- Lunch n’ Learning from other Veterans
After a full day of sitting in on different sessions about Veteran Owned Small Business opportunities in Federal Government Contracting and talking to at least half of the 3,200 attendees (well maybe not that many but a lot!) I came away realizing this isn’t an easy process. So many Federal agencies looking to buy products and services – everything from paper clips to toilet paper to janitorial services to construction to space ships! The Federal government spends BILLIONS of dollars a year as a CONSUMER probably of the stuff you are selling.
But it isn’t for the faint of heart… I thought after 20 years in the U.S. Army we had a lot of Jargon and Acronyms but Federal Procurement has a language all its own. So if you think this is an opportunity for your small business you are going to have to learn to speak an entirely new language. So get ready to spend a lot of time reading and learning before you stick your toes in the procurement swimming pool.
At lunch I was lucky enough to sit with eight attendees representing a wide variety of businesses and all had been involved in procurement for several years. When I asked them WHY do business with the government? What advantage is there for a small veteran owned business they generally agreed that procurement could:
- Be a great way to DIVERSIFY your existing customer base
- Cover your overhead costs
- Even out cash flow
But it isn’t a silver bullet that will solve your business problems. Because the purchasing agencies want to know about past performance it is not the place to go to jump start your business or to save your business if you are on the ropes financially and with the exception of one lunch partner who sells some “black ops” secret squirrel stuff to the military, you should not consider the Federal government as your sole source of revenues. When I polled them about what made a successful candidate for procurement again these savvy business owners agreed that you need:
- A business plan
- To be able to segment your market and locate specific target market segments to offer – just like you segment your potential non-government customer base you need to determine which government agencies need your product or service and break them into separate groups.
- Have a good handle on your businesses financial situation and a full understanding of your financial health- potential government buyers will be concerned that you have the financial strength to pay your bills while you service the contract you win.
- Start learning everything you can about the basics of Federal procurement before you start the process such as attending this conference.
- Patience - most agreed that on the average it will take 4-5 years before your business will start to see real profit potential in Federal contracting so you need to be able to survive with your existing customer base until that time.
There are a number of great sources out there for veteran owned small businesses to read, agencies designed to help walk a “newbie” through the process and government sources to use (such as the U.S. Small Business Administration’s website on Government Procurement), FedBizOps to get a feel for the types of products and services purchased as well as the types of government agencies that buy them. In Arkansas we have a great resource for helping Veteran and non-veteran businesses with government procurement: Arkansas Procurement Assistance Center. Of course your local SBTDC is probably your best FIRST stop to help with finding resources for initial study, developing business plans, conducting market research and financial analysis all critical first steps.
I even got a promise from one of my lunch partners to write out a little narrative of his adventures when he started getting involved: how he learned about procurement, contacts he made, mistakes he made and lessons learned. So I will make those available as he sends them to me. I will also be posting good start-up links, articles and websites to help you learn more over the next few weeks so stay tuned.
My final thoughts about Veteran Small Business opportunities in Federal contracting before I head off to find a Vegas Buffet…These veterans would not be at this conference, coming back year after year if the government wasn’t a good customer for them. They wouldn’t put up with the red tape, forms, regulations and legal issues if it didn’t answer the basic What’s In It For Me and my Business. And with government set-asides specifically for Veteran Owned and Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Businesses there may be opportunities for you.
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