Why Pursue Federal Government Business?
Welcome to Kathleen & Co. We’re a team of government business development experts, here to help you navigate the sometimes tumultuous Federal Government Contracting waters.
Before we start talking about CCR, SBA, COTR, CO’s and all that other great stuff – Let’s start at the very beginning, where I started with my firm, Kevin Lee Allen Design.
Why should I do business with the Federal Government?
The Federal Government is the largest purchaser of goods and services in the world.
How large are they and how much do they purchase?
Here’s a sketch:
The Federal Government spent over $470 billion dollars on products and services in FY 2006 (if someone pushes me, I’ll research more recent numbers – they’ll be larger)
That is $14,955.00 a second – Ha! you thought you could spend money fast. or – a contract with an average value over $465,000.00 every 20 seconds of the work week.
There are 1,174 agencies, and each agency is multi-layered. All of them buy, and many of them buy what you sell. They buy everything from adapters to zippers, and, they pay on time. All the time.
Just for fun – this is supposed to be fun by the way- take a look a Walmart, the nation’s largest retailer, and compare it to the Department of Defense (forever now known as DOD). Walmart has an operating budget of over $221 million dollars and 1.2 million employees. The DOD has an operating budget of over $374 billion dollars and over 2 million employees. Just one of the Federal Government’s 1,174 multi-layered agencies crushes the nation’s largest retailer.
Score a few contracts and shop at Nieman Marcus instead of enduring the harsh florescent lighting at Walmart. That lighting does no one any favors.
NAICS Codes
Now that you’ve read my post on why do business with the Federal Government and are at least thinking “I should give Kathleen a call and find out more about this, but I really don’t want a consultant all up in my grill right now, so I’ll just poke around here and see if I can learn anything else about this Federal Government Contracting business”. Yes, I do know what you may be thinking, I think the same things. If I do my job here right, and give you good information you can actually use, you’ll call me when you’re ready, and you’ll know that I’m not going to chase you relentlessly.
There are a few things you need to do before you start looking for opportunities to do business with the Federal Government.
1. Find your NAICS codes.
North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Codes
The government uses NAICS codes – pronounced “nakes” – as classifications for businesses. These codes are the standard used by Federal statistical agencies in classifying businesses so the government can collect, analyze and publish statical data related to the US economy.
You’ll need to know your NAICS codes to register in CCR The government uses NAICS codes to classify opportunities and when they search for contractor’s profiles on CCR.
The government doesn’t always list opportunities under the NAICS codes we think they should use. For example, I bid on a solicitation for an exhibit that was listed under Graphic Design Services. In the design business, these are two separate and distinct things, so it is important to find and list in CCR all the codes that apply to your products and services.
To find your NAICS codes, go to http://www.census.gov/eos/www/naics/
In the NAICS search, enter a key word that describes your business. Start with something general. When I did this for KLAD, I started with the word design.
You will then get a list of NAICS codes. Scroll through the list and find a code that has something to do with your business. Click on the code and you’ll get more information on that code and you’ll get cross referencing information.
Find all the codes that relate to your business, then choose one that best matches your business. This will be your primary NAICS code. The others will be used in your CCR registration and to search for opportunities.
CCR Registration
Register in CCR.
This is the Central Contractor’s Registration. You must be registered in CCR to do business with the Federal Government, and, the government uses the information in CCR to pay your invoices. Very important, we all like to get paid. If your CCR registration is complete and completed properly, you’ll get paid in 30 days or less.
To register in CCR go to http://www.ccr.gov/
In addition to your NAICS codes, you’ll need the following:
Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) Number
provided by Dun and Bradstreet(D&B) To request or retrieve your DUNS number online go to http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform.
Or contact Dun & Bradstreet at 1-866-705-5711.
Tax Identification Number (TIN)
Statistical Information about your business
It will take a day or two to process your registration. I know this is a pain, and its time consuming, but you don’t want to have to bother with this when you’re looking at bidding on a large opportunity with a fast approaching deadline.
Look Like a Successful Government Contractor
Government agencies get calls all the time from companies who want to do business with them. Most of these companies are not prepared. They are not you.
Start getting the following ready:
A one page snap shot of your business called The Introductory Package.
You’ll send this document to most of the people you speak to, if its done right, it will help get doors open and meetings scheduled.
A descriptive list of your references called Past Performance
You need to show the government what you can do. The government asks for past performance on almost every solicitation, so you’ll need a primary Past Performance Document, should someone ask for it along with your intro package, as well as individual documents that speak to specific solicitations.
A government web page
The government does use the internet extensively, so it is important to have a page on your site for them to see all your pertinent information in one place. Keep it really simple, clean and direct.
To get a good handle on what these documents and a government web page should look like, go to http://klad.com click on the Government Info tab. There are links to KLAD’s Introductory Package and our Past Performance. I set this up for KLAD, and it works. While you’re there, take a look at the blog, its fun and informative.
