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Government Contractor’s Blog

Small businesses must get strategic for maximum impact and growth

How can a small business with limited resources get strategic about growth? Even with limited monetary, time, and personnel outlay, those resources may be leveraged and lead to growth, by doing these three things:

Association Involvement: In the relationship-driven market, actively engage with associations like AFCEA or ACT-IAC to establish a strong market presence. Increase visibility by volunteering, selecting associations wisely based on your goals. Take advantage of tiered membership fees offered by major associations, enabling affordable entry for smaller companies. Set milestones for partnerships, contracts, and market intelligence. (Washington Technology December 21, 2023)

Deeper and Stronger Differentiation: Go beyond generic labels like “cyber” by specifying your focus, such as network security or data security. Highlight key staff, subject matter experts (SMEs), and socio-economic status for a unique position. Clearly articulate your expertise, substantiating claims with content and past performance. Effective differentiation is crucial in a competitive market. (ibid)

LinkedIn Strategy: Harness the power of LinkedIn for agency-based marketing, content distribution, and branding. Research company pages and actively connect with the federal government and contracting community. Utilize LinkedIn for positioning, vetting, recruiting, and highlighting subject matter experts. Integrate LinkedIn into your overall growth strategy for comprehensive results. (ibid)

By implementing these tactics in tandem, your company can achieve impactful results without excessively tapping into limited resources. (ibid)

Trying to determine the first steps? Give us a call.

A workflow for everyone


The Catalog Management Office (CMO) is actively finalizing the workflow for Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) services between eMod and the new FAS Catalog Platform (FCP). Simultaneously, they are completing the new Services Plus File for FCP use, marking progress towards launching MAS service functionality in FCP by fiscal year-end 2024 (refer to the attached file for the Services Plus file). (BUY.GSA.GOV NOVEMBER 30, 2023)

The Services Plus file, formerly the Service File, will now accommodate all service contract and catalog data from the Services and Training, and the Language Services Price Proposal Templates. Vendors will also utilize it for non-GSA Advantage! publishable products, such as highly customizable items. (ibid)

Vendors can categorize their offerings in the new template under eight catalog item types:

  1. Commercial Labor Categories: Vendor-defined labor categories, using the hour (HR) unit of measure.
  2. Service Contract Labor Standards (SCLS) labor categories: Governed by Service Contract Act laws and regulations, using the HR unit of measure.
  3. Fixed Price Solutions: Services outside the labor category paradigm, using any unit of measure.
  4. Courses and Training: Sessions with minimum and maximum student constraints.
  5. Other Direct Costs (ODCs): Contract-level items sold, supporting public relations and marketing services.
  6. Language Services: Translation services, translating languages, one or both ways.
  7. Highly Customizable Products: Products with multiple options, that cannot be sold on GSA Advantage! Priced as a discount to a manufacturer group or family, as opposed to pricing products as a discrete set of line items.
  8. Ancillary Items: Products or services supporting the dominant service in the Services Plus File, and not sold on GSA Advantage! (ibid)

Questions about how to categorize your offerings? Give us a call.

Navigating FY 2024: Top Federal Opportunities for Government Contractors

As FY 2023 is behind us, the government contracting market breathes a sigh of relief, marking the end of a busy period. As our attention turns to FY 2024, many companies do a “reset” refocusing on growth and strategically pursuing major procurements that lay the groundwork for future success.

At this crucial juncture, GovWin’s analyst team releases comprehensive reports and webinars spotlighting the top opportunities in the federal government for the upcoming fiscal year. This year’s insights cover the top 20 unrestricted opportunities, the top 10 set-aside opportunities, the top 10 professional services opportunities, and the top 10 architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) opportunities. (GOVCONWIRE November 20, 2023)

What sets this year apart in terms of federal opportunities?

Despite overall growth in contracting, industry participation is consolidating, a trend noted last year influencing the top opportunities for FY 2023. The decline in the number of firms receiving federal awards, despite increased federal spending, is driven by factors such as agencies adopting IDIQ contracts and rising barriers to entry due to stringent compliance requirements. (ibid)

Another notable factor shaping this year’s top opportunities is the rapid and consistent growth in small business contracting, outpacing larger businesses since 2011. Small business contracting exhibits not only a 49% growth rate but also greater stability compared to ‘other than small’ businesses. (ibid)

A high-level overview of the top opportunities for FY 2024

  1. Unrestricted Federal Opportunities: These opportunities, available to all government contractors, offer access to complex but lucrative procurements. Top opportunities, like CCN NEXT GEN, SEWP VI, and ALLIANT 3, promise task order opportunities worth billions of dollars.
  2. Federal Set-Aside Opportunities: Reserved for small businesses, set-aside opportunities provide participation avenues for various socioeconomic categories.
  3. Architecture, Engineering, and Construction Opportunities: AEC opportunities span diverse projects, from advising on capital requirements to major construction undertakings.
  4. Professional Services Opportunities: Covering business operations, management consulting, personnel and HR services, marketing, legal, and accounting services, professional services opportunities abound. (ibid)

Guidance for proactive government contractors

Having identified these top opportunities, proactive government contractors gearing up for success should focus on strategic teaming initiatives, and increasing business development investments, to increase relevant opportunities and enhance their pipelines. (ibid)

If your company targets federal unrestricted, AEC, professional services, or set-aside opportunities and is gearing up to pursue these in FY 2024, arm yourself with critical information:

  • Understand spending trends within your target markets.
  • Anticipate procurement patterns for the coming year among agencies utilizing these contracts.
  • Leverage detailed intelligence to fortify your pipeline. (ibid)

For a deeper dive into how these trends and opportunities may impact your business, give us a call.

Federal Government reaching even higher for Small Disadvantaged Businesses

Last year, small disadvantaged businesses received over 11% of federal contracting dollars. Now, the federal government aims to reach 13%. (Next Gov/FCW October 26, 2023)

The Office of Management and Budget recently issued a memo directing federal agencies to target awarding 13% of their contract spending to small disadvantaged businesses in fiscal year 2024. This objective aligns with a broader target set by an executive order earlier this year, which calls for the government to ultimately allocate 15% of federal procurement dollars to such businesses in fiscal year 2025. (ibid)

The executive order, focused on advancing racial equity and supporting underserved communities through federal government initiatives, also instructed the Small Business Administration to establish annual agency-specific goals in collaboration with other departments to further the government’s overall objectives for small disadvantaged businesses. (ibid)

In her October 18, 2023 memo, OMB director Shalanda Young emphasized that utilizing the federal government’s purchasing power to foster economic growth in underserved communities is a central element of the president’s equity agenda. It also aligns with the administration’s broader economic strategy to bolster small businesses and enhance the resilience of the nation’s supply chains. (ibid)

The memo states that federal agencies awarded small disadvantaged businesses a record-breaking $69.9 billion in fiscal year 2022, representing 11.4% of all contracting dollars and an increase of $7.5 billion compared to the previous year. (ibid)

While agencies also set records for spending on programs designed to improve access to contracts for historically underrepresented groups and small businesses in general, they fell short of the goals for the share of contracting dollars awarded to women-owned small businesses and historically underutilized business zone (HUBzone) small businesses, according to SBA data released earlier this year. (ibid)

Young also highlighted the significance of the 8(a) Business Development program at SBA, which serves as a gateway for expanding access to federal contracts for businesses that have faced past discrimination. She emphasized the need for agencies to continue promoting contract access for HUBZone businesses, women-owned small businesses, and service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses, as these often fall under the category of small disadvantaged businesses. (ibid)

In the past, the General Services Administration and SBA announced the establishment of a pool of small disadvantaged businesses in the 8(a) program to facilitate their access to contracts under GSA’s Multiple Award Schedule Program. (ibid)

Moving forward, OMB will collaborate with SBA, the Domestic Policy Council, National Economic Council, and other entities to advance efforts aimed at diversifying the government’s supplier base. This includes the adoption of innovative acquisition practices to reduce transaction costs for small businesses. (ibid)

Are you part of a small disadvantaged business seeking additional business opportunities with the government? Give us a call.