The Federal Emergency Management Agency can be a fantastic source of employment for government contractors. FEMA contractors are needed throughout the year to help with a variety of disaster relief efforts, but if you thought that FEMA was your only or even your best government contracting option, think again. There are many other options to consider.
1. Look At Other Federal Agencies
While there’s certainly nothing wrong with becoming a FEMA contractor, it’s important to note that there are dozens of other agencies. FEMA is part of the Department of Homeland Security, and there are several other agencies just within DHS that offer contracting jobs, including the Transportation Security Agency, the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Of course, that’s just within one federal department, you also could consider working with the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Education, the Department of the Interior, etc. Within each of these departments are many agencies and most of these will seek government contractors at one time or another.
One of the best ways to search for opportunities is to search using your NAICS codes. These are part of the North American Industry Classification System, and every type of business has one or more codes that apply to it. Your company might have one main NAICS code and a few other related codes describing different types of goods and services you can provide.
You can head to sites such as FedBizOpps.gov and do an advanced search using your NAICS codes. This will provide you a list of many different agencies that might need precisely the services or goods that you supply.
2. Check Out State Government Opportunities
When you register with SAM, this will make you eligible to bid on federal contracts. But once you get your CAGE code, you also can apply to bid on state government contracts, as well.
Every state has a unique system that they use so basically you just need to search for your state’s department of procurement. For instance, if you want to do business with state government agencies in Wisconsin, you’ll need to register at Vendornet.WI.gov. In California, it’s CalEProcure.CA,gov. In New York, it’s OGS.NY.Gov
Before you sign up with your state, but after you get your CAGE code, consider joining your local Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC). You can find your closest center at http://www.aptac-us.org/. Once you’ve signed up, you can contact this center to get more information about state contracting. Your PTAC also will be able to help you find helpful training workshops and conferences for government contractors, and we highly recommend that you attend a few of these events.
3. Don’t Forget About Local Governments
Your local town or county also will have government contracts available from time to time, so it’s wise to consider bidding on these contracts. Every county and city is broken down into different departments and these departments may have contracting needs.
To find these more local opportunities, do an internet search with your city or county name with the word “procurement” in the search query. For instance, we did a search for “Dade County procurement” which led us to MiamiDade.gov/procurement. From there, we were able to access a link to Online Vendor Registration, Contracting Opportunities and Invitation To Bid.
While FEMA contractors are always in need, there are always other opportunities to consider. Of course, before you start bidding, you must complete SAM registration, and we can help. SAM registration can be quite complicated and time-consuming, so it often makes sense to hire a third party to handle your registration.
If you’ve been wanting to become one of those FEMA contractors (or a contractor for any other agency), but are confused or frustrated with SAM, give us a call at (800) 985-7658 or click on the green New Registration tab on our website. A registration specialist will contact your, collect your information and we’ll quickly get to work on your SAM registration.