In this episode, we have Manish Gorawala who talked about his background in entrepreneurship and his interest in technology and finance. He shared that he grew up in India, where his father was an entrepreneur, where he learned a lot about business by joining his father's meetings and conversations with friends. He also talked about his mantra of doing more with less resources and finding creative ways to accomplish tasks more efficiently. He emphasized the importance of tracking progress on a r...
Jan 20, 2025•10 min
In today's episode, we discuss the process of working with FEMA in the aftermath of a disaster and give you some advice for small businesses seeking government contracts. It is important to note that FEMA has to plan for disasters in advance and cannot wait until after a disaster to identify contractors and vendors. With that, I encourage businesses to look for bid opportunities with FEMA before a disaster strikes. Here's an important reminder: I advise against relying solely on the Procurement ...
Jan 19, 2025•8 min
In this conversation, we talk about 'price to win'. A specialty that is usually outsourced to find out the range of prices the government is willing to pay for a particular procurement. We recommend hiring an independent party to conduct a price to win assessment as it is a conflict of interest for them to do so. Additionally, we discuss the services for cost accounting and government contracting audits, which are typically done for small contractors to ensure compliance with government regulati...
Jan 18, 2025•9 min
In this episode, we'll be discussing two approaches to achieving financial success. The first approach involves reaching a goal of making $200,000-$400,000 a year through organic growth, which may take several years to achieve. The second approach, which I teach my clients, is the consultant approach. This approach involves working with clients who are already making $20 million a year in business and are looking for projects between $1 million and $5 million. By choosing to work with such clien...
Jan 17, 2025•9 min
In this episode, we hear from our guest who started a heating oil delivery business despite the challenges of the market in 2007. He shares how he bought a used oil truck, paid for it with a combination of personal savings and an SBA loan, and started as a C.O.D company to get in the game. This episode, my guest highlights how word of mouth spread and how his connections to the blue-collar community helped him build his customer base. He also shares his experience of the instability of the oil m...
Jan 16, 2025•7 min
In this episode of the GovCon Giants Podcast, we have Astrelain Josue, the managing partner of Astral Appraisal Management, to discuss his inspiring journey from running a traditional real estate appraisal business to becoming a powerhouse in the federal contracting world. Astrelain shares how he secured 15 federal contracts with the USDA Rural Housing Division and his involvement in a billion-dollar IDIQ contract, all without any federal certifications when starting out. This episode dives deep...
Jan 15, 2025•30 min•Season 1Ep. 248
In this podcast, we talk about life lessons and success in business. We share the things and strategies that we do, for example, The "stick and stay," which means staying in the same place but getting increased opportunities. In real life situation, it is starting with a two-day training class and then moving up to a two-year contract, a three-year contract, a five-year contract, and other contracts in between. The second thing is moving from one level to the next. The third thing is making depo...
Jan 14, 2025•9 min
In this podcast episode, we talk about when shoud small businesses need to start doing cost accounting. Small businesses engaged with the federal government, either as a subcontractor or a prime, should understand how to do cost accounting or have someone do it for them so they can have a good conversation with contracting officers and others about their real costs. They should also have a good estimating system as this is how they price. Cost accounting and estimating systems should mirror each...
Jan 13, 2025•9 min
In this episode, we discuss the importance of having knowledge of federal agency needs and market demands when selling to the government. First off, you need to know how the government was organized, the location of military installations, and which markets to satisfy. We also stress the importance of knowing what products or services to sell and how to deliver them. My guest shares her international organization that supports US-based companies that work internationally and while most of their ...
Jan 12, 2025•10 min
In this podcast episode, our guest speaker, Lynn from Avanti Corporation, describes her company's work providing science and engineering studies for federal regulatory agencies. The company helps regulators, such as the EPA, to develop rules and regulations in an environmentally responsible way. Lynn mentions that the company's main competitors are large firms like TetraTech, Aecom, and HDR. She also gives two examples of studies that Avanti is currently working on. The first is an outreach prog...
Jan 11, 2025•9 min
In this episode, we talk about the different business opportunities available on Sam.gov. I discuss opportunities related to facility support, maintenance, repair, flooring services, aircraft fire trainer, veterinary consultant services, network infrastructure support systems, engineering and technical assistance, roof building repair, restoration of real property, interpreter services, real estate broker support, laboratory refrigerators and freezers, pest control, and more. I personally like t...
Jan 10, 2025•9 min
In this episode, we talk about the difference between pre-solicitation and source sought. Source sought is the government's market research phase to determine if they should make the requirement a small business or one of the socioeconomic categories. At this stage, the government can determine if they should negotiate directly with small businesses or make it a veteran-owned set-aside program. Pre-solicitation, on the other hand, is a notice given about a month before the solicitation is releas...
Jan 09, 2025•9 min
In this episode of the GovCon Giants Podcast, we welcome a visionary entrepreneur Delali Dzirasa, founder and CEO of Fearless, a company that creates software designed to make meaningful social impact. Delali shares his inspiring journey of building Fearless from a small two-person operation into a nationally recognized leader in government technology solutions. The discussion dives into the company's mission to create "software with soul" and its focus on innovative projects that address social...
Jan 08, 2025•1 hr 14 min•Season 1Ep. 247
Today, we’re diving into a mind-blowing conversation with Kevie Hendricks, a 20-year veteran in the government contracting world and founder of National Materials Supply Company. Known as the DLA Guru , Kevie has secured thousands of contracts for both federal and commercial customers. He’ll reveal how his journey from working at Anheuser Busch and Boeing on multimillion-dollar foreign military sales led him to become a key supplier for the U.S. Military through the Defense Logistics Agency. Whe...
Jan 01, 2025•57 min•Season 1Ep. 246
In today’s episode, we reconnect with a guest who left a lasting impression back in 2019 — Mr. Jon Tellier, founder and president of JetCo Solutions, a trailblazer in the federal contracting space. If you’ve been with us for a while, you’ll remember Jon’s incredible story of building JetCo Solutions from scratch. With nothing more than a small nest egg, a leap of faith, and a lot of grit, he and his wife, Sue, took on the highs and lows of government contracting — one proposal, one client at a t...
Dec 25, 2024•1 hr 12 min•Season 1Ep. 245
The Department of Veterans Affairs has stopped accepting applications for the certification or re-verification of veteran-owned small businesses, effective October 24, 2022. Starting on January 1, 2023, the Small Business Administration (SBA) will take over all verification processes. Firms that are already verified do not need to take any action except for Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSBs) and VOSBs, whose verification expires before the transfer date. They must have app...
Dec 20, 2024•8 min
In this episode, we discuss certifications and programs that can be valuable for minority-owned businesses. Kevin joins us as shares how he was able to win a contract with Wells Fargo by leveraging his NMSDC certification. National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC) certifies minority-owned businesses, while Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) is a certification issued by a different organization. If you want to learn more about MBEs, NMSDC certification and their functions this episod...
Dec 19, 2024•9 min
In this episode of the GovCon Giants podcast, I’m bringing back a true powerhouse in the world of government contracting — Michelle Burnett, Executive Director of the HubZone Contractors National Council and President of HubZone Council, Inc. If you’ve ever wondered why billions in HubZone contracts go unclaimed or how to position your business for success, this episode is for you. Michelle breaks down the real challenges facing small businesses trying to tap into HubZone opportunities. We talk ...
Dec 18, 2024•1 hr 29 min•Season 1Ep. 244
In this episode, I discuss various opportunities to respond to government contracts so you can show interest in any particular bids. Some bids may not be posted on the government's website and so you can respond to requests for information even if they are not formal bids. I also highlighted an example of a request for information on body armor to illustrate the process, so you can see that responding to a request for information is easier than responding to a formal bid. A request for informati...
Dec 17, 2024•9 min
In today's podcast, we have two experts who will be speaking about DLA Internet Bid Board System (DIBBS), Mike and his wife Vanessa. Mike is a pilot who did 700,000 in sales in August and over 5 million in sales for the year shares his experience. We also have a Q&A session to guide you look at sources sought on Sam.gov. Noy only that, in this episode, I share how you can navigate Sam.gov and download relevant information into a CSV file. So tune in to this episode now to learn more!...
Dec 16, 2024•8 min
In this episode, we have Lynwood Owens, Jr. who talks about his experience with acquisition in the IT industry. He shares how he found the Service Disabled Veteran-owned company that he worked for and helped grow, and how the company was later acquired by General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT) due to its CMMI Level 3 certification, which helped GDIT obtain more government contracts. He also talks about how he previously worked for an 8(a) company that was acquired by General Dynamics, wh...
Dec 15, 2024•7 min
In today's podcast, we talk about the importance of reviewing past RFPs/RFQs in order to build a team in advance for future Recompetes. To start, waiting until the contract comes out is not an effective strategy, it's vital to pull down past RFPs/RFQs and make sure that you check all the boxes. It's also important to have the right resources and partners in order to meet the criteria for future contracts. Everyone faces the same challenges and that it is important to put in the work, regardless ...
Dec 14, 2024•9 min
In this episode, we discuss compliance monitoring and enforcement for government contracts. My guest, who works in compliance monitoring, explains that they work for both the government and contractors to ensure compliance with regulations. If someone notices a contract not meeting compliance, they can reach out to the government. Also, while its true that the government has limited resources and priorities that can change with administrations, we suggest to make it easier for the government to ...
Dec 13, 2024•9 min
In this podcast, I emphasize the importance of building a network and community, and discuss the benefits of partnering with others in order to win contracts. With that, I encourage individuals to focus on their strengths and advantages when targeting contracts, and caution against burnout. I also share examples of successful partnerships and encourage individuals to reach out for support. My goal is to help small businesses and minorities succeed in government contracting. So tune in to this ep...
Dec 12, 2024•8 min
In this episode of the GovCon Giants podcast, we sit down with Fergal McGovern, CEO of Visible Thread, a trailblazer in government contracting and software innovation. As the first guest of his kind on the show, Fergal shares his remarkable journey from launching his first company, Still Trace, to leading the development of Visible Thread — a revolutionary tool designed to simplify the review and interpretation of complex government documents. His career is a testament to innovation, perseveranc...
Dec 11, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Season 1Ep. 243
In today's episode, we discuss the process of registering a company for government contracts. The very first step is to analyze the company and help them obtain necessary codes, such as a CAGE code and an NK code, to register in the System for Award Management (SAM). However, if the company is not based in the Middle East, they only need an NK code and SAM registration. It's important to analyze the company beforehand to ensure you are eligible and qualified for jobs and opportunities. Listen to...
Dec 10, 2024•10 min
In this podcast episode, we discuss the challenges faced by businesses in the procurement process for government contracts. As companies grow and bid on larger contracts, they may need a Certified Professional Contracts Manager (CPSM) to be eligible for those contracts. ProcureLinks, helps businesses create a procurement manual that fits their culture and streamlines the procurement process for contracts under $25,000. Managing regulations, including small business regulations, can be difficult,...
Dec 09, 2024•7 min
In this episode, I share some tips for working with companies that have more money than time. A good way to start is to look for companies with high bonding and no contracts if you want to work with such a company. When it comes to working with approved sources on a DIB solicitation, check if the listed company has a history of providing materials to the government or if a third-party vendor has provided the materials. Also to ensure payment, small businesses should discuss the type of relations...
Dec 08, 2024•8 min
In today's episode, we dive into the certification process for diverse-owned businesses. The state and federal certifications often require a minimum requirement, such as being in business for a year for WOSB in New York. However, the private sector, specifically the big five, don't have such requirements. The minimum requirement to apply for certification is just one sale, but it's crucial to prove that the business is legitimate. Corporate clients often request certification, and failing to do...
Dec 07, 2024•9 min
In this episode, we talk about how you can improve their business. My guest emphasizes that treating employees well is the most important thing a small business can do. By showing respect and appreciation, employees will be motivated to work harder and go the extra mile for the company. Not only that but the small gestures like paying attention to details, remembering important events, and valuing people are essential to building strong relationships with employees and customers. Treating people...
Dec 06, 2024•7 min
