The Door Is Open—But Can Small Businesses Get In?
Dr. Nazeera Dawood believes that if we genuinely want more competition and greater participation from women-owned, minority-owned, and small businesses, we need to rethink what access to government contracting really means. (Federal News Network August 6, 2026)
Years ago, while working in county government, Dr. Dawood managed a request for proposals for a solution her community urgently needed. Like procurement professionals across the country, her team spent months developing the scope of work, meeting with stakeholders, and balancing cost, quality, compliance, and public need. She expected several qualified businesses to compete. (ibid)
Instead, she received only two proposals. One arrived a minute late and faced automatic disqualification. The other failed to meet the minimum requirements. After months of preparation, she had no award, no qualified vendor, and no solution for the residents who depended on the county government. (ibid)
Why weren’t more businesses bidding?
The answers were surprising.
Business owners told Dr. Dawood they did not understand government contracting or know where to begin. Some assumed agencies had already chosen their vendors. Others did not trust the process. Many could not afford to spend weeks preparing a proposal without knowing whether anyone would seriously consider it. (ibid)
That experience was a huge lesson: America does not lack capable small businesses. It lacks accessible pathways into government contracting.
And that problem is becoming more urgent. (ibid)
In March 2025, the Small Business Administration announced plans to reduce its workforce by 43% and close or relocate six regional offices, including its Atlanta office. At the same time, the government-wide goal for small disadvantaged businesses fell from a 15% target to the statutory minimum of 5%. (ibid)
Just as the government needs more competition and a broader supplier base, the support system that helps businesses enter the market is shrinking. (ibid)
This is not simply a procurement issue. It is an economic development issue. (ibid)
The federal government ranks among the world’s largest purchasers. Every contract can create jobs, strengthen a small business, and help that business grow into a larger employer. When fewer businesses compete, taxpayers lose the benefits of competition, agencies lose access to new ideas, and communities lose economic opportunity. (ibid)
The numbers tell the story.
The federal government awarded a record $183 billion to small businesses in fiscal 2024. Yet roughly the same number of small firms won federal contracts in recent years as a decade earlier, even though the number of small businesses nationwide has increased. (ibid)
Women-owned businesses received just 3.4% of federal contract dollars in fiscal 2024, well below the 5% goal Congress established in 1994. The government has reached that goal only twice in three decades. (ibid)
The dollars are growing, but the door is narrowing.
The problem does not lie in a lack of talent or expertise. Instead, we continue to confuse eligibility with accessibility. (ibid)
We tell businesses to register, obtain certifications, and attend webinars. Those steps can help. But once the orientation ends, many entrepreneurs must navigate hundreds of pages of solicitation documents, pricing requirements, compliance rules, past-performance narratives, and subcontracting plans on their own. (ibid)
A missing attachment, an unchecked box, or an incorrect signature can eliminate an exceptional business before anyone evaluates whether it can actually perform the work. (ibid)
Think about how backwards that is. (ibid)
These entrepreneurs already possess valuable expertise in cybersecurity, engineering, healthcare, construction, technology, and countless other fields. Yet we expect them to become procurement experts before we give them a meaningful opportunity to demonstrate what they already do well. (ibid)
Those are two very different skills.
Dr. Dawood spent my career in many different environments, as a physician, public health leader, county executive, and now an entrepreneur. In each setting, she watched capable people lose opportunities not because they lacked the ability to succeed, but because no one showed them how to access the opportunity in the first place. (ibid)
Dr. Dawood acknowledged her own stake in this issue. After leaving public service, she began working in this field. But the problem extends far beyond any one company or consultant. She continues to meet businesses that could successfully perform government contracts but lack a realistic path to compete for them. And experience tells me that simply providing more guidance rarely closes that gap. (ibid)
Some argue that businesses that cannot navigate the procurement process are not ready to perform a government contract. She understands that perspective. But writing a winning proposal and delivering excellent contract performance require different skills. (ibid)
We would not judge a gifted surgeon by her ability to master medical billing software before allowing her to operate. Yet that is essentially what we ask thousands of entrepreneurs to do every year. (ibid)
If we genuinely want more competition and greater participation from women-owned, minority-owned, and small businesses, we need to redefine access. (ibid)
That starts with simplifying solicitations wherever possible. It means measuring success not by how many businesses register, but by how many actually compete and win. And it means investing in hands-on proposal support and stronger partnerships between government and organizations that prepare businesses to compete. (ibid)
Most importantly, we need to reward what a business can actually accomplish, not how well its owners can decode government paperwork. (ibid)
None of this will change until we stop assuming that opportunity exists simply because an application appears online. (ibid)
It doesn’t.
Opportunity exists only when a qualified business has a real and fair chance to compete and win. (ibid)
The next generation of innovators, entrepreneurs, and employers already exists. They are creating jobs, developing new technologies, and solving problems that government agencies need to address. (ibid)
They should not have to prove that they can navigate a maze before they can prove that they can do the work. (ibid)
The real question is whether we are willing to build a procurement system that measures what matters: what a business can do, not how well it can decode the paperwork. (ibid)
Are procurements getting harder for your business to navigate? Could you use some assistance navigating the solicitation process? Give us a call.