“It’s better to prepare for an opportunity and not have one, than have an opportunity and not be prepared.”
-Les Brown
Government contracting is an evergreen environment of opportunity. But without the proper understanding of how to take advantage of the opportunity, you could be left out of the billions of dollars available for businesses just like yours. I talk with leaders of small government contractors all the time, and my biggest emphasis always lies in having a plan. This means even if you don’t know what lies ahead, you make a plan to tackle whatever comes your way. This is easy for soldiers and athletes to understand, but not always as apparent for those who don’t share the experience required to see the reward in planning ahead. So if you are a new and growing government contractor, my first question to you would be, what is your plan?
If you build it, they will come
Having a great business idea, skill or product does not equal success in government contracting. You need to chart your goals and expectations so that you can maintain stability and avoid chaos. Building a timeline for your business is essential in establishing benchmarks and metrics for gauging your success. So you need to think about how long you want to work this particular business, (5, 10, 15 years?) and start there.
Next, knowing the end goal for your business, i.e., future sale, merge, or acquisition will be a helpful guide for what to do to get there as well. The in-between will be where you set goals and establish the vision for your business plan. Once you’ve established your timeline, your desired end result, and your goals, next up will be establishing benchmarks and metrics to track your success.
Get in shape and get off the bench
Based on what type of business you have you should establish goals that can serve as benchmarks for success. Addressing the efficacy of your competitors is a great way to see successes and failures within your portion of the industry. So always be aware of how you fit into the market share of your offering.
If you know you want to sell your business in 10 years, you need to chart specific benchmarks to track every 2 years to be sure you are staying on target for your end goal. Knowing who you can provide your goods or services to is important. So is when and how you will scale if necessary, where you will access funding at each stage of growth, and knowing how to effectively market your capabilities are all necessary functions of this stage in your planning.
Who you know is more important than what you do
Some contractors get discouraged once they figure out how competitive the marketplace is. But, it is important to note that your business doesn’t have to be unique to be successful. All you need is a good reputation for your past performance and one helluva network to spread the word. Building a community of industry experts and insiders can be very powerful in finding and winning contract awards.
Government contracting is a small community with huge opportunity. The more people you know the more access you will have to finding where you will thrive. Part of this consists of building a team of resources with federal contracting experience in many industries to leave no stone unturned in finding support for your success. Your external team of resources and connections is equally as important to your success as hiring the right people.
The risk is worth the reward
The only failure in your endeavor is in not taking risks. If you have a plan, you have a way to track and gauge your success, and you have a network of insiders to support you, the only tipping point is taking a risk for something bigger and better and going for it. All too often, small govcons rest in a place where they find comfort in consistency. But consistency will not always lead to bigger opportunities. Taking a risk and expanding or going after a bigger contract may separate you from your competitors and lead to a greater level of success than you imagined. Don’t be afraid of growth. Setbacks are better than getting stagnant. Remember that.
So I say, make a plan and go for it!