8(a)

8(a), 9 steps, Base Realignment and Closure Act, Business Development Program, Certification Programs, Classes, Federal Procurement Data System, HUBZone, NAICS, PSC, Report, Research, Sales, Sample, Service Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business, VetBiz, Veteran Administration, Women-Owned Small Business

Steps 1 & 2 discussed how important it is to know key government websites and register the company in the CCR and ORCA. Steps 3 and 4 include determining the company’s eligibility for the socio economic programs and the importance of the Federal Supply Classification Codes (FSC) and North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Codes. Understanding the certifications and classifications programs enhance a company’s ability to get government jobs through federal contracts. FCIS has developed marketing reports that help companies identify contracting officers that utilizes the socio economic programs for contracting and identify agency contracting offices by classification systems.

Step 3. Determine if the company qualifies for one or more of the SBA and Veteran Administration Certification Programs. The SBA currently has three socio economic certification programs: 8(a), HUBZone and Women-Owned Small Business Programs. The 8(a) Business Development program assists eligible small businesses to compete by providing them with business developmental assistance. The owner of a small business must be socio or economic disadvantaged. Economic disadvantage is based on personal income ($250,000 for initial eligibility, $350,000 for continued eligibility) and total assets ($4 million for initial eligibility, $6 million continued eligibility). Socially disadvantaged individuals are those who have been subjected to racial or ethnic prejudice or cultural bias because of their identity as members of a group. Social disadvantage must stem from circumstances beyond their control. Companies with the 8(a) certification are eligible for set aside contract opportunities.

The Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) program entitles qualified firms to special bidding benefits in the federal contracting arena. To qualify for the program, a business (except tribally-owned concerns) must be a small business by SBA standards, must be owned and controlled at least 51% by U.S. citizens, or a Community Development Corporation, an agricultural cooperative, or an Indian tribe, the company principal office must be located within a “Historically Underutilized Business Zone,” which includes lands considered “Indian Country” and military facilities closed by the Base Realignment and Closure Act and At least 35% of its employees must reside in a HUBZone map area.

Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Concerns (SDVOSBC) – (http://www.sba.gov/content/service-disabled-veteran-owned-small-business-concerns-sdvosbc) The Veterans Benefits Act of 2003 established a procurement program for Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses that allows contracting officers to restrict competition to SDVOSBCs and award a sole source or set-aside contract where certain criteria are met. In addition, the rule allows SDVOSB concerns to self-certify however the eligible veteran should get certified by VetBiz in order to withstand any certification challenges. In order to be eligible for the SDVOSBC, the Department of Veterans Affairs or Department of Defense must certify service disabled veteran has a service-connected disability, the Company must be small under the NAICS code assigned to the procurement, the Service disabled veteran must own 51% of the company unconditionally and control the management of daily operations and must hold the highest officer position in the company.

Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB)/Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Business (EDWOSB) Program– (http://www.sba.gov/content/contracting-opportunities-women-owned-small-businesses) The Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) Federal Contract program authorizes contracting officers to set aside certain federal contracts based on approved NAICS for eligible Women-owned small businesses (WOSBs) or Economically disadvantaged women-owned small businesses (EDWOSBs). Those firms can self-certify their status. An SBA approved 3rd Party Certifier is recommended in order to withstand any challenges.

Step 4. The company must be able to match its products or services with the Federal Supply Classification Codes (FSC) and North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Codes. The NAICS and FSC codes should be included in the CCR and ORCA registration. NAICS and FSC codes are used by the government to establish business size standards (http://www.sba.gov/content/table-small-business-size-standards), identify potential vendors for government jobs, accumulate economic statistics and classify government contracts for the Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS).

The FY 2012 USG Procurement by NAICS_PSC report provides a breakdown of procurement by NAICS and PSC. The report indicates that four hundred and forty (440) Agency Contracting Offices completed 588,946 transactions with 69,014 vendors in the amount of $49 billion. These transactions were classified using 922 NAICS and 9,733 PSC. See report FY 2012 USG Procurement by NAICS_PSC Understanding the NAICS and PSC codes will lead to more government contracts. Small business can use these classifications to determine how much the USG buys and which agency contracting offices make the purchase. The FPDS is a good data set to build a federal marketing plan.

Why your company needs a Federal Marketing Plan?

By Willis Hunt

May 16, 2012

8(a), CCR, Education, GSA, Interagency Contracting, Marketing, Marketing Plan, Multiple Award Schedule, Report, Sales, Sample, Service Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business, Women-Owned Small Business

The most common questions we hear from entrepreneurs who want to do business with the federal government are, “Do I really need a federal marketing plan? Is writing a federal marketing plan really the best use of my time?” Our answer to these questions is almost always, “Yes.”

In reality, federal marketing plans do take a long time to write, require that you have a tremendous amount of data at your fingertips, depend in part on projections, and often are responsible for creating a long list of research you still need to conduct and other work you need to complete.

But despite all of that, federal marketing plans are one of the most effective tools for the business owner/operator who is starting or growing their business with the federal government.

Here is what we consider the most important reasons for having a federal marketing plan:

• A Federal Marketing Plan is Simply a Must-Have for Some Businesses
• A Federal Marketing Plan Helps You Make Decisions
• A Federal Marketing Plan Can Be a Reality Check
• A Federal Marketing Plan Can Give You New Ideas
• A Federal Marketing Plan Creates an Action Plan

Your company should have a Federal Marketing Plan (FMP) if your company is doing business or planning to do business with the Federal Government. Our FMP helps companies target market their goods and services to the right agency contracting office location after first answering the basic question of does the federal government even buy your company’s products and/or services. Your Federal Marketing Plan will be a unique and customized resultants-driven solution for your company to make effective and successful communication to profitably market your products/services to the federal government.

Because of our ability to make the complex easy to understand; you’ll have the information you need to make effective, successful and measurable direct government marketing decisions. Your FMP will have current data from disparate data sources like government contract histories and other federal data sets that would identify predetermined groups, logical relationships, associations and anticipated behavior patterns that would determine the type of contracts used to purchase your goods or services. With that information you’d be able to create your own unique key performance indicators of marketing success and execute a profit-driven government marketing campaign. In the end, we deliver current and relevant insights – rather than just producing tables and graphs. We analyze the massive $500BN government contract data specifically for our clients’ to target a market in the government. And because everyone uses their results in different ways, we design our reports specifically for each client’s particular needs.

Click here to download our sample Federal Marketing Plan.

We work with you as a partner and encourage your feedback during every step; from goal setting, through methods selection, to the final reports and marketing plan. We are effective and comfortable working with business owners, senior executives, marketing departments, non-profit committees, advertising, public relations and marketing firms or any other stakeholder in the project/company.

Call us at 469-814–8457 x100 for a free initial consultation and assessment. Please have your company’s NAICS and PSC codes available when you call.

Click here to download our sample Federal Marketing Plan.

How to get an 8a Contract.

By Willis Hunt

March 30, 2012

8(a), Education, Marketing

The Code of Federal Regulations title 13 part 124.502 requires a contracting officer to submit a written offer letter to the SBA if he or she intends to award a procurement requirement as an 8(a) contract to an 8(a) Contractor. The Contracting Officer must submit the offer letter to the SBA District Office for competitive 8(a) and sole source requirements. The offering letter must contain a description of the work to be performed, the NAICS code that applies to the principal nature of the requirement, estimated period of performance, the estimated dollar value of the requirement, any special restrictions or geographical limitations, any special capabilities or disciplines needed, the contract type, past contractor performance and contact information, a special statement, name of the specific 8(a) contractor being nominated for the award, bonding requirements, and any other information required in Title 13: 124.502. The key words in the statute are requirement and name of 8(a) contractor.

It is incumbent upon the 8(a) contractor to find the requirement in the agency contracting office and the user department in order to start the offering letter process. It’s important for the 8(a) contractor to market its products and or services to targeted contracting offices and their user management. It about building relationships before the requirement becomes a contract.

No Order of Precedence Among the Small Business Socioeconomic Contracting Programs

By Willis Hunt

March 8, 2012

8(a), Business Development Program, DOD, Federal Acquisition Regulation, GSA, NASA, Service Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business, Women-Owned Small Business

DoD, GSA, and NASA have adopted as final, with changes, the interim rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement a section of the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 that clarifies that there is no order of precedence among the small business socioeconomic contracting programs. Accordingly, this final rule amends the FAR to clarify the existence of socioeconomic parity and that contracting officers may exercise discretion when determining whether an acquisition will be restricted to small businesses participating in the 8(a) Business Development Program (8(a)), Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZone) Program, Service Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) Program, or the Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB)

Click here to download Federal Register/Vol. 77. No. 42/Friday, March 2, 2012/Rules and Regulations