The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is tasked with providing relief for all types of disasters. This includes floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, fires, and tornadoes as well as providing support during other times of crisis, such as the current pandemic. There are plenty of FEMA clean up jobs available, but providers often don’t think about working with FEMA until after a disaster occurs, and that can cost them some lucrative jobs. To become a FEMA contractor, the first step is to register for the System for Award Management (SAM).
What Types Of Jobs Are Available?
When it comes to natural disaster clean up jobs and services, you might be thinking solely about tasks such as debris removal or remediation services, such as cleaning up buildings that have been flooded. However, that is really just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to FEMA jobs.
FEMA clean up jobs are not just about providing actual cleanup services. FEMA needs people to provide tents, cots, and portable bathrooms for evacuees and emergency workers. They need food services and water bottles to help feed FEMA personnel and anyone evacuated from a disaster.
During the current pandemic, FEMA has asked for contractors to provide products such as personal protective equipment, thermometers, nitrile gloves, health screening services, IV pumps, and surgical gowns. While this seems logical, they also have asked for companies to provide food services, copier repair services, bus rentals, and even translation services.
You might think that your business has nothing to do with the pandemic response or that you can’t bid on natural disaster clean up jobs, but the government needs help from almost any industry. Cleaning and disinfection specialists, for instance, are needed for COVID relief and also will be needed for many FEMA clean up jobs. We even saw a recent FEMA request for shredding services; they truly need help from just about anyone.
FEMA Clean Up Jobs & SAM Registration
Before you can bid on any FEMA natural disaster clean up jobs, you must first register your business with the System for Award Management (SAM). This is a central database for all government contractors. It takes some time to complete the SAM registration process, which is why we strongly recommend that anyone wanting to work with FEMA, take this step, and register with SAM.
Companies cannot do business with FEMA or any other government agency until they are approved in SAM. This is why it is important that you complete your SAM registration before a disaster response is needed. If your company is registered and ready to go, you can bid on contracts, otherwise, you are missing out on some valuable opportunities.
How Do You Complete SAM Registration?
SAM registration can be a complex process, and often takes business owners in excess of 10-12 hours to complete. The government does not charge businesses or individuals to pay for registration, but there are third-party services (such as ourselves) that can help you complete the SAM registration process.
Many of our clients contact us after they have attempted to start SAM registration on their own and have become frustrated. We are SAM registration experts, and we fully understand every section of the lengthy registration process. We do charge for our services, of course, much like an accountant charges a fee to prepare your taxes.
After all, you could complete your taxes on your own, but the tax code is confusing and frustrating, and it just makes sense to hire a professional. Our services are similar. You could complete SAM registration on your own, but it’s confusing and often frustrating, and we can handle the process quickly and easily for you.
What To Do After SAM Registration
Once we’ve completed your SAM registration, it takes a couple of weeks for the application to be approved. As soon as the application is approved, you will be given a Commercial and Government Entities (CAGE) Code. This code is crucial because it is your unique identifier in the government contractor database.
Once you have a CAGE code, you can create a capability statement, which basically is a resume for companies that wish to do business with the government. This is a one-page document with several sections, including your contact information, company data, past performance (companies with whom you’ve done business in the past), core competencies and differentiators (what makes you stand out from other companies).
Create a page on your company website just for government contracting, and add a link to your capability statement on this webpage. You also can add it to your company’s LinkedIn page.
In addition to working with the federal government, such as FEMA clean up jobs, that CAGE code makes it possible for you to work with many state and local government agencies, as well, which can be very lucrative. Most states even host special events for government contractors where they can meet with agency procurement officers or just gain more knowledge about the contracting process.
In order to work with your state government or any state government, you will need to sign up with their online procurement system. Each state has a different system, and they all have unique names, so to find your state’s procurement agency, simply do an internet search with your state name and the word “procurement,” and look for the search result with the .gov website suffix, as this is the official government site for your state.
Whether you end up bidding of FEMA clean up jobs and natural disaster clean up jobs or work with a completely different agency, any government contract can be an excellent source of income for your business. The government will always need contractors to provide goods and services, and we can help you complete that first big step – SAM registration. To get started, just head to our homepage and click on the green New Registration tab.