Author: William Osgood
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The benefits of an SBA 8(a) Certification
The Small Business Administration (SBA) 8(a) Certification Program is a powerful tool for small and disadvantaged businesses that opens a wealth of opportunities . Understanding and navigating this program offers access to exclusive government contracts and unique growth opportunities for eligible companies. What is the SBA 8(a) Certification? The 8(a) Certification is a program by…
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Types of Federal Government Strategies for Procurements
There are many different types of ways that the federal government will issue requirements; they have to solve a problem. Think about it like this, if the government has a problem, they will pay for the solution. That in and of itself is an important distinction. It is imperative for the contractor to present their…
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Business Certifications: Know Your Listener
In a recent talk, CFR & Associates highlighted the complexity and importance of business certifications for different organizations. In our years of experience working with various organizations and businesses, we’ve observed a recurring theme: many companies are in the dark about which certifications are relevant to their specific situations. This understanding, or rather the lack…
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Lead With Value, Not Qualifications
One of the fundamental pieces of advice we give small business owners and company leadership is to always lead with your value, not your qualifications. We deal with a lot of small businesses trying to do business with larger corporations. Sometimes they are trying to sell a product or service directly to the larger companies.…
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What does the last week of the federal government’s contracting cycle look like?
One of the more interesting facets of the government , in particular, government contracting is the funding cycle. The federal government’s fiscal year runs from October 1 of one calendar year through September 30 of the next year. The federal government has by Friday night, 1159 EST or 2059 PST to use the funding. After…
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Ways to Position Your Business for Success
We’ve talked about what it’s like to pursue federal government opportunities in the last month of the fiscal year. The question is, what do you do now? To begin, you need to be prepared to win federal government contracts by properly positioning your firm in the eyes of the potential customer, the federal government buyers,…
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The BHAG
Ever struggled on knowing exactly what to focus on for a period of time? In order to avoid the tyranny of the urgent, it is imperative that you have a huge goal for a set period of time that demands and gets your attention. We call this the BHAG. So, what is a BHAG? A…
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Isn’t it really Priority Management? Priorities on time revisited
Many people continue to ask me how can I separate the important things to do from the constant call of the urgent things to do? What a great question. The term generally applied to this is in relationship to “Time Management.” I always respond to this question the same way, you can’t separate them, but…
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Now that you’re seriously considering pursuing government contracting, let’s get your certifications
In the last blog, we looked at all of the certifications. Today, let’s look at how to get them. The federal ones are relatively easy. For the overall Small Business (SB) certification, it is simply a declaration in the System for Award Management (SAM) registration. This is a self-certifying certification and requires no documentation. Be…
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Did you ever think you could get a government contract? Certifications, and the Rule of 3
It’s nice to get back to supporting those of you who are interested in pursuing government contracts with out blogs support. After lengthy period of closing out the calendar year, and supporting our clients in their year-end close, its time to help your business win your first government contract. In the last issues of the…
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Certified, Now What?
Many times I have heard people say, I spent all the time, effort, energy and money to get certified, but I never got anything as a result of that. I am sure they are telling the truth. Getting certifications is a difficult and time consuming process, but they are well worth it if you know…