While the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce® (NGLCC) continues to work with allies on Capitol Hill and in the Obama administration to ensure LGBT-owned businesses receive a piece of the federal contracting pie, many LGBT small businesses are already working with the federal government.
And while doing business with the federal government can seem overwhelming and intimidating for some small business owners, there can be an enormous payoff for business owners who take the plunge.
At a recent roundtable discussion on federal procurement held by the Capital Area Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (CAGLCC)—the NGLCC's Washington, D.C. affiliate chamber—a panel of experts offered small business owners insight into doing business with government agencies, and doing it successfully.
Panel member Jim Thompson, regional director for the U.S. Department of State's Global Partnerships Initiative, told the group that federal agencies are looking for the opportunity to partner with the private sector to meet their internal goals.
"Many government agencies are picking up this partnership mantra," Thompson said. "It's a little different than contracting—it's that convergence that we're looking for."
But getting the opportunity for these partnerships requires some serious preparation on the part of small business owners. First and foremost is knowing who they are and knowing what the government needs.
Ben Finzel, senior vice president and head of public affairs at Widmeyer Communications, emphasized the importance of small businesses knowing what kind of services and value they can offer to a federal agency, services it cannot get internally.
For example, Finzel noted that while the government is "getting a lot better" when it comes to utilizing social media, many agencies often look for help externally to develop their social media presence, an area where Widmeyer has had great success.
"If you think about your business and how you can help agencies navigate that social media space, that's very helpful," Finzel said.
When federal agencies are looking for potential vendors, past performance is cited as a determining factor as well. "We're all about past performance in looking for new solicitations, past performance as an indicator of future performance," Thompson said.
But, Thompson admitted, agencies "do a terrible job" of documenting their contractors' past performance, so it's up to the contractor to provide agencies with an outline of the services they provided. He said such a performance report will be useful when the contractor seeks additional federal contracts.
Another key to landing a federal contract is getting on the General Services Administration (GSA) schedule—a list of qualified vendors that federal agencies use when it comes time to select potential vendors to bid on a request for proposal (RFP).
While being on the GSA schedule can land small businesses direct contracts with federal agencies, it can also open the door to subcontract work. In such cases, large businesses become the prime contractor with the government, and they seek out support from small businesses to provide contracted services. This happens for a variety of reasons: A firm may not have the right capability to complete some portion of the contract or it is looking to meet diversity requirements for a particular contract.
"Never underestimate the power of the GSA schedule," said Eileen Kessler, panel moderator, and president of OmniStudio, an NGLCC-certified business. "Know that larger businesses are on there and they can hire you."
Depending on the size of the contract, some agencies will post a list of the companies being considered for the RFP on databases such as FedBizOpps and OpenRFP, where small businesses can directly contact potential prime contractors on that list in order to become a subcontractor.
Once a business lands a contract, one of the most important management concerns is billing the agency for your services. Contractors need to be detailed and organized.
"The last thing the government employee wants to worry about is the invoice," Finzel said. "You have to match what you do to what they need so that you can report it in a way that's not going to kill you and will give them a clear picture."
Ultimately, being optimistic about your chances at landing a federal contract could be the key to your success, Kessler said.
"Don't think that you can't get it," Kessler said. "A lot of times you might think, ‘someone else must be doing this job and I don't even have a chance,' but just do the due diligence and you'll be rewarded."
