Entrepreneur Soundoff!

_________________ To get on the fast track to government contracting success, visit our website at: https://governmentcontractingacademy.com/ _________________ Follow us on other platforms to stay up to date on the latest GovCon tips and tricks: GCA’s Linkedin ▶ https://www.linkedin.com/company/governmentcontractingacademy/ Randy’s Linkedin ▶ https://www.linkedin.com/in/randal-wimmer/ The Entrepre...

Many small business bidders don't really know how proposals are ACTUALLY SCORED.  They read the Statement of Work (SOW) or Performance Work Statement (PWS) in the Request for Proposal (RFP) and their eyes get really big.  WE CAN DO THIS!  Then they write, what I call, an "I love me" proposal, stating how great they are at doing what was stated in the proposal.  In this euphoria, the...

The one constant to life is change.  That can be said about a person's career and professional success, as well.  Although the term "transition" has been largely associated with the military community, every successful professional experiences at least one major career transition.   In fact, some of the largest career transitions have nothing to do with changing industries.  Instead...

"Just putting in time" doesn't cut it for anything that really matters...and this holds especially true for entrepreneurship.  In most companies that I worked, it was taboo to shut your office door.  Why?  The boss couldn't tell if you were looking appropriately engaged in your work.   When I was the CEO, I actually encouraged my team to shut their doors so they could focus bet...

Most people rent their time...  They will waste large portions of their life, expending countless hours of meaningless time because they're scared that if they try to make those hours really count...and fall short...then they'll be crushed.  To avoid that pain, they throw those hours away by not investing any emotional equity in them.  That way, they can avoid all possibility of failing...

There is nothing more sought after than finding a roadmap to riches...Or a Playbook that guarantees you success if you just follow the checklist.   And that is how franchisors prey on aspiring entrepreneurs!  The old saying that if it's too good to be true, then well...it usually is.  Franchise Disclosure Documents provide real up-front costs.  And these costs are usually BRUTAL.  However, pe...

Would you do what 88% of the MOST SUCCESSFUL GovCon small businesses are doing?   99% of small business owners don't... _________________ To get on the fast track to government contracting success, visit our website at: https://governmentcontractingacademy.com/ _________________ Follow us on other platforms to stay up to date on the latest GovCon tips and tricks: GCA’s Linkedin ▶ https://www....

This is a recording of the Government Contracting Academy's Webinar, How to Win Government Set Aside Contracts.  _________________ To get on the fast track to government contracting success, visit our website at: https://governmentcontractingacademy.com/ _________________ Follow us on other platforms to stay up to date on the latest GovCon tips and tricks: GCA’s Linkedin ▶ https://www.linkedi...

It all begins at the top with great leaders. However, leadership doesn’t always look like people think it does.  Being a great CEO does NOT mean that you must be able to come through with heroics, time and again, to be successful.  In fact, the opposite is true.   The driving forces behind business success are documented processes, well-defined roles & responsibilities, management oversight, a...

The transition management plan section, whether explicitly or implicitly required in the RFP, can be a major discriminator...if you write a great one!  In fact, small businesses usually win their first prime contract by demonstrating their ability to transition the contract AND successfully rebadge the incumbent employees...while pricing the proposal significantly less that the incumbent.  The Sou...

The only thing more terrifying than the first day of a large prime contract transition period is the first day after a poorly managed transition period... Transition management is vitally important to the success of any contract award.  In fact, the 30-day transition period is the time with the highest probability of being terminated by the customer, especially if the losing incumbent contractor i...

The New Year is an ideal time to rejuvenate your entrepreneurial efforts, pursue ambitious small business goals and affect positive changes in your company!  However, you must have "better" resolutions to produce "better" results!  Here are three tips that will significantly improve entrepreneurial goals: 1.  Create "resolutions with bite!"  Or, as I call it, "Dr...

FIVE FACTS that every veteran should know about Government Contracting: FACT 1.   A MASSIVE amount of spending occurs each year in areas that are  most relevant to Veterans’ experiences (DoD, Intel Community, DHS, VA, DoE and DoS) FACT 2. The Small Business Set Aside Program of 23% of all GovCon dollars being awarded to small businesses is being EXCEEDED! The FY2020 SBA Scorecard reports small bus...

Supporting a Federal Government customer can be one of the most rewarding professional experiences that you may have has a billable contractor.  However, it can also be challenging.  Like any industry, you can always have "difficult" customers.  Knowing and following these three "Contractor Commandments" will provide you the mindset to excel, regardless of your alignment with y...

Engendering trust is one of the most important, unstated aspects of any proposal effort.  If the Source Selection Board does not trust your company or your bid, then they will find away to lower your score.  Low trust usually results in a lower confidence assessment, enabling the Source Selection Board to award the contract to a trusted bidder!  Trust and confidence are very closely related.  The...

Meet Jeffrey Payne...Serial Entrepreneur, USNA, MIT and Wharton graduate and now Founder and CEO of Accordant Federal!  Jeff has a ton of valuable insights and experiences that he shares with aspiring entrepreneurs. Contact Info: www. AccordantFederal.com  jeff@accordantfederal.com  https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffreycpayne/ _________________ To get on the fast track to government contracting succ...

There is no such thing as a "bad dollar" when you're a small business.  However, when you're award a subcontract or prime contract, the value of these awards are tremendous...but different.  Knowing what you're getting from each type of contract award will help you optimize the value of each one!   _________________ To get on the fast track to government contracting succes...

Bottom Line Upfront:  Factoring is very similar to "white collar loan-sharking!"  In a factoring arrangement, you are selling your unpaid (approved) invoices to a third party who buys them for less than their dollar amount.  The good news is that you get your money faster than waiting for the government to pay you, so you can do vitally important things like "make payroll."  Th...

Is there really much different between banks?  Most provide little to zero interest on checking and saving accounts.  So why is my corporate banking institute so important?  It can literally save you HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS...if you choose a bank wisely!  Randy is living proof that poor banking decisions can cost you tons of dollars and that all banks are not the same...  ________________...

As a startup, you should have TWO "Golden Rules of Infrastructure." First, never invest in infrastructure until you absolutely need it! Cash is too important to be spending it on things that you can't fully leverage yet.  Second, infrastructure should NEVER be a risk.  Why?  Your infrastructure requirements can be fully known if you're "looking forward."  These rules...

A FedGov proposal typically contains several different section that are evaluated by the Source Selection Board.  Most of these sections have very little to do with the actual solution being proposed and when their evaluated values are combined, these sections are worth more than the actual proposed solution!  ISO Certifications tremendously strengthen these non-solution proposal sections, such as...

As a small business bidder, the first and largest obstacle that you must overcome is the perception that all small businesses are inherently risky.  This fact is especially true for larger small business set asides where the small business prime bidder is expected to manage up to tens of millions of dollars in work, a complex prime contract and various subcontractors.  ISO Certification demonstrat...

Large business bidders are frequently required to subcontract ~ 30% of the value of their contracts to small businesses due to the Small Business Set Aside Program.  However, to be selected on a large business' bid team as a small business partner is non-trivial, considering that tens of thousands of small businesses are vying for the same opportunity!  As such, large business bidders only se...

A startup, by definition, is a new company, possessing no past performances or ongoing customer relationships.  Without any corporate experience, corporate credentials are EVERYTHING!  The most recognized and prestigious corporate credentials that can be legitimately obtained my startups are ISO Certifications.  These certifications include ISO 9001 Quality Management System, ISO 27001 Information...

Instead of downloading and populating a massive, largely useless business plan template, this topic discusses how a living, breathing business framework (or model) is tremendously more useful.  A business framework or business model can be 100% customized to your specific industry and company.  Most importantly, it is a dynamic tool that is intended to be iterative, allowing you to revisit past de...