“If you’re a new company, no matter how experienced you are, if you don’t have a vehicle, you’re dead in the water,” said Hemingway. In order to become a pre-approved vendor to the Federal Government, companies must have three years of contracting business history. This often equates to working with a larger company because they are already approved. Hemingway asserted there is a lot of competition and the possibility to lose the rights to your work to another company.
The belief that the federal government should leverage the agility and innovation potential of small business by protecting them from large business competition dates back to the Great Depression. In the decades since, it’s become enshrined in policy that small businesses should have “maximum practicable opportunities” to compete for prime contracts and subcontract awards. Translating that into practice for your particular industry is no mean feat and growing your business within the realities of the federal market is its own challenge. However, if your offering is unique and you’re a small business, the deck is stacked in your favor, shared Steve Charles, co-founder and executive vice president of immixGroup.
