Small Business: Getting Government Contracts

You might think, ‘why is this real estate agent writing this article? As an independent contractor, a real estate agent runs their own ‘small business’. Many of our clients also own small businesses, or are thinking about leaving the safety net of the corporate world, and starting a small business. I’ve done that too.

Today I read an article titled “Getting Government Contracts” in the New York Times.

The first paragraph caught my attention: There are many federal contracting opportunities for small businesses, but to take advantage of them you have to know the ins and outs of the government’s contracting rules and regulations. Of the more than 20 million small businesses in the United States, only about 500,000 are currently in a position to do business with the federal government. That’s not because they are the only ones capable of doing the work; it’s because they know how to get the work.

Only 500,000 small businesses out of more than 20 million small businesses are currently in a position to do business with the federal government. That means opportunity!

The second paragraph is especially interesting for small businesses: Here’s how big the opportunity is: small companies are eligible to bid on any size contract, but the government is required to reserve all federal purchases between $3,000 and $100,000 for small businesses — unless the contracting officer can’t get offers from two or more small businesses that are competitive on price, quality and delivery.

How can your business capture some of these contracts? Click on the link above, read the article, and notice on the right sidebar there are “Quick Tips”.

Note also the links and information in the main article – the authors spent a lot of time putting this information together, and there are many links to explore, including some training opportunities.