Ep. 281 What's Holding You Back From Landing Government Contracts? with Kesha Stowe

[00:00:03] [SPEAKER_00]: Welcome to Hustle in Faith, this podcast is dedicated to helping women who want to analyze,

[00:00:18] [SPEAKER_00]: apply and amplify their God-given gifts.

[00:00:21] [SPEAKER_00]: We accomplish this by discussing topics such as business, self-improvement, health and beauty

[00:00:26] [SPEAKER_00]: and my random thoughts about life from a Christian perspective.

[00:00:30] [SPEAKER_00]: I'm your host, Latasha Johnson.

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[00:01:18] [SPEAKER_00]: What are some of the myths that many people, I mean I just covered one of them, especially

[00:01:23] [SPEAKER_00]: entrepreneurs believe that are hurting their business?

[00:01:28] [SPEAKER_01]: I think oftentimes they think when it comes to government contracting specifically, they

[00:01:34] [SPEAKER_01]: think that this is only for large businesses.

[00:01:37] [SPEAKER_01]: The government won't hire me.

[00:01:39] [SPEAKER_01]: I'm just a sole proprietor.

[00:01:41] [SPEAKER_01]: It's only me and one or other person.

[00:01:43] [SPEAKER_01]: So why would they hire me?

[00:01:45] [SPEAKER_01]: But the reality is the government buys anything and everything from pens to battleships in

[00:01:52] [SPEAKER_00]: everything in between.

[00:01:54] [SPEAKER_00]: And this week's episode had the pleasure of speaking with Keisha Stowe.

[00:01:57] [SPEAKER_00]: Keisha is a mother, army officer, and entrepreneur who helps small business owners understand

[00:02:02] [SPEAKER_00]: government contracting as a part of their business development and growth strategy.

[00:02:07] [SPEAKER_00]: As a certified federal government contracting professional with over 15 years of experience

[00:02:11] [SPEAKER_00]: working with small businesses, she founded the nonprofit organization Manifest Inc.

[00:02:17] [SPEAKER_00]: Manifest educates small business owners on the world of government contracting.

[00:02:21] [SPEAKER_00]: Keisha provides insight and knowledge for business owners from an insider's perspective.

[00:02:26] [SPEAKER_00]: Welcome to the show, Keisha.

[00:02:28] [SPEAKER_01]: Thank you for having me.

[00:02:30] [SPEAKER_01]: I appreciate it so much, Latasha.

[00:02:32] [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you.

[00:02:33] [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you so much for coming onto the show.

[00:02:35] [SPEAKER_00]: So why don't you tell the audience about yourself?

[00:02:38] [SPEAKER_01]: Well, my name is Keisha Stowe.

[00:02:40] [SPEAKER_01]: And I am the creator of Manifest Inc, which is a nonprofit organization that is geared

[00:02:46] [SPEAKER_01]: towards helping small businesses maneuver through the murky waters of government contracting.

[00:02:52] [SPEAKER_01]: I am also the owner of KLM Murray 2 Consulting, which is a staffing company.

[00:03:00] [SPEAKER_01]: And we also consult corporations on how to win government contracts.

[00:03:08] [SPEAKER_00]: Fantastic, fantastic.

[00:03:09] [SPEAKER_00]: So what inspired you to create Manifest?

[00:03:13] [SPEAKER_00]: And then also your consulting firm as well.

[00:03:17] [SPEAKER_00]: But what inspired you to create these companies and then who is your ideal client?

[00:03:23] [SPEAKER_01]: Oh, wow.

[00:03:24] [SPEAKER_01]: Well, my background is in government contracting.

[00:03:27] [SPEAKER_01]: I have been a federal government contracting professional for over 15 years.

[00:03:33] [SPEAKER_01]: So I have a wealth of knowledge concerning federal government contracting.

[00:03:37] [SPEAKER_01]: I've worked for several different agencies.

[00:03:41] [SPEAKER_01]: I have been a contracting officer with an unlimited warrant.

[00:03:45] [SPEAKER_01]: I have been a contracting specialist.

[00:03:48] [SPEAKER_01]: I have managed teams.

[00:03:50] [SPEAKER_01]: I have led offices.

[00:03:52] [SPEAKER_01]: I have even taken on a position to manage the contracting career field.

[00:03:59] [SPEAKER_01]: So providing training to contracting professionals.

[00:04:03] [SPEAKER_01]: So with that being said, when I initially came into the world of government contracting

[00:04:07] [SPEAKER_01]: as a young contracting professional, I realized that there were a lot of small businesses out there.

[00:04:14] [SPEAKER_01]: They had no idea that this particular industry, this realm, this arena existed.

[00:04:22] [SPEAKER_01]: So our customers had requirements.

[00:04:25] [SPEAKER_01]: So the government generally puts out a requirement in the form of a solicitation.

[00:04:28] [SPEAKER_01]: So they will say, I need four refrigerators.

[00:04:34] [SPEAKER_01]: Right. And so that will come that requirement turns into a solicitation

[00:04:39] [SPEAKER_01]: and someone like myself in the past would provide or draft up that solicitation

[00:04:45] [SPEAKER_01]: and post it to some type of public

[00:04:49] [SPEAKER_01]: bidding board, so to speak, where the public can see it.

[00:04:53] [SPEAKER_01]: So now that public board is Sam, you may be familiar with that one.

[00:04:58] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah. Yeah. Sam, that guy is now that public board.

[00:05:03] [SPEAKER_01]: So we would draft these solicitations.

[00:05:06] [SPEAKER_01]: We post them to the public board.

[00:05:07] [SPEAKER_01]: What I realized is that there were a lot of businesses

[00:05:12] [SPEAKER_01]: that knew about them, a lot of large businesses that knew about this public

[00:05:15] [SPEAKER_01]: bidding board and the government contracting process.

[00:05:18] [SPEAKER_01]: But a lot of the small businesses didn't know that it was a thing.

[00:05:24] [SPEAKER_01]: So as we would put these different requirements out

[00:05:27] [SPEAKER_01]: in some for similar or the same things year after year,

[00:05:31] [SPEAKER_01]: I realized that the same companies were bidding on these things over and over again.

[00:05:35] [SPEAKER_01]: I'm like, why is that the case?

[00:05:37] [SPEAKER_01]: I know that there are more than 50 companies in the state of South Carolina.

[00:05:41] [SPEAKER_01]: Why are the same companies or vendors bidding on these products or the service?

[00:05:47] [SPEAKER_01]: So what I began to do is I've been beginning to do market research,

[00:05:50] [SPEAKER_01]: which all government contracting professionals are supposed to conduct market research.

[00:05:54] [SPEAKER_01]: Now, I'm going to admit.

[00:05:57] [SPEAKER_01]: Like any other profession, right?

[00:06:00] [SPEAKER_01]: You're not trying to spend your whole eight hour day conducting market research.

[00:06:04] [SPEAKER_01]: So the fastest way that you can get it done is the way that you're going to get it done.

[00:06:08] [SPEAKER_01]: So one market research tool that we would like we'd like to use is

[00:06:12] [SPEAKER_01]: it's called the dynamic small business search

[00:06:16] [SPEAKER_01]: school and that tool is managed by SBA, the Small Business Administration.

[00:06:22] [SPEAKER_01]: OK, now the key is a lot of people like to go and say,

[00:06:27] [SPEAKER_01]: and they don't want their information posted publicly.

[00:06:30] [SPEAKER_01]: Right? I get it because you may be operating from your home.

[00:06:33] [SPEAKER_01]: And if you're operating from your home, that means your home address

[00:06:36] [SPEAKER_01]: and all this other information about you is publicly posted.

[00:06:42] [SPEAKER_01]: A workaround to that is always listing your mailing address.

[00:06:47] [SPEAKER_01]: OK, and that mailing address could be a virtual address.

[00:06:51] [SPEAKER_01]: OK, OK, not necessarily your business address.

[00:06:53] [SPEAKER_01]: And if you have an address that you could use,

[00:06:56] [SPEAKER_01]: like you're operating out of out of a specific location

[00:07:00] [SPEAKER_01]: and it's an actual location, you want to you definitely want to use that address.

[00:07:04] [SPEAKER_01]: But the downside of not having your business

[00:07:08] [SPEAKER_01]: publicly available or publicly searchable is that

[00:07:13] [SPEAKER_01]: it doesn't automatically create this profile

[00:07:17] [SPEAKER_01]: that's required in the dynamic small business search tool.

[00:07:21] [SPEAKER_01]: So as government contracting professionals are during their market

[00:07:25] [SPEAKER_01]: research and looking for companies and businesses

[00:07:28] [SPEAKER_01]: that can fulfill their requirement, guess who they don't see?

[00:07:32] [SPEAKER_01]: They don't see you.

[00:07:34] [SPEAKER_01]: Because you have opted out of this public search.

[00:07:37] [SPEAKER_01]: So that's one of the downsides.

[00:07:38] [SPEAKER_01]: So you definitely have to weigh the pros and the cons of that.

[00:07:41] [SPEAKER_01]: But taking it back, so I would go in our research

[00:07:44] [SPEAKER_01]: in this marketing tool that we utilize

[00:07:47] [SPEAKER_01]: and I would identify all these other companies.

[00:07:49] [SPEAKER_01]: I'm like, why aren't these other companies bidding?

[00:07:52] [SPEAKER_01]: Or I would do a simple Google search for companies in the area

[00:07:56] [SPEAKER_01]: that could provide this particular that can meet this specific requirement,

[00:08:00] [SPEAKER_01]: i.e. provide the foreign refrigerators, right?

[00:08:03] [SPEAKER_01]: And I would call them and say, hey,

[00:08:06] [SPEAKER_01]: are you interested in doing business with the government?

[00:08:08] [SPEAKER_01]: And they'd be like, I thought that was only for large businesses.

[00:08:13] [SPEAKER_01]: So then I would have to give them the tools

[00:08:16] [SPEAKER_01]: to maneuver through that space.

[00:08:19] [SPEAKER_00]: OK, this is genius.

[00:08:22] [SPEAKER_00]: Genius, genius.

[00:08:23] [SPEAKER_00]: And I guarantee you probably do not even have that much competition

[00:08:27] [SPEAKER_00]: because I can't even see that because I can see why a lot of small business

[00:08:31] [SPEAKER_00]: owners would automatically think I'm not even going to waste my time.

[00:08:36] [SPEAKER_00]: I know I don't stand a chance against these big huge corporations.

[00:08:40] [SPEAKER_00]: So many of them, like if you don't play, you don't win, right?

[00:08:43] [SPEAKER_00]: Like exactly. Exactly.

[00:08:45] [SPEAKER_00]: A model. But that's that's amazing.

[00:08:48] [SPEAKER_00]: I've got to ask you, how did you get into this?

[00:08:50] [SPEAKER_00]: Because this is not like when you go to school,

[00:08:53] [SPEAKER_00]: like this is what I want to be when I grow up or they don't have the college.

[00:08:57] [SPEAKER_00]: How did you fall into this?

[00:08:58] [SPEAKER_00]: This is really interesting.

[00:09:00] [SPEAKER_01]: I I came into the career field where I am in the military

[00:09:04] [SPEAKER_01]: and so I spent eight and a half years on active duty.

[00:09:07] [SPEAKER_01]: And for those eight and a half years, I was in financial management.

[00:09:11] [SPEAKER_01]: Well, I wanted to continue my career in financial management.

[00:09:15] [SPEAKER_01]: But when I left active duty, I didn't I wasn't ready to give up

[00:09:19] [SPEAKER_01]: my military life quite yet.

[00:09:22] [SPEAKER_01]: I was nervous. It was the only thing I had done since I was 17.

[00:09:25] [SPEAKER_01]: And here I was, I think I was I might have been 28 at the time.

[00:09:31] [SPEAKER_01]: So here I was 17 to 28 and then take off some years

[00:09:35] [SPEAKER_01]: for undergrad in between.

[00:09:37] [SPEAKER_01]: I'm now coming out of the military.

[00:09:40] [SPEAKER_01]: I'm like, oh, I'm nervous.

[00:09:42] [SPEAKER_01]: I don't want to just jump out there without this, you know, safe haven

[00:09:47] [SPEAKER_01]: of the military quite yet.

[00:09:49] [SPEAKER_01]: So I joined the Army National Guard.

[00:09:52] [SPEAKER_01]: And so when I transitioned from active component, active duty

[00:09:55] [SPEAKER_01]: to the Army National Guard, they were like, I'm sorry, we don't have finance.

[00:10:00] [SPEAKER_01]: And I was like, OK, so what do you have?

[00:10:02] [SPEAKER_01]: They were like, oh, well, we have this new career field and it's called acquisition.

[00:10:07] [SPEAKER_01]: I was like, I heard a little bit about that.

[00:10:10] [SPEAKER_01]: Let me dabble in that.

[00:10:12] [SPEAKER_01]: That sounds like something I'm interested in.

[00:10:14] [SPEAKER_01]: And so that's how I came into the career field.

[00:10:16] [SPEAKER_01]: And when I tell you, it's one of the best decisions that I ever made.

[00:10:21] [SPEAKER_01]: That's amazing.

[00:10:23] [SPEAKER_00]: That's amazing. You were meant to go that route.

[00:10:25] [SPEAKER_00]: That is awesome.

[00:10:27] [SPEAKER_00]: I can't.

[00:10:27] [SPEAKER_00]: That is that is amazing because this is this is one of these fields

[00:10:31] [SPEAKER_00]: that I had never really heard of that.

[00:10:34] [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, your your profile really peaked my interest.

[00:10:38] [SPEAKER_00]: So that was one of the reasons why I wanted you on the show.

[00:10:40] [SPEAKER_00]: And I know that you could help out a lot of folks.

[00:10:43] [SPEAKER_00]: So I mean, you've already gone in depth about how you can help folks.

[00:10:46] [SPEAKER_00]: And by the way, thank you for your service before I.

[00:10:49] [SPEAKER_01]: You're welcome. Thank you for your support.

[00:10:51] [SPEAKER_00]: Yes, yes.

[00:10:52] [SPEAKER_00]: But I know a lot of folks are probably wondering

[00:10:55] [SPEAKER_00]: what are some of the myths that many people?

[00:10:58] [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, I just covered one of them, especially entrepreneurs

[00:11:02] [SPEAKER_00]: believe that are hurting their business.

[00:11:05] [SPEAKER_01]: I think oftentimes they think

[00:11:08] [SPEAKER_01]: when it comes to government contracting specifically,

[00:11:10] [SPEAKER_01]: they think that this is only for large businesses.

[00:11:14] [SPEAKER_01]: The government won't hire me.

[00:11:16] [SPEAKER_01]: I'm just a sole proprietor.

[00:11:18] [SPEAKER_01]: It's only me and one or other person.

[00:11:20] [SPEAKER_01]: So why would they hire me?

[00:11:22] [SPEAKER_01]: But the reality is the government buys anything

[00:11:24] [SPEAKER_01]: and everything from pens to battleships

[00:11:29] [SPEAKER_01]: in everything in between.

[00:11:30] [SPEAKER_01]: Wow. There are over four hundred

[00:11:34] [SPEAKER_01]: federal agencies.

[00:11:36] [SPEAKER_01]: So you can't even conjure up

[00:11:40] [SPEAKER_01]: all the things that they buy.

[00:11:43] [SPEAKER_01]: And there are there is something called set aside,

[00:11:47] [SPEAKER_01]: a small business set aside.

[00:11:49] [SPEAKER_01]: And the threshold for that is anything under two hundred and fifty thousand

[00:11:53] [SPEAKER_01]: dollars, anything under that's anticipated to be two hundred and fifty

[00:11:57] [SPEAKER_01]: thousand dollars or less is automatically set aside for small business.

[00:12:01] [SPEAKER_01]: So those are the things that large business can't even compete for.

[00:12:07] [SPEAKER_00]: OK, all of this is so hidden.

[00:12:10] [SPEAKER_00]: Why why is this not really made public?

[00:12:13] [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, I feel naive asking that question and I feel like I know what you're going to say.

[00:12:17] [SPEAKER_00]: But why is this not made more public?

[00:12:20] [SPEAKER_01]: Actually, it is public.

[00:12:22] [SPEAKER_01]: A lot of people are starting to be buried under a little.

[00:12:26] [SPEAKER_01]: Yes. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:12:27] [SPEAKER_01]: A lot of people are starting to talk about it more and more.

[00:12:30] [SPEAKER_01]: OK, called Gov Con.

[00:12:32] [SPEAKER_01]: And you have a lot of YouTube videos out there to talk about it.

[00:12:37] [SPEAKER_01]: A lot of individuals are taught and businesses are talking about it from a space

[00:12:41] [SPEAKER_01]: the space of a government contractor.

[00:12:44] [SPEAKER_01]: So they won contracts before or they they're consulting

[00:12:48] [SPEAKER_01]: and now they're consulting or they provide training to teach other small

[00:12:52] [SPEAKER_01]: businesses how to win in the space.

[00:12:54] [SPEAKER_01]: So there are there is a lot of information on YouTube.

[00:12:58] [SPEAKER_01]: Now here's the catch, though.

[00:13:00] [SPEAKER_01]: You know how that swamp get get a little dirty sometimes.

[00:13:04] [SPEAKER_00]: My it's just going to say not everybody needs a mic.

[00:13:07] [SPEAKER_01]: So I mean, get a little dirty sometimes.

[00:13:10] [SPEAKER_01]: So yeah.

[00:13:13] [SPEAKER_01]: There aren't many professionals like myself

[00:13:16] [SPEAKER_01]: that have been in the industry that are talking about it from a kind of

[00:13:21] [SPEAKER_01]: insider perspective.

[00:13:23] [SPEAKER_00]: That's why I said we have no competition.

[00:13:26] [SPEAKER_01]: And it's because a lot of people are still doing it.

[00:13:29] [SPEAKER_01]: So there is a fine line, right?

[00:13:32] [SPEAKER_01]: Of what you can tell to the public and what you keep in house.

[00:13:36] [SPEAKER_01]: And I think oftentimes a lot of professionals may have a hard time

[00:13:41] [SPEAKER_01]: like distinguishing or skirting that line without going over.

[00:13:45] [SPEAKER_01]: So oftentimes it's just kind of best to stay away from the line.

[00:13:49] [SPEAKER_01]: So yeah, I am.

[00:13:52] [SPEAKER_01]: Although I'm I'm still a government contracting professional.

[00:13:56] [SPEAKER_01]: I no longer award contracts.

[00:13:59] [SPEAKER_00]: Oh, OK. OK.

[00:14:00] [SPEAKER_01]: So yeah, I'm no longer in the position to wear contracts.

[00:14:04] [SPEAKER_01]: Don't get me wrong.

[00:14:05] [SPEAKER_01]: I guess I shouldn't say I'm not in the position because I am in the position.

[00:14:09] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I just don't do it anymore.

[00:14:13] [SPEAKER_00]: Is there a reason for that or you just it's more exciting on this side?

[00:14:18] [SPEAKER_01]: No, I'm just at the point in my career

[00:14:20] [SPEAKER_01]: in in the military because I'm still in

[00:14:26] [SPEAKER_01]: I am in the Army National Guard, so I am still an active service member.

[00:14:31] [SPEAKER_01]: OK, I'm just at the point in my military career where I don't.

[00:14:36] [SPEAKER_01]: I'm more of on the strategic planning training side

[00:14:40] [SPEAKER_01]: that I don't physically award government contracts anymore.

[00:14:46] [SPEAKER_01]: And so OK, manifest was created primarily to educate small business owners.

[00:14:53] [SPEAKER_01]: And so that's why it started off as a non.

[00:14:57] [SPEAKER_01]: That's why it is, I shouldn't say start off.

[00:14:59] [SPEAKER_01]: That's why it is a nonprofit organization

[00:15:01] [SPEAKER_01]: because the primary purpose is to educate small business owners.

[00:15:05] [SPEAKER_01]: Now we may offer training, we may offer workshop,

[00:15:07] [SPEAKER_01]: and there may be some other things that come available through manifest.

[00:15:12] [SPEAKER_01]: But the primary purpose is education.

[00:15:15] [SPEAKER_01]: So you may find a lot of resources via our website,

[00:15:19] [SPEAKER_01]: our Facebook group, that type of thing.

[00:15:22] [SPEAKER_00]: That is absolutely amazing.

[00:15:24] [SPEAKER_00]: Again, I knew you were going to you've dropped so many gems and it hasn't even been.

[00:15:30] [SPEAKER_00]: 15 minutes.

[00:15:32] [SPEAKER_00]: I'm sitting over here like Tyria, I apologize.

[00:15:37] [SPEAKER_00]: But you have dropped so many gems.

[00:15:39] [SPEAKER_00]: And so I'm sitting up here thinking so much of business is built on who you know,

[00:15:45] [SPEAKER_00]: instead of necessarily what you know, right?

[00:15:48] [SPEAKER_00]: So a lot of people may be under the impression

[00:15:53] [SPEAKER_00]: that, you know, this may be the case when searching for a government contract.

[00:15:58] [SPEAKER_00]: So what are your thoughts regarding how important your network

[00:16:02] [SPEAKER_00]: and your networking skills are in securing a government contract?

[00:16:07] [SPEAKER_00]: Does that really play a role?

[00:16:10] [SPEAKER_01]: It absolutely does

[00:16:13] [SPEAKER_01]: because some people have the mindset when they create a business

[00:16:17] [SPEAKER_01]: that the business is going the idea is going to sell itself.

[00:16:24] [SPEAKER_00]: Without the market research, as someone that's my background is market research.

[00:16:29] [SPEAKER_00]: So yeah, you're absolutely right on that.

[00:16:31] [SPEAKER_01]: The idea is going to sell itself.

[00:16:34] [SPEAKER_01]: And then they have this mentality that

[00:16:40] [SPEAKER_01]: I have a good enough product

[00:16:43] [SPEAKER_01]: that I don't have to market.

[00:16:45] [SPEAKER_01]: The people are going to come to me.

[00:16:47] [SPEAKER_00]: Oh, yeah. If you build it, they will come.

[00:16:49] [SPEAKER_01]: It is.

[00:16:50] [SPEAKER_01]: And so the reality is, even in your contract, you have to market.

[00:16:56] [SPEAKER_01]: You have to have your website because I'm going to tell you what I used to do

[00:17:00] [SPEAKER_01]: as a government contracting specialist or government contracting officer

[00:17:03] [SPEAKER_01]: when I'm looking for small businesses.

[00:17:06] [SPEAKER_01]: I'm going if you send me

[00:17:09] [SPEAKER_01]: because small businesses send out what's called capability statement

[00:17:13] [SPEAKER_01]: statement and it's to a flyer with a narrative telling

[00:17:17] [SPEAKER_01]: what you do, how you can help, the type of services or products

[00:17:21] [SPEAKER_01]: you provide kind of thing in the snapshot.

[00:17:24] [SPEAKER_01]: And so those are flooded into contracting professionals in boxes.

[00:17:31] [SPEAKER_01]: And if there was a requirement that I had and I recall seeing

[00:17:37] [SPEAKER_01]: a business that sent me their capability statement,

[00:17:40] [SPEAKER_01]: they may be able to fulfill the requirement.

[00:17:42] [SPEAKER_01]: I would go to their capability statement.

[00:17:44] [SPEAKER_01]: I will find out who the company is.

[00:17:46] [SPEAKER_01]: I will go to Google and I will Google their names to see what popped up.

[00:17:51] [SPEAKER_01]: Sometimes people did not have a website.

[00:17:55] [SPEAKER_01]: So they were trying to get a government contract without a website?

[00:18:00] [SPEAKER_01]: Yes, right, wrong or indifferent.

[00:18:02] [SPEAKER_01]: It is at the discretion of the contracting professional

[00:18:05] [SPEAKER_01]: on how they just how they go about market research

[00:18:11] [SPEAKER_01]: as long as they're conducting market research.

[00:18:14] [SPEAKER_01]: So if you have a website, if you don't have a website,

[00:18:18] [SPEAKER_01]: oftentimes you're probably going to be passed over

[00:18:22] [SPEAKER_01]: because your website says so much about you.

[00:18:27] [SPEAKER_01]: There's so there is a lot more information I can get from your website

[00:18:31] [SPEAKER_01]: that I didn't get from your capability statement.

[00:18:36] [SPEAKER_01]: And I don't want to have to take 15 minutes out of my day to call you.

[00:18:42] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, you're out.

[00:18:44] [SPEAKER_01]: So it's about in previously we talked about not making yourself

[00:18:48] [SPEAKER_01]: searchable or public in Sam.

[00:18:52] [SPEAKER_01]: If I go to the dynamic small business search tool

[00:18:56] [SPEAKER_01]: and you don't populate, I'm not going to consider you.

[00:19:02] [SPEAKER_01]: So that using making your business public in Sam

[00:19:08] [SPEAKER_01]: gets you that dynamic small business search profile.

[00:19:13] [SPEAKER_01]: Mm hmm. That contracting professionals are utilizing

[00:19:17] [SPEAKER_01]: or pulling from when they go into the system to conduct market research.

[00:19:21] [SPEAKER_01]: Now they can see you.

[00:19:23] [SPEAKER_01]: So for for businesses that is a part of their market.

[00:19:27] [SPEAKER_01]: That should be a part of their marketing strategy, a free way to market.

[00:19:31] [SPEAKER_01]: You don't even have to do nothing for it.

[00:19:32] [SPEAKER_01]: All you have to do is click the right button.

[00:19:35] [SPEAKER_00]: Wow. OK, so now I got other questions.

[00:19:38] [SPEAKER_00]: So how one is there an expiration date

[00:19:42] [SPEAKER_00]: and do you have to renew every year?

[00:19:44] [SPEAKER_00]: And then what type of businesses are governments looking for to do business?

[00:19:51] [SPEAKER_01]: So with Sam, you do have to register every year.

[00:19:56] [SPEAKER_01]: Oh, please.

[00:19:57] [SPEAKER_01]: It is a government managed system is managed by the General Service

[00:20:01] [SPEAKER_01]: Administration, GSA, and it is free to register.

[00:20:07] [SPEAKER_00]: Wow. I would know.

[00:20:08] [SPEAKER_01]: There are companies out there who will register you if you want to have a hands off approach.

[00:20:14] [SPEAKER_01]: OK, there are companies who will charge you to register you.

[00:20:17] [SPEAKER_01]: But you is.

[00:20:19] [SPEAKER_01]: Every business owner is fully capable of registering themselves.

[00:20:23] [SPEAKER_01]: Say it. It is free and you just renew every year.

[00:20:29] [SPEAKER_01]: And if something in your business changes, then you go and update

[00:20:33] [SPEAKER_01]: your registration. Wow.

[00:20:36] [SPEAKER_00]: This is this is super interesting.

[00:20:40] [SPEAKER_00]: I'm sorry, I know a lot of folks are probably

[00:20:45] [SPEAKER_00]: just as in all as I am.

[00:20:46] [SPEAKER_00]: This is information that is not

[00:20:50] [SPEAKER_00]: freely shared in my opinion by someone capable such as yourself

[00:20:54] [SPEAKER_00]: because you have the background, the inside knowledge.

[00:20:57] [SPEAKER_00]: I don't think a lot of folks on YouTube have that, right?

[00:21:00] [SPEAKER_00]: So I'm just sitting here like this is crazy.

[00:21:02] [SPEAKER_00]: So you would be the best person to answer this next question.

[00:21:05] [SPEAKER_00]: So what's the best way for a business to prepare themselves

[00:21:09] [SPEAKER_00]: if they want to secure a government contract?

[00:21:12] [SPEAKER_00]: So we touched on the website, which to me is still slightly.

[00:21:18] [SPEAKER_00]: You know what? Disturbing it was the first word.

[00:21:22] [SPEAKER_00]: I'm sorry.

[00:21:24] [SPEAKER_00]: The first word that popped in my head was disturbing.

[00:21:28] [SPEAKER_00]: Don't understand how you don't have a website at this point in time.

[00:21:31] [SPEAKER_00]: Like there's so many different companies like Mailer Light, Mailchimp,

[00:21:36] [SPEAKER_00]: all these other companies that have, hey, here's a free site part

[00:21:41] [SPEAKER_00]: in these platforms.

[00:21:43] [SPEAKER_00]: I know Mailer Light does so I just that is astounding to me.

[00:21:47] [SPEAKER_00]: So anyway, long story made short.

[00:21:53] [SPEAKER_01]: Some things that will help business owners

[00:21:58] [SPEAKER_01]: prepare themselves are when government contracts.

[00:22:00] [SPEAKER_01]: I don't like to say when government contracts

[00:22:02] [SPEAKER_01]: because all that could be subjective, right?

[00:22:04] [SPEAKER_01]: Based on the how that, how the evaluator, the individual

[00:22:10] [SPEAKER_01]: that is evaluating the proposals, what factors they're using,

[00:22:16] [SPEAKER_01]: how they view your company.

[00:22:17] [SPEAKER_01]: So some of that is a little subjective.

[00:22:20] [SPEAKER_01]: So I don't like to say when because nothing really guarantees you a win.

[00:22:24] [SPEAKER_01]: True. But the way that you can set business owners

[00:22:27] [SPEAKER_01]: can set themselves or entrepreneurs can set themselves up for success

[00:22:31] [SPEAKER_01]: in the field of government contracting is.

[00:22:34] [SPEAKER_01]: One, make sure your research searchable.

[00:22:39] [SPEAKER_01]: Whether that be Google Sam, the dynamic small business search tool.

[00:22:48] [SPEAKER_01]: Now, when you register in Sam, it will automatically create a profile for you.

[00:22:54] [SPEAKER_01]: If you stay public, it will automatically create a profile

[00:22:58] [SPEAKER_01]: for you in the dynamic small business search tool.

[00:23:02] [SPEAKER_01]: OK, just through your Sam registration.

[00:23:05] [SPEAKER_01]: Now, what you have to do is you have to go back directly

[00:23:09] [SPEAKER_01]: to that search tool and update your registration registration.

[00:23:14] [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, an update your profile because it's going to only pull information

[00:23:17] [SPEAKER_01]: from Sam and a lot of that information is

[00:23:21] [SPEAKER_01]: is there, but there is more information

[00:23:24] [SPEAKER_01]: that is required in the search tool.

[00:23:26] [SPEAKER_01]: So you want to go, you want to claim your profile, so to speak.

[00:23:30] [SPEAKER_01]: OK, you want to claim your profile and then you want to update that profile.

[00:23:34] [SPEAKER_01]: With information that you think is going to highlight your skills and abilities more.

[00:23:39] [SPEAKER_01]: So you want to definitely want to make yourself searchable.

[00:23:43] [SPEAKER_01]: Whether that be Google Sam or the dynamics,

[00:23:47] [SPEAKER_01]: small business search tool and you want to be and known as an industry expert.

[00:23:52] [SPEAKER_01]: You want to be the subject matter expert in your field,

[00:23:56] [SPEAKER_01]: whether that's products you're selling services you're selling, you're providing.

[00:24:01] [SPEAKER_01]: And the reason why I say that is it makes it easier when you're doing pricing.

[00:24:06] [SPEAKER_01]: If you're trying to submit a proposal or a quote

[00:24:10] [SPEAKER_01]: when an industry you know nothing about, it's hard to price that.

[00:24:14] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. Yeah.

[00:24:17] [SPEAKER_00]: Although, you know, there's some folks out there, I'll learn as I go.

[00:24:20] [SPEAKER_00]: Just like no.

[00:24:22] [SPEAKER_01]: And you may win a contract that way.

[00:24:25] [SPEAKER_01]: But the key is you want to be a repeat offender.

[00:24:29] [SPEAKER_01]: You want to win and keep winning.

[00:24:31] [SPEAKER_01]: Yes, comes through strategy.

[00:24:33] [SPEAKER_01]: No strategy.

[00:24:35] [SPEAKER_01]: You don't want to just be winging it every time because now that means every time

[00:24:40] [SPEAKER_01]: you're tweaking something, you want to get to the point where

[00:24:44] [SPEAKER_01]: you develop a strategy that is a known successful strategy

[00:24:49] [SPEAKER_01]: and be able to repeat that over and over and over again to win government contracts.

[00:24:55] [SPEAKER_01]: And so becoming an industry expert because that makes pricing easier.

[00:25:02] [SPEAKER_01]: OK, you're not out here saying, OK, I'm just going to add 30% to that.

[00:25:08] [SPEAKER_01]: Well, do you know if 30% really covers your labor?

[00:25:12] [SPEAKER_01]: Indirect costs, DNA overhead profit.

[00:25:15] [SPEAKER_01]: Do you really know 30% covers all of these things?

[00:25:18] [SPEAKER_01]: Right. You just threw a figure out there.

[00:25:21] [SPEAKER_00]: And so people underbidding themselves just, you know, I tell people all the time

[00:25:27] [SPEAKER_00]: if you're going to bid on price, that's a race to the bottom, right?

[00:25:31] [SPEAKER_00]: So that's that's so key what you just said.

[00:25:34] [SPEAKER_00]: Yes. Slap in 30%.

[00:25:36] [SPEAKER_00]: Does that that's not really cover it?

[00:25:38] [SPEAKER_01]: That's right, because either way, the government is going to hold you liable.

[00:25:42] [SPEAKER_01]: They don't care if you're short.

[00:25:46] [SPEAKER_01]: The work that you promise to perform or the product that you promise to deliver,

[00:25:51] [SPEAKER_01]: they're still going to want that and excuse will not be.

[00:25:54] [SPEAKER_01]: Oh, I underbid, all right, so myself short.

[00:25:57] [SPEAKER_01]: Oh, no, you just had a pocket on it.

[00:26:02] [SPEAKER_00]: And I can only imagine what the consequences would be for that.

[00:26:07] [SPEAKER_01]: And you don't want to ruin your business's reputation, right?

[00:26:11] [SPEAKER_01]: Because there they have we do performance reports, so to speak.

[00:26:19] [SPEAKER_01]: Once the contract is over, we are going to a system.

[00:26:23] [SPEAKER_01]: There are different systems, but we can go into a system and kind of rate your performance

[00:26:27] [SPEAKER_01]: so that now other contracting agencies can go into that system

[00:26:31] [SPEAKER_01]: and they can pull and see what your performance was like

[00:26:35] [SPEAKER_01]: on previous contracts.

[00:26:37] [SPEAKER_01]: So you don't want to ruin your reputation, right?

[00:26:40] [SPEAKER_01]: By underbidding and then not being able to perform

[00:26:44] [SPEAKER_01]: services or provide the product.

[00:26:48] [SPEAKER_01]: Or you don't want to be terminated for default because we are talking about government

[00:26:52] [SPEAKER_01]: contracts, we are talking about legal binding contracts.

[00:26:56] [SPEAKER_01]: So you don't want to be what we call T for D termination for default either.

[00:27:01] [SPEAKER_00]: Oh, OK, OK, OK.

[00:27:05] [SPEAKER_00]: And actually, this is a good segue into my next question.

[00:27:08] [SPEAKER_00]: I was just curious, what are your thoughts regarding like the bidding process?

[00:27:13] [SPEAKER_00]: So what are the different components that folks can expect to go through

[00:27:17] [SPEAKER_00]: when trying to not necessarily keep wanting to say when the contract,

[00:27:23] [SPEAKER_00]: but, you know, be granted that contract, if you will.

[00:27:26] [SPEAKER_01]: Absolutely. And that's a great question because there are several steps

[00:27:32] [SPEAKER_01]: in government contracting.

[00:27:35] [SPEAKER_01]: This the proposal preparation phase

[00:27:39] [SPEAKER_01]: is a step in what we like to call the pre award phase.

[00:27:44] [SPEAKER_01]: And that's everything that takes place before the contract is actually awarded.

[00:27:50] [SPEAKER_01]: And so for business owners who are seeking government contracts,

[00:27:54] [SPEAKER_01]: the first thing you got to do is find them.

[00:27:57] [SPEAKER_01]: OK, so you may be asking, where are they located?

[00:28:00] [SPEAKER_01]: Remember that public bidding board?

[00:28:02] [SPEAKER_01]: Yes, Sam, you can search that and you can find government contracts

[00:28:08] [SPEAKER_01]: within your industry.

[00:28:10] [SPEAKER_01]: And there are different fields that you can search by.

[00:28:12] [SPEAKER_01]: You can search by a specific keyword.

[00:28:16] [SPEAKER_01]: You can search by a specific industry.

[00:28:20] [SPEAKER_01]: You can search by a specific agency, a specific location. Wow.

[00:28:25] [SPEAKER_01]: So the first thing you want to do is find something that you think

[00:28:30] [SPEAKER_01]: you are capable of doing a product you're capable of providing

[00:28:35] [SPEAKER_01]: or a service you're capable of providing.

[00:28:38] [SPEAKER_01]: Once you find that item.

[00:28:41] [SPEAKER_01]: You're going to read the solicitation, right?

[00:28:46] [SPEAKER_01]: OK. That that is that that particular requirement is based off of.

[00:28:52] [SPEAKER_01]: And when you read that solicitation, there's some key points

[00:28:56] [SPEAKER_01]: you need to read in that solicitation.

[00:28:58] [SPEAKER_01]: You need to read the statement of work or performance of work

[00:29:01] [SPEAKER_01]: that's going to tell you exactly what the government is asking for.

[00:29:08] [SPEAKER_01]: You need to read the

[00:29:10] [SPEAKER_01]: the

[00:29:16] [SPEAKER_01]: it's called the pricing sheet, which is usually on the second page

[00:29:21] [SPEAKER_01]: somewhere around Section B because government contracts generally

[00:29:25] [SPEAKER_01]: they are supposed to be standardized.

[00:29:27] [SPEAKER_01]: Every section should be the same across every agency.

[00:29:31] [SPEAKER_01]: Now you won't always get it that way, but that's how it should be done.

[00:29:36] [SPEAKER_01]: So there is a section that identifies what you're actually going to be

[00:29:41] [SPEAKER_01]: bidding on submitting a proposal or quote.

[00:29:45] [SPEAKER_01]: In that section, you want to really look at it to see

[00:29:50] [SPEAKER_01]: if you can provide that that good, that product or that service.

[00:29:55] [SPEAKER_01]: And then because that section is going to tell you actually what your price

[00:29:59] [SPEAKER_01]: is based off of, it will also tell you whether that they're expecting

[00:30:03] [SPEAKER_01]: you to do that monthly, hourly, a one time deal, lump sum.

[00:30:08] [SPEAKER_00]: Oh, wow.

[00:30:10] [SPEAKER_00]: That details struck me with the hourly.

[00:30:14] [SPEAKER_00]: They're actually looking for labor.

[00:30:16] [SPEAKER_01]: Our contracts. Absolutely.

[00:30:18] [SPEAKER_01]: Yes, ma'am, where people are providing services

[00:30:22] [SPEAKER_01]: and what was called non-person personal services.

[00:30:26] [SPEAKER_01]: They're literally providing staff for a specific requirement.

[00:30:32] [SPEAKER_01]: It could be administrative.

[00:30:33] [SPEAKER_01]: It can be construction.

[00:30:35] [SPEAKER_01]: It can be any.

[00:30:36] [SPEAKER_01]: It could be medical.

[00:30:38] [SPEAKER_00]: Wow.

[00:30:39] [SPEAKER_00]: OK, my mind is blown by that.

[00:30:42] [SPEAKER_00]: That is crazy.

[00:30:44] [SPEAKER_00]: So you have all these folks out here.

[00:30:48] [SPEAKER_00]: OK, hopefully some some folks that are listening, go get that job.

[00:30:53] [SPEAKER_00]: My job.

[00:30:54] [SPEAKER_00]: You guys have a lot of folks out here unemployed

[00:30:57] [SPEAKER_00]: and you're telling me they got stuff available hourly to hourly.

[00:31:01] [SPEAKER_01]: They got it's hourly for the businesses.

[00:31:04] [SPEAKER_01]: So what the businesses do is the business is bid.

[00:31:07] [SPEAKER_01]: And then they hire employees to work the contract.

[00:31:12] [SPEAKER_00]: That's still, I mean, man,

[00:31:15] [SPEAKER_00]: well, you said that folks could be so profiter.

[00:31:18] [SPEAKER_00]: So essentially, yeah, they can.

[00:31:19] [SPEAKER_00]: Absolutely.

[00:31:20] [SPEAKER_00]: Like that's still.

[00:31:21] [SPEAKER_00]: Man, that's crazy.

[00:31:23] [SPEAKER_00]: Yes.

[00:31:24] [SPEAKER_01]: It is the last section.

[00:31:26] [SPEAKER_01]: I like to tell people about that they need to make sure that they read

[00:31:28] [SPEAKER_01]: in the contract is a section called instructions to offers.

[00:31:32] [SPEAKER_01]: Keyword instructions to offers is going to tell you everything

[00:31:35] [SPEAKER_01]: that you need to do to successfully submit a quote or proposal

[00:31:40] [SPEAKER_01]: in response to that solicitation.

[00:31:44] [SPEAKER_01]: And whatever the government is asking for,

[00:31:47] [SPEAKER_01]: provide them exactly what they're asking you for.

[00:31:51] [SPEAKER_01]: If you don't understand if there's a question that you have,

[00:31:55] [SPEAKER_01]: usually in a solicitation, there may be a Q&A period.

[00:31:59] [SPEAKER_01]: And they'll say, if you have any questions,

[00:32:00] [SPEAKER_01]: please provide your questions to this email, this location,

[00:32:04] [SPEAKER_01]: this individual by this date.

[00:32:06] [SPEAKER_01]: If you have a question, you need to make sure that you ask it by that date.

[00:32:12] [SPEAKER_00]: Wow.

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[00:33:03] [SPEAKER_01]: So those are some key pieces to help you help small businesses

[00:33:08] [SPEAKER_01]: position themselves or be prepared for the bidding process.

[00:33:12] [SPEAKER_01]: That solicitation is key and you got to read it.

[00:33:15] [SPEAKER_01]: Sometimes they be 150 pages.

[00:33:17] [SPEAKER_00]: Oh, wow, really? OK.

[00:33:19] [SPEAKER_01]: Yes. The key piece of information I just gave you are going to help you start

[00:33:24] [SPEAKER_01]: to be able to even identify.

[00:33:27] [SPEAKER_01]: Is this something that you're ready to embark on?

[00:33:30] [SPEAKER_01]: Because you don't want to read 150 pages to find out.

[00:33:33] [SPEAKER_01]: I ain't even into this.

[00:33:35] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah. Yeah. Don't waste the time like that.

[00:33:38] Yeah.

[00:33:40] [SPEAKER_00]: That is so true. OK, so how long?

[00:33:44] [SPEAKER_00]: All sorts of questions.

[00:33:45] [SPEAKER_00]: So how long can this whole process

[00:33:48] [SPEAKER_00]: take? Is it a year?

[00:33:50] [SPEAKER_00]: Is it a couple months? Is it I'm sure it depends its contingent on

[00:33:55] [SPEAKER_00]: the position itself that you're trying to go for?

[00:33:58] [SPEAKER_00]: But how long is this whole process?

[00:34:00] [SPEAKER_01]: So depending on what the requirement is,

[00:34:03] [SPEAKER_01]: it can go anywhere from a couple of weeks

[00:34:07] [SPEAKER_01]: to a couple of years.

[00:34:09] [SPEAKER_01]: Oh, wow.

[00:34:11] [SPEAKER_01]: And a couple of years is usually more complex

[00:34:15] [SPEAKER_01]: requirements, i.e. they're trying to do

[00:34:17] [SPEAKER_01]: D.O.D. is changing its entire enterprise.

[00:34:21] [SPEAKER_01]: You know, that may take a couple of years because it's such a huge

[00:34:24] [SPEAKER_01]: organization, that's a lot of work, that's a lot of strategy

[00:34:28] [SPEAKER_01]: that goes into that so on and so forth.

[00:34:30] [SPEAKER_01]: So usually your complex, your years worth of projects

[00:34:34] [SPEAKER_01]: are going to be that, you know, the development of a new

[00:34:38] [SPEAKER_01]: aircraft. That's going to be years in a making.

[00:34:41] [SPEAKER_01]: Sure. Sure. Now, if we're talking about.

[00:34:48] [SPEAKER_01]: Purchasing furniture,

[00:34:50] [SPEAKER_01]: you know, outfitting in office or moving

[00:34:53] [SPEAKER_01]: an agency from one location to the next, that may be done in 30 days.

[00:34:58] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I just.

[00:35:00] [SPEAKER_00]: It's mind blowing to me that these are things that they're looking for.

[00:35:05] [SPEAKER_00]: I just never thought about that.

[00:35:08] [SPEAKER_00]: And I'm sure I'm not the only one.

[00:35:09] [SPEAKER_00]: I just never thought about things like that.

[00:35:13] [SPEAKER_00]: I just thought they had they hired their own staff or you know, they mean

[00:35:16] [SPEAKER_00]: like it's just that's crazy.

[00:35:19] [SPEAKER_01]: I've already contracts for meals, catered meals.

[00:35:27] [SPEAKER_01]: OK, I've I've awarded contracts for fuel.

[00:35:32] [SPEAKER_00]: So you know what I'm going to do after this little interview?

[00:35:37] [SPEAKER_00]: I'm going to take my stuff on down to that.

[00:35:40] [SPEAKER_00]: Go ahead and start applying because that just that's it.

[00:35:43] [SPEAKER_00]: That's insane to me. That really is.

[00:35:46] [SPEAKER_00]: This is this is fantastic information.

[00:35:48] [SPEAKER_00]: So I've learned so much and you've been so kind to show us

[00:35:53] [SPEAKER_00]: all these different phases.

[00:35:54] [SPEAKER_00]: But what are some of the obstacles

[00:35:57] [SPEAKER_00]: that business owners will encounter during the process?

[00:36:01] [SPEAKER_00]: Although to me, you nailed it pretty good.

[00:36:04] [SPEAKER_00]: It sounds like follow the instructions, right?

[00:36:07] [SPEAKER_00]: But is that one of the major things just reading?

[00:36:11] [SPEAKER_01]: That's a lot of things people get wrong.

[00:36:15] [SPEAKER_01]: OK, just not simply not reading because because in here's

[00:36:20] [SPEAKER_01]: like reading is so important because you can submit a proposal

[00:36:24] [SPEAKER_01]: and you have one thing that you didn't pay attention to,

[00:36:28] [SPEAKER_01]: that you overlooked.

[00:36:29] [SPEAKER_01]: That was a part of that instructions to offers.

[00:36:32] [SPEAKER_01]: And when you submit your proposal, you neglect to do that.

[00:36:35] [SPEAKER_01]: Guess where your proposal goes now?

[00:36:38] [SPEAKER_01]: Trash, yeah, it is like that.

[00:36:43] [SPEAKER_00]: Tight. That would hurt my soul.

[00:36:46] [SPEAKER_00]: So are they like actually looking for every little check box?

[00:36:49] [SPEAKER_01]: Oh, absolutely. Yes, ma'am.

[00:36:51] [SPEAKER_01]: Because what they are trying to avoid is a protest

[00:36:57] [SPEAKER_01]: and a protest is where another

[00:37:01] [SPEAKER_01]: another interested party can come back and say, oh, well,

[00:37:06] [SPEAKER_01]: that person submitted a bid somehow some way businesses talk.

[00:37:12] [SPEAKER_01]: They may find out that person submitted a bid,

[00:37:14] [SPEAKER_01]: but they were not in the proper industry

[00:37:16] [SPEAKER_01]: or they submitted a bid and they were talking

[00:37:20] [SPEAKER_01]: in cahoots with this organization or they submitted a bid

[00:37:24] [SPEAKER_01]: and they won the contract.

[00:37:26] [SPEAKER_01]: But yet they didn't have this requirement

[00:37:29] [SPEAKER_01]: and that requirement was part of the solicitation.

[00:37:35] [SPEAKER_01]: And so when they do that, they can protest to the contracting officer

[00:37:38] [SPEAKER_01]: at the agency to say, hey, there was foul play, so to speak, in a nice way

[00:37:44] [SPEAKER_01]: or they can take that protest to

[00:37:49] [SPEAKER_01]: GL, which is the government accounting office, organization office.

[00:37:54] [SPEAKER_01]: And they're the ones, they're like the legal counsel.

[00:37:58] [SPEAKER_01]: Because they'll be the ones that decide

[00:38:02] [SPEAKER_01]: if they receive that particular protest.

[00:38:06] [SPEAKER_01]: Sometimes they'll send it back down to the agency.

[00:38:08] [SPEAKER_01]: Sometimes they'll make the decision for themselves.

[00:38:09] [SPEAKER_01]: They're like the arbitrators, the mediators.

[00:38:12] [SPEAKER_00]: OK, OK, OK.

[00:38:15] [SPEAKER_01]: So agencies are definitely trying to avoid the protest

[00:38:19] [SPEAKER_01]: because the moment they get a protest, whatever it was

[00:38:22] [SPEAKER_01]: that they were attempting to buy is now on pause

[00:38:26] [SPEAKER_01]: until they resolve the issue, which could cost them hundreds

[00:38:30] [SPEAKER_01]: to thousands of millions of dollars

[00:38:33] [SPEAKER_01]: depending on what the requirement is. Wow.

[00:38:38] [SPEAKER_00]: So they're not in a position to get what they need.

[00:38:41] [SPEAKER_00]: And at the same time, they're being penalized

[00:38:44] [SPEAKER_00]: because another company had a, you know,

[00:38:48] [SPEAKER_00]: whether it be rightfully so or not, they have a protest.

[00:38:51] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. Are there penalties to that?

[00:38:55] [SPEAKER_00]: If they are found to be incorrect, like that protest was raised incorrectly.

[00:39:02] [SPEAKER_01]: Yes, there can be penalties.

[00:39:04] [SPEAKER_01]: Usually they are not applied, but there can be depending

[00:39:07] [SPEAKER_01]: on the severity of the work that was held up.

[00:39:11] [SPEAKER_00]: OK, yeah. Right.

[00:39:14] [SPEAKER_01]: So but also the government is not trying to

[00:39:20] [SPEAKER_01]: make small businesses bankrupt either.

[00:39:22] [SPEAKER_01]: Sure. I mean, yeah. OK.

[00:39:25] [SPEAKER_01]: So what penalty would you assess a small business owner

[00:39:30] [SPEAKER_01]: on something that you've lost millions of dollars for?

[00:39:34] [SPEAKER_01]: And that small business owner make two hundred thousand dollars a year.

[00:39:37] [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, you know, I can see.

[00:39:39] [SPEAKER_00]: I see what you're saying. I see what you're saying.

[00:39:41] [SPEAKER_01]: Yes. So yes.

[00:39:46] [SPEAKER_00]: That is that is wild.

[00:39:49] [SPEAKER_00]: OK, so what are some tactics to help

[00:39:53] [SPEAKER_00]: owners who may encounter gatekeepers along the way?

[00:39:58] [SPEAKER_00]: So I mean, let's be honest, it's the government.

[00:40:03] [SPEAKER_00]: Let's try to, you know, start anything, but it's the government.

[00:40:06] [SPEAKER_00]: So there may be some gatekeepers, folks that are very slow to

[00:40:12] [SPEAKER_00]: make progress continue to happen.

[00:40:14] [SPEAKER_00]: Like what can a small business owner do to keep the process going?

[00:40:20] [SPEAKER_01]: So I love telling small business owners,

[00:40:24] [SPEAKER_01]: go see the SBA office within your region.

[00:40:29] [SPEAKER_01]: They're going to when you register with them, they'll assign you a coach

[00:40:32] [SPEAKER_01]: or a counselor that will help you maneuver through this space.

[00:40:37] [SPEAKER_01]: Is that for it is free? It is free.

[00:40:43] [SPEAKER_01]: And SBA also has a small business administration also has

[00:40:48] [SPEAKER_01]: trainings and workshops. Some of them are free.

[00:40:50] [SPEAKER_01]: Some of them are not. OK.

[00:40:54] [SPEAKER_01]: And they will help you maneuver through this space.

[00:40:57] [SPEAKER_01]: I'm going to come back to why the SBA is important.

[00:41:00] [SPEAKER_01]: There's also an agency called Apex, Apex Accelerator.

[00:41:04] [SPEAKER_01]: They used to be P-Tex, the procurement technical assistance centers.

[00:41:09] [SPEAKER_01]: And those that's they are funded by the federal government

[00:41:12] [SPEAKER_01]: to help small businesses maneuver through the world of government contracting.

[00:41:16] [SPEAKER_01]: So they have technicians at their locations

[00:41:20] [SPEAKER_01]: that are knowledgeable, that will assist you through the government contracting process.

[00:41:24] [SPEAKER_01]: Now, I will caveat both of those organizations by saying this.

[00:41:28] [SPEAKER_01]: They're only as good as their knowledge as a whole is only as good

[00:41:32] [SPEAKER_01]: as the individuals that work in them.

[00:41:35] [SPEAKER_01]: So if you've got to get somebody in there that's never been in the government

[00:41:38] [SPEAKER_01]: contracting space, the knowledge they give you, I mean,

[00:41:42] [SPEAKER_01]: take it with a grain of salt, right? Yeah.

[00:41:44] [SPEAKER_01]: And so there will be regions that are more

[00:41:51] [SPEAKER_01]: helpful than others because of the level of expertise

[00:41:56] [SPEAKER_01]: that they have working within their organization.

[00:41:59] [SPEAKER_01]: Gotcha. Gotcha.

[00:42:01] [SPEAKER_01]: So going back to SBA, so that's SBA, Small Business Administration

[00:42:05] [SPEAKER_01]: and the Apex Accelerators.

[00:42:07] [SPEAKER_01]: They used to be the P-Tex procurement technical assistance centers.

[00:42:12] [SPEAKER_01]: Now, the SBAs are important because

[00:42:16] [SPEAKER_01]: remember what I said?

[00:42:17] [SPEAKER_01]: Everything, two hundred and fifty thousand dollars a lesson is automatically set aside

[00:42:20] [SPEAKER_01]: for a small business.

[00:42:21] [SPEAKER_01]: That is based on statute. OK.

[00:42:25] [SPEAKER_01]: So when we talk about subjective and objective,

[00:42:29] [SPEAKER_01]: nobody cares about your opinion or what you think concerning that.

[00:42:33] [SPEAKER_01]: OK, it is law.

[00:42:35] [SPEAKER_01]: OK. And because of this law, the SBA monitors that.

[00:42:40] [SPEAKER_01]: So if there is a small business that is in their program that they think

[00:42:44] [SPEAKER_01]: so there could be a set aside, there could be a woman on set aside.

[00:42:48] [SPEAKER_01]: There could be a hub zone, which is the historically underutilized business zone.

[00:42:55] [SPEAKER_01]: So your business could literally your headquarters could literally be

[00:42:59] [SPEAKER_01]: in a historically underutilized business zone.

[00:43:02] [SPEAKER_01]: And that will qualify you for a set aside to a contract.

[00:43:10] [SPEAKER_01]: And here's what I mean by set aside.

[00:43:13] [SPEAKER_01]: Oh, OK. Government agencies have the authority to say, OK.

[00:43:19] [SPEAKER_01]: I'm going to set this requirement aside.

[00:43:22] [SPEAKER_01]: Now they've done their market research.

[00:43:23] [SPEAKER_01]: This is the reason why you want to be searchable, too,

[00:43:26] [SPEAKER_01]: because if you have this certification already, right?

[00:43:29] [SPEAKER_01]: Say, for instance, you're already hub zone certified.

[00:43:33] [SPEAKER_01]: Now, SBA manages and administers all small business certifications

[00:43:39] [SPEAKER_01]: from a federal perspective through their website.

[00:43:42] [SPEAKER_01]: You can click on these different certification types,

[00:43:46] [SPEAKER_01]: see which ones you qualify for and apply for certification.

[00:43:50] [SPEAKER_01]: They will determine whether or not you meet the criteria

[00:43:53] [SPEAKER_01]: you provided the necessary documentation to get certified.

[00:43:57] [SPEAKER_01]: Once you are certified.

[00:44:01] [SPEAKER_01]: And federal agencies are sending aside

[00:44:07] [SPEAKER_01]: their some of their requirements for these small business categories.

[00:44:12] [SPEAKER_01]: So they may say after they do research on a refrigerator,

[00:44:16] [SPEAKER_01]: going back to the refrigerator, they may decide, OK,

[00:44:19] [SPEAKER_01]: there are enough companies that can provide refrigeration

[00:44:22] [SPEAKER_01]: these refrigerators that are hub zone certified.

[00:44:28] [SPEAKER_01]: So now you know what they do?

[00:44:29] [SPEAKER_01]: They take that requirement and they say the only people

[00:44:32] [SPEAKER_01]: that can bid on this requirement are those companies

[00:44:35] [SPEAKER_01]: that are hub zone certified.

[00:44:38] [SPEAKER_01]: So every other small business or large business,

[00:44:41] [SPEAKER_01]: if you are not hub zone certified,

[00:44:43] [SPEAKER_01]: don't even try to apply submit your proposal because it don't matter.

[00:44:47] [SPEAKER_00]: Wow, this is.

[00:44:52] [SPEAKER_00]: So this is crazy.

[00:44:55] [SPEAKER_01]: This is where linking into the SBA

[00:44:57] [SPEAKER_01]: stand connected with your SBA matters

[00:44:59] [SPEAKER_01]: because they will help you through their certification

[00:45:01] [SPEAKER_01]: process, those certification processes.

[00:45:03] [SPEAKER_01]: You can be certified for four different

[00:45:06] [SPEAKER_01]: socioeconomic categories at one time.

[00:45:08] [SPEAKER_01]: You could be women on veteran on hub zone and they all at the same time.

[00:45:13] [SPEAKER_01]: If you meet the criteria or the qualifications

[00:45:17] [SPEAKER_01]: for all of those different categories

[00:45:19] [SPEAKER_01]: and they will walk you through that help you through that process.

[00:45:22] [SPEAKER_01]: And not only that, if you if someone is doing what's called

[00:45:26] [SPEAKER_01]: a set aside or sole source

[00:45:30] [SPEAKER_01]: and you submit a proposal and they like, oh, we don't think you're good

[00:45:33] [SPEAKER_01]: enough or whatever the case may be.

[00:45:34] [SPEAKER_01]: You can go back to SBA and say, SBA, they said, I ain't good enough

[00:45:37] [SPEAKER_01]: and they don't want to play with me.

[00:45:40] [SPEAKER_00]: Really?

[00:45:41] [SPEAKER_01]: And SBA may provide you with what's called a certificate of competency.

[00:45:48] [SPEAKER_01]: Of course, they're going to assess your business activities

[00:45:51] [SPEAKER_01]: to see if you really can perform the work that they that this

[00:45:54] [SPEAKER_01]: government agency wants you to perform.

[00:45:56] [SPEAKER_01]: And they will give you what's called a certificate of competency

[00:45:59] [SPEAKER_01]: or the government agency can ask for one from SBA SBA.

[00:46:06] [SPEAKER_01]: And it really says, yeah, we think we think this business can perform the work.

[00:46:13] [SPEAKER_00]: So are you doing.

[00:46:16] [SPEAKER_00]: Are they OK?

[00:46:17] [SPEAKER_00]: How do they award that?

[00:46:19] [SPEAKER_00]: Are they assessing you with a special project

[00:46:22] [SPEAKER_00]: for you to prove yourself or how does that work?

[00:46:25] [SPEAKER_01]: No, it's all based on the proposal.

[00:46:27] [SPEAKER_01]: So if they do a set aside for a hub zone company for refrigerators,

[00:46:33] [SPEAKER_01]: they may say, OK, your refrigerator has to be white.

[00:46:37] [SPEAKER_01]: It has to be this tall.

[00:46:39] [SPEAKER_01]: It has to be able to be this heavy as to be able to the capacity

[00:46:43] [SPEAKER_01]: to hold items have to be this.

[00:46:46] [SPEAKER_01]: You know, it has to have this capacity as to have three shelves

[00:46:50] [SPEAKER_01]: and two drawers.

[00:46:53] [SPEAKER_01]: And as long as you tell them you can provide that item.

[00:46:56] [SPEAKER_01]: They're assuming you can.

[00:47:00] [SPEAKER_01]: OK, now they may also ask for some past performance.

[00:47:05] [SPEAKER_01]: OK, and they may say, OK,

[00:47:07] [SPEAKER_01]: providers with companies that you provided this product to before.

[00:47:11] [SPEAKER_00]: OK, OK.

[00:47:13] [SPEAKER_01]: So that's the way that they check do their due diligence.

[00:47:15] [SPEAKER_01]: Almost like the resume with the references on.

[00:47:21] [SPEAKER_01]: OK, so that's kind of how they determine whether or not

[00:47:24] [SPEAKER_01]: you can provide the item or the service is based on your technical

[00:47:29] [SPEAKER_01]: approach. If it's a service is best on based on your technical approach,

[00:47:33] [SPEAKER_01]: generally speaking, it could be based on your management approach.

[00:47:37] [SPEAKER_01]: It could be based on recruiting and staffing.

[00:47:40] [SPEAKER_01]: It could be based on all these different factors.

[00:47:43] [SPEAKER_01]: And you have to explain to them how you're going to do that

[00:47:47] [SPEAKER_01]: based on the instructions that they've given you.

[00:47:51] [SPEAKER_01]: And that's a way that they determine whether or not they think

[00:47:55] [SPEAKER_01]: that you are capable of providing meeting that requirement.

[00:48:02] [SPEAKER_00]: OK, so it really is

[00:48:05] [SPEAKER_00]: like it's not as subjective as I thought.

[00:48:08] [SPEAKER_00]: No. It initially was.

[00:48:11] [SPEAKER_00]: So really, I mean, if you really do have the credentials,

[00:48:15] [SPEAKER_00]: you know how to carry yourself, you're good at networking,

[00:48:18] [SPEAKER_00]: kind of like knowing certain folks or how to, you know,

[00:48:23] [SPEAKER_00]: carry yourself or whatnot.

[00:48:24] [SPEAKER_00]: Like it's not that subjective.

[00:48:26] [SPEAKER_00]: Like you have a really good chance of actually winning

[00:48:29] [SPEAKER_00]: that contract or being granted that contract.

[00:48:31] [SPEAKER_01]: Yes. And there are different networking conferences

[00:48:35] [SPEAKER_01]: specifically centered around government contract

[00:48:38] [SPEAKER_01]: where you get to network with other businesses and develop partnerships.

[00:48:44] [SPEAKER_01]: Really? And you get to meet some of the contracting

[00:48:47] [SPEAKER_01]: professionals at these different agencies, SBA.

[00:48:51] [SPEAKER_01]: I'm familiar with SBA in South Carolina, and they used to have

[00:48:54] [SPEAKER_01]: something called a matchmaker where they would take a couple of government

[00:48:57] [SPEAKER_01]: agencies within the area.

[00:49:00] [SPEAKER_01]: So in Columbia, they will take government agencies within the area

[00:49:05] [SPEAKER_01]: and they would invite their procurement offices,

[00:49:09] [SPEAKER_01]: individuals from the procurement offices to come and support

[00:49:13] [SPEAKER_01]: their matchmaking event.

[00:49:16] [SPEAKER_01]: And so those offices was sent in individual

[00:49:20] [SPEAKER_01]: and now these small business owners get a 10 minute FaceTime

[00:49:25] [SPEAKER_01]: to talk to these government professionals

[00:49:28] [SPEAKER_01]: that are in that contract award process.

[00:49:33] [SPEAKER_00]: OK, this almost sounds like it's too good to be true.

[00:49:36] [SPEAKER_01]: Now there are some downsides to it.

[00:49:38] [SPEAKER_01]: OK, one is the

[00:49:41] [SPEAKER_01]: federal procurement is governed or government contract.

[00:49:44] [SPEAKER_01]: And it's governed by the federal acquisition regulation.

[00:49:47] [SPEAKER_01]: It is cumbersome and it could be difficult to read or novice.

[00:49:53] [SPEAKER_01]: OK, people like me go to school.

[00:49:56] [SPEAKER_01]: I went to school for like four weeks plus

[00:49:58] [SPEAKER_01]: to learn how to understand this regulation.

[00:50:03] [SPEAKER_00]: Oh, wow.

[00:50:05] [SPEAKER_01]: But that's not you don't necessarily need to understand the regulation

[00:50:09] [SPEAKER_01]: in that in detail like I did to be able to be on a contract.

[00:50:14] [SPEAKER_01]: Right, to submit a proposal to a solicitation or a quote in response

[00:50:18] [SPEAKER_01]: to a solicitation.

[00:50:19] [SPEAKER_01]: You don't need to understand every from cover to cover

[00:50:22] [SPEAKER_01]: the federal acquisition regulation.

[00:50:25] [SPEAKER_01]: OK, another.

[00:50:27] [SPEAKER_01]: So there is language in there.

[00:50:28] [SPEAKER_01]: It's usually a language barrier when we start talking about government contract.

[00:50:32] [SPEAKER_00]: I can see that.

[00:50:33] [SPEAKER_01]: And that's a huge learning curve.

[00:50:35] [SPEAKER_01]: I'm sorry. Go ahead.

[00:50:36] [SPEAKER_00]: I was going to say double talk.

[00:50:38] [SPEAKER_01]: It sounds like double talk.

[00:50:39] [SPEAKER_01]: Yes, it could be a huge learning curve.

[00:50:42] [SPEAKER_01]: There is a huge learning curve involved.

[00:50:45] [SPEAKER_01]: And so for some people that that's a barrier

[00:50:48] [SPEAKER_01]: that they are struggling to overcome, right?

[00:50:52] [SPEAKER_01]: I remember going to school and when I initially became a contract

[00:50:56] [SPEAKER_01]: in professional, I went to school and they were like, OK, print out

[00:51:01] [SPEAKER_01]: our vocabulary guide.

[00:51:02] [SPEAKER_01]: And when I printed out that guy, you know them big old thick

[00:51:08] [SPEAKER_01]: binders that you saw materials and.

[00:51:11] [SPEAKER_01]: Oh, yeah.

[00:51:12] [SPEAKER_01]: Articles in when you're in school back in the day, they really.

[00:51:16] [SPEAKER_01]: I had one of those full of vocabulary.

[00:51:22] [SPEAKER_01]: Oh, wow. That's just like a whole different language.

[00:51:25] [SPEAKER_00]: I would have just me on that one.

[00:51:27] [SPEAKER_01]: That's crazy.

[00:51:29] [SPEAKER_01]: The more you get into it, the more it becomes repetitive

[00:51:33] [SPEAKER_01]: and you become familiar with it.

[00:51:36] [SPEAKER_01]: Another obstacle is funding.

[00:51:39] [SPEAKER_01]: Because a lot of this stuff, you're funding out of pocket first.

[00:51:42] [SPEAKER_01]: The government is reimbursing you on the back end on a lot of this stuff.

[00:51:46] [SPEAKER_01]: So you have a contract in hand, you're providing them with the product

[00:51:51] [SPEAKER_01]: and then you submit an invoice for the product and they pay.

[00:51:56] [SPEAKER_00]: Oh my. So how long does that take?

[00:52:00] [SPEAKER_01]: It can take an invoice for a product.

[00:52:02] [SPEAKER_01]: Once you submit an invoice, the government has by law.

[00:52:06] [SPEAKER_01]: Here's the catch.

[00:52:07] [SPEAKER_01]: Once they accept.

[00:52:10] [SPEAKER_01]: Your valid invoice, oftentimes people don't submit a valid invoice.

[00:52:15] [SPEAKER_01]: The government gives you specific instructions in the contract

[00:52:18] [SPEAKER_01]: on how to submit an invoice.

[00:52:20] [SPEAKER_01]: If you do not submit it that way.

[00:52:23] [SPEAKER_01]: They do not consider your invoice to be valid.

[00:52:26] [SPEAKER_01]: Your time does not start the 30 day time frame

[00:52:30] [SPEAKER_01]: does not start until you give them a valid invoice.

[00:52:35] [SPEAKER_00]: Okay, so you better get that right.

[00:52:38] [SPEAKER_00]: Yes, you're delaying your payment.

[00:52:42] [SPEAKER_01]: Exactly.

[00:52:43] [SPEAKER_01]: And they have 30 days by law to pay you according to the

[00:52:46] [SPEAKER_01]: Prompt Payment Act.

[00:52:48] [SPEAKER_01]: So you figure if you submit an invoice today, it's valid.

[00:52:52] [SPEAKER_01]: They have and they have.

[00:52:54] [SPEAKER_01]: So they have.

[00:52:56] [SPEAKER_01]: Let me not say 30 days from they have 30 days from accepting

[00:53:00] [SPEAKER_01]: your valid invoice.

[00:53:02] [SPEAKER_01]: So they usually have about seven days to accept your invoice.

[00:53:05] [SPEAKER_01]: So you submit your invoice, they take some seven days to

[00:53:09] [SPEAKER_01]: accept it because you know they want to look over it, make sure

[00:53:11] [SPEAKER_01]: it's good QC and make sure the work is being performed.

[00:53:14] [SPEAKER_01]: They don't have any issues with the product that was

[00:53:16] [SPEAKER_01]: delivered, all of that good stuff.

[00:53:18] [SPEAKER_01]: So they usually have somewhere between seven to 10 days to do

[00:53:21] [SPEAKER_01]: the acceptance and the inspection and the acceptance.

[00:53:25] [SPEAKER_01]: Once they do the exception and acceptance then that goes

[00:53:30] [SPEAKER_01]: along with your the invoice that you submitted and then

[00:53:32] [SPEAKER_01]: the clock starts.

[00:53:33] [SPEAKER_01]: So you could so in the end, it could be like 45 days before

[00:53:38] [SPEAKER_01]: you get paid.

[00:53:39] [SPEAKER_00]: Okay.

[00:53:41] [SPEAKER_00]: Okay, which is what you got to budget in for that right

[00:53:44] [SPEAKER_00]: because if there's any you know missteps like you can't

[00:53:48] [SPEAKER_00]: really necessarily be depending on that to be your steady

[00:53:53] [SPEAKER_00]: paycheck.

[00:53:54] [SPEAKER_00]: If that's right.

[00:53:55] [SPEAKER_00]: Right.

[00:53:55] [SPEAKER_00]: Okay.

[00:53:56] [SPEAKER_01]: And if you are providing a service, they've already had,

[00:54:03] [SPEAKER_01]: you're not going to submit an invoice until 30 days often

[00:54:06] [SPEAKER_01]: times after work has started from the start date of your

[00:54:12] [SPEAKER_01]: contract and you have folks that have been working on the

[00:54:15] [SPEAKER_01]: contract.

[00:54:16] [SPEAKER_01]: So now if you're not submitting an invoice so 30 days

[00:54:19] [SPEAKER_01]: after that, you don't want through two pay periods.

[00:54:25] [SPEAKER_00]: Yes.

[00:54:26] [SPEAKER_00]: Yes.

[00:54:27] [SPEAKER_00]: Yes.

[00:54:27] [SPEAKER_01]: And now you submitted your invoice.

[00:54:29] [SPEAKER_01]: The government has seven and 10 days to inspect and accept

[00:54:33] [SPEAKER_01]: then they have 30 days for that.

[00:54:36] [SPEAKER_01]: You're about 70 days until you receive your first payment.

[00:54:41] [SPEAKER_01]: You have probably paid payroll about four or five times.

[00:54:47] [SPEAKER_00]: Okay.

[00:54:49] [SPEAKER_01]: So that's what you need to consider in the budgeting

[00:54:51] [SPEAKER_01]: process.

[00:54:53] [SPEAKER_00]: Mm hmm.

[00:54:55] [SPEAKER_00]: I can see that.

[00:54:56] [SPEAKER_00]: I can see that.

[00:54:57] [SPEAKER_00]: So just a recap.

[00:54:59] [SPEAKER_00]: So then the two major things reading, reading is fundamental.

[00:55:03] [SPEAKER_00]: Yes.

[00:55:03] [SPEAKER_00]: And then second would be the funding.

[00:55:06] [SPEAKER_00]: So you need to make sure that you're in a position if

[00:55:09] [SPEAKER_00]: you will to kind of front.

[00:55:12] [SPEAKER_00]: Right.

[00:55:12] [SPEAKER_00]: And the reason I'm saying that I know a lot of business

[00:55:15] [SPEAKER_00]: owners are probably used to doing that.

[00:55:17] [SPEAKER_00]: But if you are a sole proprietor or you may not

[00:55:22] [SPEAKER_00]: necessarily be used to that right because yet.

[00:55:26] [SPEAKER_00]: Wow.

[00:55:26] [SPEAKER_00]: Okay.

[00:55:27] [SPEAKER_01]: Again, SBA is important because they will help you

[00:55:30] [SPEAKER_01]: identify different funding sources and prepare your

[00:55:33] [SPEAKER_01]: company to go after those funding sources and all those

[00:55:39] [SPEAKER_01]: different things.

[00:55:40] [SPEAKER_01]: Apex will do the same thing.

[00:55:42] [SPEAKER_01]: Okay.

[00:55:44] [SPEAKER_00]: Keisha, this is this is man.

[00:55:46] [SPEAKER_00]: This is a lot, a lot, a lot of telling you, you know

[00:55:51] [SPEAKER_00]: what?

[00:55:52] [SPEAKER_00]: Okay.

[00:55:52] [SPEAKER_00]: So we are almost at the end of the year.

[00:55:54] [SPEAKER_00]: Right.

[00:55:54] [SPEAKER_00]: And I'm telling you, you're getting this totally set up

[00:55:58] [SPEAKER_00]: for the new year to go after some of this.

[00:56:00] [SPEAKER_00]: Right.

[00:56:01] [SPEAKER_00]: And I know we don't have that much longer to go, but if

[00:56:05] [SPEAKER_00]: you had to choose one word to represent your goals

[00:56:08] [SPEAKER_00]: for this year, what would it be and why?

[00:56:10] [SPEAKER_00]: Oh Jesus.

[00:56:12] [SPEAKER_01]: A word that represents my goals for this year is

[00:56:20] [SPEAKER_01]: faith.

[00:56:22] [SPEAKER_00]: Love it.

[00:56:23] [SPEAKER_00]: I'm partial to word faith.

[00:56:25] [SPEAKER_00]: So go ahead.

[00:56:26] [SPEAKER_01]: Yes.

[00:56:26] [SPEAKER_01]: That's right.

[00:56:27] [SPEAKER_01]: Right.

[00:56:27] [SPEAKER_01]: And the reason why is because although Manifest, my

[00:56:31] [SPEAKER_01]: nonprofit has been established since 2014.

[00:56:36] [SPEAKER_01]: We just really started doing some work with it over

[00:56:40] [SPEAKER_01]: the last two years.

[00:56:41] [SPEAKER_01]: And I just started my staffing company and consulting

[00:56:46] [SPEAKER_01]: company this year in January.

[00:56:49] [SPEAKER_01]: So I didn't really understand this side of

[00:56:54] [SPEAKER_01]: entrepreneurship.

[00:56:55] [SPEAKER_01]: So it gives me, I get to see it from a different

[00:56:57] [SPEAKER_01]: perspective now, especially going after government

[00:57:00] [SPEAKER_01]: contracts.

[00:57:01] [SPEAKER_01]: I know the government contract inside, right?

[00:57:04] [SPEAKER_01]: I know it from an insider professional perspective.

[00:57:07] [SPEAKER_01]: I am learning it from the other side of the

[00:57:10] [SPEAKER_01]: table.

[00:57:12] [SPEAKER_01]: And so with that being said, I understand how

[00:57:15] [SPEAKER_01]: easily it could be to just quit and give up.

[00:57:19] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.

[00:57:20] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[00:57:21] [SPEAKER_01]: Right.

[00:57:21] [SPEAKER_01]: Right.

[00:57:23] [SPEAKER_01]: Because if you don't got no money coming in, you

[00:57:25] [SPEAKER_01]: ain't eating.

[00:57:28] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[00:57:29] [SPEAKER_00]: When you started talking about how long the funding,

[00:57:31] [SPEAKER_00]: I'm like, oh, wait a minute.

[00:57:32] [SPEAKER_00]: So you're fronting that ahead of time.

[00:57:34] [SPEAKER_00]: And I know business owners will be used to that.

[00:57:36] [SPEAKER_00]: But if you're a sole proprietor thinking, oh man, this

[00:57:38] [SPEAKER_00]: could be my way to get stuff done.

[00:57:41] [SPEAKER_00]: You better have something else on the side.

[00:57:43] [SPEAKER_01]: Well, that's what I tell people, have something

[00:57:45] [SPEAKER_01]: else on the side.

[00:57:45] [SPEAKER_01]: This needs to be a strategy that you use if you're

[00:57:48] [SPEAKER_01]: trying to grow your business.

[00:57:50] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.

[00:57:51] [SPEAKER_01]: Now, I don't recommend this strategy if you're jumping

[00:57:55] [SPEAKER_01]: into entrepreneurship starting off with a

[00:57:58] [SPEAKER_01]: startup.

[00:57:58] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.

[00:57:59] [SPEAKER_01]: That's just me.

[00:58:00] [SPEAKER_01]: You can, people have been successful doing it.

[00:58:03] [SPEAKER_01]: Okay.

[00:58:04] [SPEAKER_01]: So it's not to say that you won't be successful.

[00:58:06] [SPEAKER_01]: Sure.

[00:58:07] [SPEAKER_01]: I just think it's easier when you're not relying

[00:58:09] [SPEAKER_01]: on this soul.

[00:58:11] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.

[00:58:13] [SPEAKER_01]: And the reason, I'm sorry, I was getting back

[00:58:16] [SPEAKER_01]: to the reason why faith.

[00:58:17] [SPEAKER_01]: It's because I understand how easy it is to give up

[00:58:21] [SPEAKER_01]: and quit.

[00:58:22] [SPEAKER_01]: I'm like, it's folks, it's jobs out there all day

[00:58:26] [SPEAKER_01]: every day about being a contracting professional.

[00:58:28] [SPEAKER_01]: I can go back to the government.

[00:58:31] Yeah.

[00:58:33] [SPEAKER_01]: But holding firm to what God has already told me.

[00:58:37] [SPEAKER_01]: Keeping the vision at the forefront of my mind

[00:58:40] [SPEAKER_01]: and keeping the faith, keeping my eyes on God

[00:58:43] [SPEAKER_01]: through it all regardless of what it looks like,

[00:58:45] [SPEAKER_01]: regardless of what obstacles I'm faced with.

[00:58:49] [SPEAKER_01]: Continuing on that path.

[00:58:53] [SPEAKER_00]: I love that.

[00:58:54] [SPEAKER_00]: I love that.

[00:58:55] [SPEAKER_00]: I love that.

[00:58:57] [SPEAKER_00]: And I am so grateful that you are on this show

[00:59:00] [SPEAKER_00]: because this is a lot of information.

[00:59:03] [SPEAKER_00]: I literally, full transparency, I cannot wait to edit

[00:59:06] [SPEAKER_00]: this because I'm like, I don't want to be sitting

[00:59:09] [SPEAKER_00]: over here being all obvious and like trying to write

[00:59:11] [SPEAKER_00]: this down.

[00:59:12] [SPEAKER_00]: I'm like, okay, what was that again?

[00:59:13] [SPEAKER_00]: Okay.

[00:59:14] [SPEAKER_00]: It doesn't matter.

[00:59:14] [SPEAKER_00]: We'll rewind that.

[00:59:15] [SPEAKER_00]: And, uh,

[00:59:19] [SPEAKER_00]: Oh my goodness.

[00:59:20] [SPEAKER_00]: But last but not least,

[00:59:22] [SPEAKER_00]: what is your best piece of advice for women

[00:59:25] [SPEAKER_00]: who want to secure a government contract?

[00:59:30] [SPEAKER_01]: Um,

[00:59:32] [SPEAKER_01]: Government contracting is an illusion.

[00:59:35] [SPEAKER_01]: It only appears more difficult than it really is.

[00:59:40] [SPEAKER_00]: Wow.

[00:59:41] [SPEAKER_00]: Okay.

[00:59:42] [SPEAKER_01]: And I say that because once you get into it,

[00:59:44] [SPEAKER_01]: once you get those strategies,

[00:59:45] [SPEAKER_01]: vocabulary down, um, your pricing,

[00:59:49] [SPEAKER_01]: your realize it becomes like,

[00:59:55] [SPEAKER_01]: because of solicitations,

[00:59:56] [SPEAKER_01]: they all kind of sent around the same language.

[01:00:02] [SPEAKER_00]: So fantastic.

[01:00:05] [SPEAKER_00]: Kisha, I am so grateful.

[01:00:08] [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you so much for coming on to the show.

[01:00:10] [SPEAKER_00]: If folks want to get in touch with you,

[01:00:12] [SPEAKER_00]: how can they go about doing so?

[01:00:13] [SPEAKER_01]: Well, you all can go to manifest website is

[01:00:17] [SPEAKER_01]: www.manifestme.org

[01:00:21] [SPEAKER_01]: and we have a Facebook community

[01:00:23] [SPEAKER_01]: and they handle for that is manifestink.org

[01:00:27] [SPEAKER_01]: and then we're on Instagram.

[01:00:30] [SPEAKER_01]: Please follow us at manifest me.

[01:00:33] [SPEAKER_01]: And again, you can always look me up

[01:00:35] [SPEAKER_01]: Kisha Stone on Google.

[01:00:38] [SPEAKER_01]: I am searchable y'all.

[01:00:41] [SPEAKER_01]: And I have a

[01:00:43] [SPEAKER_01]: Yes.

[01:00:44] [SPEAKER_01]: Yes.

[01:00:46] [SPEAKER_01]: And we're coming out my

[01:00:49] [SPEAKER_01]: first book.

[01:00:51] [SPEAKER_01]: Um, and it's specifically for those who are looking

[01:00:54] [SPEAKER_01]: who have heard about government contracting

[01:00:56] [SPEAKER_01]: or maybe they have not heard about government

[01:00:58] [SPEAKER_01]: contracting and they want more information

[01:01:00] [SPEAKER_01]: and they want to be able to, um,

[01:01:03] [SPEAKER_01]: make an informed decision on whether or not

[01:01:05] [SPEAKER_01]: government contracting is for their business

[01:01:08] [SPEAKER_01]: at this time.

[01:01:10] [SPEAKER_01]: In their businesses, growth or development stage.

[01:01:13] [SPEAKER_01]: So that book is called

[01:01:15] [SPEAKER_01]: government contracting.

[01:01:17] [SPEAKER_01]: Is it for you?

[01:01:19] [SPEAKER_01]: And that will be dropping on one October.

[01:01:24] [SPEAKER_00]: Really?

[01:01:26] [SPEAKER_00]: Oh, right.

[01:01:27] [SPEAKER_00]: Oh my goodness.

[01:01:28] [SPEAKER_00]: Okay.

[01:01:29] [SPEAKER_00]: So we got the sneak peek here.

[01:01:31] [SPEAKER_00]: All right.

[01:01:32] [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, this did not play this.

[01:01:35] [SPEAKER_00]: The perfect program.

[01:01:38] [SPEAKER_00]: Oh my goodness.

[01:01:40] [SPEAKER_00]: Well, Kisha, first of all, congratulations.

[01:01:41] [SPEAKER_00]: I know how hard it is to write a book.

[01:01:45] [SPEAKER_00]: I just finished writing one myself.

[01:01:47] [SPEAKER_01]: Congratulations.

[01:01:50] [SPEAKER_00]: That's going to drop sometime probably in January

[01:01:52] [SPEAKER_00]: because I had to push it a little bit because, yeah,

[01:01:55] [SPEAKER_00]: it's a whole process getting the sites up and all that.

[01:01:58] [SPEAKER_00]: You know what I'm talking about.

[01:01:59] [SPEAKER_00]: And that's going to be searchable too y'all.

[01:02:02] [SPEAKER_00]: So, uh,

[01:02:05] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, Kisha, thank you so much for coming onto the show.

[01:02:08] [SPEAKER_00]: All of your information is going to be in the,

[01:02:10] [SPEAKER_00]: the, uh, the show notes, the description.

[01:02:13] [SPEAKER_00]: Again, thank you. Thank you. Thank you for coming onto the show.

[01:02:16] [SPEAKER_00]: I learned a lot and I know the audience did as well.

[01:02:19] [SPEAKER_01]: You are so welcome.

[01:02:26] [SPEAKER_00]: Thanks so much for listening to this episode.

[01:02:29] [SPEAKER_00]: If you enjoy listening to Hustling Faith and would like to support the show,

[01:02:32] [SPEAKER_00]: please consider sharing it with your friends,

[01:02:34] [SPEAKER_00]: rate or leave a review,

[01:02:36] [SPEAKER_00]: donate or make a purchase at our shop starring you crew.

[01:02:39] [SPEAKER_00]: Remember, if you're everything to everyone,

[01:02:42] [SPEAKER_00]: there is no one. You never know who you will inspire.

[01:02:45] [SPEAKER_00]: See in the next episode.