Teaming & Sub-contracting: Small Businesses Get Your 23% Of 787 Billion Dollars

By Author: gsaschedul
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The General Services Administration now makes it easier for small businesses to get their share of the billions of dollars in Federal Government Contracts. The Federal Government through the Small Business Administration (SBA) has mandated that 23% of all Federal Government Prime Vendor Contracts go to small businesses.

In light of this there are roughly 22 million small businesses in the United States which currently are only accounting for 1% of the 787 billion dollar government contract arena. The question must be raised, in today’s business environment why would companies not pursue avenues that lead to lucrative government contracts? Months of paperwork, lack of manpower, and no idea on how to market their business to current contract opportunities would be a few answers of many. For this reason many companies turn to GSA consultants to lead them through the red tape of getting on schedule.

So, assuming you have done your homework (or had someone do it for you), got a GSA schedule and are now set up to sell your products and services to the government. You may be sitting there and hoping for the, ...
... if you build it, they will come philosophy to occur. Reality is that marketing and selling to the government is its own unique process that requires very specific knowledge. There are several ways to go about this, but one of the easiest ways for small businesses to knock down the barriers of the 800 pound gorilla (Uncle Sam) is by teaming and subcontracting with prime vendors.Prime Vendors are all of the vendors that have existing contracts worth over $550,000 each. Albeit, these companies are most likely the big boys that are your current competitors, but in the government game they can become a great resource!

If you are unaware of the Prime Vendors in your industry, a great way to search them out, is to attend federal trade shows and other networking events listed by the General Services Administration and Small Business Administration on their websites.Linda Smith, GSA Access Group senior government contracting consultant, recommends that before approaching Prime Vendors do not just consider your company’s goals in building a relationship, more importantly, consider how your business can meet the goals of the Prime Vendor. Remember these companies have been doing government business and have formed relationships that can be essential to holding your hand through this complex process.

After finding oneor several prime contractors to team or subcontract with, it is important to remember that you are not quite home free yet. Remember to carefully review the conditions and terms of your contract. This seems like a “no brainer”, but all too often companies overlook important items such as profitability, support, quality control measures, etc. when backing into a government deal. Companies are eager to get the contract and therefore will get into a break even deal with the intention of just getting their foot in the door. This will backfire as these prices or service fees will be expected in most, if not all, future government contracts your company competes for.

The opportunity for small businesses to get government contracts has never been better. It can be overwhelming task to attain GSA schedule contracts, but the work in this case is definitely worth the reward.

The GSA Schedule Contract, also referred to as the Federal Supply Schedule, is a Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) Contract administered by the General Services Administration (GSA). It is the most widely used government contract vehicle.