Sometimes the best you can do is the best you can do.

Gettiing started as a new business is an amalgamation of planning, strategy and execution. You have to predict outcomes and prepare for the worst. Though, if you are fortunate you may be able to hit that successful combination of making a difference and a profit.

As our team travels the country supporting small and growing businesses with success in the federal marketplace, we are constantly learning from the experiences of the leaders we meet who represent every stage of growth. These experiences shape the way we approach supporting the market as a whole. It is through these shared stories that we assess how to best meet your needs in the present and strategize how to meet your needs in the future. 

While participating in a panel discussion at a recent event in Detroit hosted by Women Impacting Public Policy and sponsored by the Small Business Administration and American Express, a small business owner discussed how she accessed her first Prime contract and was preparing to build a team of subcontractors to support the execution of the contract.

Many of the subcontractors are newer businesses that this leader was hoping to utilize for 2 reasons: 

1. They are reliable professionals she knows she can trust to fulfill the role at a high level.
2. They are new to federal contracting and this subcontract would give them the opportunity to build their past performance and use toward gaining more work in the future.

Supporting the small business community is important to her. That’s why she was looking for a way to give other small businesses interaction in the industry and help them figure out how they could financially make it work.

However, the business owner was concerned the companies she wanted to utilize would have trouble financially meeting the demands of the contract for a number of reasons. Those include number of years in business, current receivables and adequate financial documentation. . She also questioned whether the businesses could scale without her providing the capital upfront or at the very least, facilitating the financial assistance she could not provide herself.

We connected with the business owner after the event to discuss assistance in the form of a line of credit to help her subcontractors with their payroll and work in progress needs. This happens easily enough. Be open with your subcontractors about their need for capital. Advise them to secure financing that will help them fully execute their contract obligations. This will enable them to perform well and gain valuable past performance, which is crucial for future bids. If they cannot access bank funding to do so, they need to seek alternative solutions that can assist businesses that do not fit the criteria for a bank loan or line of credit. Connect them with a solution you know can bring them what they need to perform and provide you with the reassurance your chosen team can execute. All it takes is an introduction.

Prime contractors of every size have highly qualified subcontractors that may have an issue accessing the capital they need to perform. Parabilis can work with you to ensure that the contractors you want to work with are fully capitalized to take on the work, perform at the highest level, and maintain financially to perform for you long-term. Reach out to us today to see how we can assist your process as you build your team.