Game Changers for Government Contractors

In this episode, we sat down with Rob Rosenberger from Blackdragon to learn about his model for explosive growth. Rob is a serial entrepreneur who started his first business at age 9 and never looked back. Today, Rob is rapidly growing his company Blackdragon through a crowd sourcing approach to winning government contracts. We discuss some of Rob's major wins, keys to success, biggest hurdles and...

I recently sat down with Scott Denniston, the Executive Director of the National Veteran Small Business Coalition. The NVSBC is a powerful voice for veteran government contractors. They also host the VETS conference each year. Scott and I discussed the purpose of the NVSBC, their ongoing efforts to fight for veterans, some of the many challenges veterans face when starting and running a business,...

This is part 2 of a powerful series where we tackled the top 20 questions that government contractors ask. Part 2 of this series kicks off by talking about: How to take advantage of your socio-economic status, selling products through DIBBS, how to get past performance even if you've only been a sub, how to deal with information overload in this market, and much more... ----- Federal Access is hel...

We recently sat down with two government contracting juggernauts to talk about the top 20 questions that government contractors ask. The result is a two-part series covering these questions from every possible angle. Buckle up for part one of this series as we address critical questions such as: Do I need a GSA Schedule? Where do I find Simplified Acquisitions?, Is there a better way to use FBO? H...

In this episode, we had the pleasure of speaking with Matt Miller about What it Takes to Win an SBIR. The SBIR program is designed to help small companies engage the government through research and development funds. This allows companies to (1) help the government solve problems and (2) create commercial products that SBIR winners can take to market and profit from. Learn more about the SBIR prog...

In this episode, we talked with Joshua Frank from RSM Federal about Why Business Developers Fail and What to do About it. We hit on important subjects like: expectations for business developers, what even is business development vs. capture management, and most importantly the mindset you need to help your business development folks succeed. ----- Federal Access is helping Government Contractors w...

In this episode, we had the privilege of interviewing Michael Fischetti, the Executive Director of the National Contract Management Association or NCMA. You will learn what the NCMA is as well as how it can help you network and grow as a government contractor. ----- Federal Access is helping Government Contractors win more contracts. It can help you too. Here's a special offer. Visit https://feder...

There are hundreds of bid-matching systems on the market ranging from free to several thousand dollars a year. Most companies think that the right bid-matching system will be their key to success or silver bullet in government contracting. However, that's not really the case. Especially if you don't already have a strong sales process. This podcast talks about the pros and cons of using bid-matchi...

In this episode, we interviewed Ron Smith from Ronald Smith Contracts about the topic of Simplified Acquisitions. Learn what Simplified Acquisitions (SA) are, why SA is not used as much as it could be, how to take advantage of SA, what the Section 809 Panel is doing to improve SA, and many ways your small business can take advantage of SA. ----- Federal Access is helping Government Contractors win...

In this episode, we interviewed Steven Koprince on How Joint Ventures Really Work. We touch on the SBA's new mentor-protege program and how it relates to joint ventures, the major differences between the mentor-protege program and regular joint ventures, questions about work share, and frequent mistakes businesses make when drafting a joint venture agreement, and much more. ----- Federal Access is...

A lot of companies tend to grow really fast in their early stages. However, that does not mean they will continue to grow fast forever. In fact, many companies hit a glass ceiling at some point and they often can't figure out how to break through to the next level. That is exactly what this episode is all about. Breaking through to the next level in your government business to go from good to grea...

In this episode, we interviewed Peter Smith, Co-Owner of Rise Business Services about his lessons learned in government contracting. This case study style interview will walk you through key wins, keys to success, hurdles, and practical advice that you can apply directly to your business. ----- Federal Access is helping Government Contractors win more contracts. It can help you too. Here's a speci...

In this episode, we interviewed Carol Lowman, President of L2NL about her lessons learned in government contracting. Carol has a unique perspective of government contracting. She has been on both sides of the coin as a government employee and now as a government contractor. This case study style interview will walk you through, keys to success, hurdles, and practical advice that you can apply dire...

In this episode, we interviewed Frank Varga, Director of Apogee Engineering about his lessons learned in government contracting. This case study style interview will walk you through key wins, keys to success, hurdles, and practical advice that you can apply directly to your business. ----- Federal Access is helping Government Contractors win more contracts. It can help you too. Here's a special o...

In this episode, we interviewed Bill Thoet, the Vice President of Business Development for GovBizConnect on Changes in Government Contracting. We kick off this episode by talking about changes over the last 10 years and then get into a great discussion about the impact that Lowest Price, Technically Acceptable (LPTA) contracting has had on government contractors. ----- Federal Access is helping Go...

In this episode, we interviewed an old friend Carroll Bernard from Govology.com on the subject of How to Really Find Government Opportunities. One of the key things that Carroll breaks down for us on this podcast is the many layers of opportunities that exist in the federal market. Most companies tend to focus on FBO and maybe one or two other sources for opportunities. The only thing that this ap...

In this episode, we break down exactly what it takes to write a killer Executive Summary (ES) for your next proposal. A well-written executive summary is the fastest way to differentiate your proposal from the competition to get in the “short stack” for consideration. We have put together a simple checklist with eight items that you should review before and after you write your executive summary....

In this episode, we interviewed Joshua Frank from RSM Federal and the Federal Access program on How to Sell to the Government. In this two-part series, we discuss eight strategies you must master in order to successfully sell to the government. In this second episode, we focused on 5. Understanding that teaming is about relationships and NOT opportunities; 6. Understanding the basic and advanced s...

In this episode, we interviewed Joshua Frank from RSM Federal and the Federal Access program on How to Sell to the Government. In this two-part series, we discuss eight strategies you must master in order to successfully sell to the government. In this first episode, we focused on 1. Understanding the basics of government acquisition; 2. Understanding how to create a market strategy; 3. Understand...

In this episode, we interviewed Kevin Jans, the President of Skyway Acquisition Solutions and a fellow podcast host of the Contracting Officer Podcast about How to Work Better with Contracting Officers. Our goal on this podcast is to give you some insights into the contracting officer world so that you can better understand how to work with Contracting officers or CO's as we often call them. One o...

In this episode, we interviewed Kathleen Smith from CyberSecJobs.com and ClearedJobs.net about The Cybersecurity Talent Shortage. We tackle important questions such as: What is the cybersecurity talent shortage and why is it such a big deal? What are some of the ways that small to medium size companies can compete to hire cybersecurity talent? and What does the future look like for cybersecurity t...

In this episode, we interviewed Joshua Ladick, President of GSA Focus, Inc. about What it Takes to get a GSA Schedule. This interview is broken into three parts. 1. Pre-screening (do you qualify and does it make sense for you) 2. The GSA Contract process (what to expect) and 3. Post-award(how to get sales). ----- Federal Access is helping Government Contractors win more contracts. It can help you...

In this episode, we interviewed Steven Koprince from Koprince Law LLC about the significant changes in 2016 to the Woman Owned Small Business or WOSB program. This episode covers the changes that were made as well as provides suggestions on how WOSB's can take advantage of these changes. Some of the topics covered include: How to become a certified WOSB; What steps is the SBA taking to address the...

In this episode, we interviewed Michael LeJeune on Creating an SME Platform. There's a lot of buzz in the industry right now for the need to create an use an SME platform to grow your government business, but a lot of companies have no idea where to start. This podcast will answer some of the basic questions that you have about creating an SME platform as well as provide you with very practical an...

In this episode, we interviewed Kathleen Smith from ClearedJobs.net and CyberSecJobs.com about strategies to help small to mid-tier companies compete for talent with larger companies. One of the biggest challenges for a small or mid-tier company is finding and retaining great employees. This becomes especially difficult in the early stages of a business where compensation and benefits are harder t...