to marketing. Learn what agencies or prime contractors have a need for and clearly demonstrate how you can add value and why they should buy from you. In addition, be active. Participate in procurement related conferences, activities and match-making events. Use these activities to become known and to be a “player.” Slide 24 Procurement Vehicles There is merit to hitching your wagon to an existing wagon-train. OK, so maybe that’s not the best analogy. But, there is merit to participating in a consolidated agreement where multiple vendors are pre-approved for prospective contract awards from multiple agencies. Earlier in the course we talked about consolidated purchasing programs. Under such programs, the Federal government tries to benefit from economies of scale and make it easier for vendors to sell to the government by establishing Multiple Award Schedules. These schedules are often referred to as procurement vehicles. A prominent example of this type of contracting is the GSA Schedule. As such, GSA negotiates prices and terms with prospective vendors and enters into an agreement. Under the agreement, participating government agencies can purchase products and services from a schedule of prospective vendors, according to prices and terms already agreed to by the vendors. Another procurement vehicle example is Government Wide Procurement Contracts or G-WACs. Procurement vehicles can be valuable tools. As you continue your journey into the government contracting space, learn as much as you can about procurement vehicles and how they could benefit your business. Use the referenced hyperlinks to learn more about GSA Schedules and available G-WACs. http://www.gsa.gov/Portal/gsa/ep/contentView.do?contentId=8106&contentType=GSA_OVERVIEW http://www.gsa.gov/Portal/gsa/ep/contentView.do?contentId=16146&contentType=GSA_OVERVIEW https://www.fbo.gov/index?cck=1&au=&ck= Slide 25 Find Contract Opportunities (FBO) It is impossible to sell your products or services to the government, if you don’t know which agencies are buying, what their needs are and when they need it. To market or outreach contract opportunities to the public, the federal government operates a robust, online service called Federal Business Opportunities, but more commonly known as FBO or FedBizOpps. This single entry, government-wide Website profiles available business opportunities and is one of the most powerful tools available to help you become successful in government contracting. The online tool identifies contract opportunities over $25,000.00. At your convenience, take a few minutes to visit the FBO Website and familiarize yourself with how it operates, what it displays and why it’s important. Hyperlinks to the FBO site are available at multiple locations throughout this course. You can also use the hyperlinks on this slide to directly access the FBO, as well as important training information about how to use the FBO. https://www.fbo.gov/index?cck=1&au=&ck= https://www.fbo.gov/?static=vids&s=getstart&mode=list&tab=list&tabmode=list Slide 26 Find Recovery Contract Opportunities The FBO is an excellent tool to find contract opportunities. But, it gets better and more refined. To make it easier for potential contractors to find recovery-based contract opportunities, FBO has created a new dimension within the site to specifically find and review recovery-based contract opportunities. Click on the icon within the slide to access the recovery opportunities section of the FBO. https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&tab=searchresults&mode=list&_filt=rec_na Slide 27 Find Subcontracting Opportunities An alternative to seeking prime contracts is to explore subcontracting opportunities. Subcontracting with a prime contractor can be a profitable experience as well as a growth opportunity for a business. If, after assessing the capabilities and capacity of your business, you conclude that you are not ready to bid competitively for prime contracts, consider opportunities available through subcontracting. To help small businesses find opportunities, SBA maintains, SUB-Net, a searchable database of available subcontract opportunities. SBA makes the database available as a small business resource. However, it is up to prime contractors to update SUB-Net with contract opportunities. A hyperlink to SUB-Net is provided for your convenience and future use. http://web.sba.gov/subnet/search/index.cfm Slide 28 Find Recovery Grant Opportunities This tutorial is about contract opportunities. However, because significant recovery-based funds will be made available in the form of government grants, a brief summary and links are made available to help you better understand and access available government grants. A federal grant is an award of financial assistance from a federal agency to a recipient to carry out a public purpose of support or stimulation authorized by the US government. Federal grants are not federal assistance or loans to individuals. Twenty six federal agencies offer over 1,000 grant programs annually in various categories. Use the hyperlink here to [ http://www.grants.gov ] to learn more about federal grants and click on the icon to find specific grant opportunities as a result of the Recovery Act. http://www07.grants.gov/search/search.do;jsessionid=?mode=CATSEARCH&fundActivity=RA Slide 29 Prepare for the Future Things never stay the same. Successful companies plan for the future. Five years from now the Department of the Navy will still be buying ships and the VA will still be buying laundry, food and other services for veterans. However, the government will continue to buy new and innovative products and services to protect and improve the lives of American citizens. Areas of future growth will likely include: renewable energy; clean and smart grid technology; life sciences; nanotechnology; broadband services; high-definition education programs; and many others. Consider future needs as you evolve your company vision. Slide 30 Explore Industry Clusters Many economic development organizations now realize that significant economic success can come from key industry clusters in specific regions. An industry cluster – such as robotics in Detroit, life-sciences in San Diego or shipbuilding in Maine – consists of a lead product or industry within a region. Individual companies, within the cluster feed on each other and succeed or fail, not just because of their own efforts, but in part because of the overall success of the cluster in the region. This multiplier effect is due to inter-regional networks, robust collaboration, regional government and academic support and expanded marketing. All of these factors working together draw national attention and customers to a hub of clustered knowledge, innovation and production. SBA is a strong supporter of industry clusters – because they are an important ingredient in economic development. Check with your local SBA or economic development office to learn more about clusters in your area. Slide 31 SBA Certification Programs SBA administers two certification programs, designed to assist specific market groups in the government contracting space. These programs include the HUBZone program and the 8(a) Business Development Program. Learn more about each of these programs by clicking on the hyperlinks. http://www.sba.gov/hubzone/ http://www.sba.gov/aboutsba/sbaprograms/8abd/index.html Slide 32 Tipping Point There is a reason why some people are more successful than others. The same can be said about small businesses in the government contracting space. Some firms are clearly more successful. There are many reasons for this. However, several things can be done to tip the odds in your favor. Such actions include: * Prepare a clear business vision and strategy that describes how you will engage your business in the government contracting space. * Develop a crisp and informative profile describing your business and products for the CCR. Don’t be shy about getting experienced help to prepare your CCR profile. * Become an expert in understanding how to use and find contract opportunities in the FBO. This is important. * Research and Identify agencies that buy what you sell. * Work with procurement experts to understand how to respond appropriately to government acquisition requests. * Market aggressively to targeted agencies. * Network – attend procurement conferences and matchmaking events and talk with government buyers and experts in the contracting field. * And finally, learn from others. This is critical. Actively seek the guidance, experience and wisdom of experts in the contracting field. Slide 33 Have a Question? This course has covered a great deal of material. And, there is much to learn and understand about government contracting. If you have questions about the federal market place, government contracting methods, finding contract opportunities or other questions about winning recovery and other federal contracts, contact SBA or one of our resource partners. We will help you. If we do not have the answer to your specific question, we will direct you to a resource that does. Use the 1-800 number (1-800-827-5722) or referenced hyperlinks to contact us directly. answerdesk@sba.gov (e-mail) http://www.score.org/index.html http://www.sba.gov/localresources/index.html http://www.sba.gov/aboutsba/sbaprograms/sbdc/sbdclocator/SBDC_LOCATOR.html Slide 34 Additional Assistance Many resources are available to assist you. The following resources can help you build a foundation in government contracting. * Procurement Technical Assistance Centers, located at various locations around the country, help businesses understand and succeed in government contracting markets. http://www.dla.mil/db/procurem.htm * Women’s Business Centers assist women in achieving their dreams by helping them to start and run successful businesses. http://www.sba.gov/aboutsba/sbaprograms/onlinewbc/index.html * SBA has over 60 district offices located throughout the country to help you start and grow your business. http://www.sba.gov/localresources/index.html * There are more than 1,000 Small Business Development Center locations around the country. SBDC’s provide management assistance to current and prospective small business owners. http://www.sba.gov/aboutsba/sbaprograms/sbdc/sbdclocator/SBDC_LOCATOR.html * SCORE is a powerful source of free and confidential small business advice to help build your business. More than 10,000 SCORE volunteers are available to share their wisdom and lessons learned in business. http://www.score.org/index.html * And finally, the Small Business Training Network is a powerful virtual campus. http://www.sba.gov/services/training/onlinecourses/index.html Click on these resources to learn more and access their assistance. Slide 35 Other Resources Central Contractor Registration www.ccr.gov Federal Business Opportunities www.fbo.gov Acquisition Central (excellent general resource) www.arnet.gov Federal Agency Procurement Forecasts http://acquisition.gov/comp/procurement_forecasts/index.html Procurement Technical Assistance Centers www.dla.mil/db/procurem.htm Federal Acquisition Regulation www.far.gov Slide 36 Other Resources SBA – Office of Government Contracting & Business Development http://www.sba.gov/aboutsba/sbaprograms/gcbd/index.html Reserve and Guard Tools http://www.sba.gov/reservists Veterans Business Development Officers http://www.sba.gov/aboutsba/sbaprograms/reservists/businessdev/index.html Patriot Express Loan Programs http://www.sba.gov/patriotexpress/index.html Veterans Business Outreach Centers http://www.sba.gov/aboutsba/sbaprograms/ovbd/OVBD_VBOP.html Slide 37 Conclusion Veteran and service-disabled small business owners are a powerful force and credit to America. Use this material and highlighted resources to help you benefit from federal contract opportunities. Remember, this is not the type of program you review once and put aside. Rather, it’s a resource guide that can be referenced as needed. Thank you for your participation in this course. And, thank you again for the service you provided to our country.