Every year, the federal government awards billions of dollars in contracts to prime and subcontractors. While these government contractor jobs are profitable, the federal route isn’t the only route to consider. State, county and local agencies across the country regularly need government contractors and these often can be easier to attain than federal contracts.
Start With SAM
Of course, in order to start bidding on any level of government contractor jobs, you’ll need to complete your System for Award Management (SAM) registration. Once you’ve completed this registration, you will receive what is known as a CAGE (Commercial and Government Entity) Code.
You can complete SAM registration for free via SAM.gov, but this process can be very frustrating and time-consuming, easily taking 10 or more hours to complete. This is why many company representatives, including Fortune 500 firms, will hire a third party to complete their registration, saving them valuable time.
This is where we come into the picture. As a third-party SAM registration service, we understand all of the complexities and government jargon associated with SAM registration and can complete registrations and renewals quickly and leave you free to run your business or learn more about bidding on those lucrative government contractor jobs.
Register With SBA & Your PTAC
Once you’ve got that CAGE code, the fun really begins. If your business qualifies as a small business, and many do, you can register with the Small Business Administration (SBA) and your local Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC).
The SBA is a federal agency whose sole reason for existence is to support small businesses. They can help you find information about bidding on government contracts, as well as helping you find funding and grants. If you are just starting a business, they also provide a wealth of information about setting up your business. You can register at SBA.gov.
A PTAC is another resource for those seeking government contractor jobs. In fact, that’s the reason its parent, the Association of Procurement Technical Assistance Centers was created. They provide help for small businesses as well as training for those new to government contractors. Go to Aptac-us.org to find your local center, and be sure to sign up as this is a fantastic resource.
Understand Your NAICS Codes & Set-Asides
As we work on your SAM registration, we will identify your North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes as well as identifying any SBA set-asides for which you might qualify.
A portion of all federal contracts are “set aside” for small businesses, especially those that are majority woman-owned, veteran-owned or owned by a person that qualifies as historically economically or socially disadvantaged. If your business is located in a HUB Zone, which is a historically disadvantaged area, you also may qualify for that set-aside.
Qualifying as a small business can be advantage at the federal level, particularly when it comes to subcontracting as Prime Contractors often are required to use small businesses for all or a portion of their subcontracting. It’s also an advantage at the state level, county and local level, as many non-federal government entities also set aside a portion of their contracts for small businesses.
Those NAICS codes are your ticket to determining whether or not you qualify as a small business. As we complete your SAM registration, we will identify your codes and do a quick check to see what set-asides you might qualify for, and this information will be stored in your SAM account. You also will need to provide the NAICS codes and set-asides as you register with your state or local governments.
Sign Up With Your State Government
With the federal government, everything goes through SAM, it’s one central database for all government contractors. Of course, with 50 states (as well as Guam, Puerto Rico, etc.), each of these have their own governments and their own unique processes for attaining government contractor jobs.
To get start, just do a web search for your state name and the word “procurement.” We are headquartered in Nevada, and a search for “Nevada procurement” led us to NevadaEPro. This is Nevada’s version of SAM, and after you register and are approved, you will be able to bid on state contracting opportunities.
Additionally, each state hosts workshops, meet-ups and conferences for government contractors where you can learning about the bidding process and interact with representatives for various government agencies. Many of these offerings are free or low-cost, and it’s a great way to start learning the whole government contracting process.
Develop Your Website
No matter what type of business you might have, a high-quality website is an important marketing tool. Ensure that your website provides a wealth of information for government agencies that might be searching for contractors.
In fact, we highly recommend that you have a separate page just for government contractor. This page should include a link to your Capability Statement. This is basically a special kind of resume that all government agencies will want to see, so you need to design a great statement that expresses your many qualifications. Do a search for capability statements and you will find plenty of great examples and advice for creating this crucial document.
Of course, as we said before, it all begins with SAM registration and we can help. If you like to start bidding on government contractor jobs, and would like us to complete your SAM registration, give us a call at a (800) 985-7658 or click on the green New Registration tab, fill out our quick form and a registration specialist will be in touch with you as soon as possible.