The Small Business Administration (SBA) can be a fantastic resource for just about any small business, especially if you decide to bid on government contracting jobs. Here’s a quick look at the SBA in general as well as SBA government contracting and how Federal Contractor Registry can help small businesses.
The SBA was created during the 1950s to help small businesses grow and, in turn, help improve the nation’s economy. The SBA provides resources to help Americans get started with a new business or to help grow an existing small business.
If you are just getting started, the SBA offers tips and information to help you create a business plan and launch your business. They also help you find funding, such as low-interest loans and grants as well as matching you to mentors that can help you expand and grow and manage your firm.
Is Your Business Small?
To qualify as a small business, you must meet certain size standards. These vary based on your industry. The SBA has a Size Standards Tool at https://www.sba.gov/document/support-table-size-standards although this is currently undergoing an update. At any rate, the page above contains information that can help you determine whether or not your business qualifies as a small business.
To determine whether or not you qualify, you will need to know your North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes. These codes, which can be found at Census.gov, describe the types of goods and services your company can provide.
Once you’ve found your codes, the SBA determines whether or not your business is small by either looking at your annual receipts (gross income) or your number of employees. For instance, if your business is a sporting goods manufacturer and you have 750 or fewer employees, you qualify as a small business, no matter what your gross income might be.
On the other hand, if you own apple orchards and your company has gross receipts of $4 million or less per year, your business will qualify as small, regardless of the number of people you employ. As you can see, your business might have hundreds of employees and millions in gross receipts and still qualify as small.
SBA Set-Asides
Once you’ve determined if you qualify as a general small business, the SBA also has several programs specifically designed to help business owners that wish to bid on government contracts. These programs are known as SBA government contracting assistance programs or simply as “set-asides” because the government sets aside certain contracting jobs just for qualifying small businesses.
There are set-asides for general small businesses, but there are also a few special set aside categories, including:
Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB)
If you have served in the United States armed services and own 51% or more of a qualifying small business, you can register as a VOSB. There is also a designation for Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSB) for anyone who served in the military and became disabled because of a service-related injury.
Currently, VOSB verification is handled by the Veterans Administration, but that process will be handled by SBA beginning January 1, 2023. If you register with the VA before this date, your verification status will be transferred automatically.
Woman-Owned Small Business (WOSB)
If your small business is at least 51% owned and operated by a woman, you can apply for the WOSB program. The SBA also has a designation for an Economically Disadvantaged Woman-Owned Small Businesses (EDWOSB).
To qualify for the latter certification, you have to qualify as a WOSB but also the woman or women that own the business, according to the SBA, must each have a personal net worth of less than $750,000 and $6 million or less in assets. Further, the woman or women that own the business also much have $350,000 or less in adjusted gross income for the three previous years.
Small Disadvantaged Business
The government sets aside about 10% of all federal contract dollars to businesses that qualify in this category. To qualify for these federal government contractor jobs, the company must be at least 51% owned and operated by a person that qualifies either as socially disadvantaged and economically disadvantaged.
The economic requirements are outlined above under the EDWOSB section. Socially disadvantaged groups include “those who have been subjected to racial or ethnic prejudice or cultural bias within American society because of their identities as members of groups and without regard to their individual qualities. The social disadvantage must stem from circumstances beyond their control.”
This includes a wide range of people including African Americans, Native Americans and many other ethnic groups as well as women and people with physical disabilities. Basically, if you can express how your ethnicity, creed, religion, disability, gender or other factors have negatively impacted your ability to earn a living, start a business or even gain access to education, you may qualify as socially disadvantaged.
The HUBZone Program
HUBZone stands for Historically Underutilized Business Zone, and this program was designed to boost small businesses located in areas that typically have struggled economically, such as impoverished urban areas or remote rural areas.
For this program, a small business must have its principal location in a HUBZone and at least 35% of the employees must live in a HUBZone. The business also must be 51% or more owned and operated by U.S. citizens, a community development corporation, an agricultural cooperative, an Alaskan Native corporation, a Native Hawaiian organization or a Native American tribe.
About 3% of all federal contracting dollars are set aside for HUBZone businesses. To check if your business is located in a HUBZone, go to https://maps.certify.sba.gov/hubzone/map#center=39.828200,-98.579500&zoom=5. Some areas, such as those hit by a natural disaster, qualify as temporary HUBZones, so if you live in an area severely damaged by fire, a tornado, hurricane or other disasters, you might be able to qualify for this program.
8a Certification
About 5% of contracting dollars are set aside for businesses in the SBA’s 8(a) Business Development program, which often is just known as 8a certification. This program is set up for businesses 51% or more owned by socially and economically disadvantaged U.S. citizens who have been in business at least two years. Once you qualify for this program, you can participate for up to nine years.
Let Us Help With SBA Government Contracting!
While signing up with the SBA is a must for any small business, all federal contractors, large or small or in between, must complete their registration in the System for Award Management (SAM) to do business with any federal agency. At Federal Contractor Registry, we can provide you with fast, accurate SAM registration services.
However, we also provide several value-added services. We will help you sign up with the SBA and ensure that you are enrolled in all eligible programs. We know that this process can be tricky, but we have years of experience helping new government contractors. We also can introduce you to Super 8a contractors in our network, which can be a great way to get started with government contracting jobs.
Whether you qualify for one or more SBA government contracting certifications, don’t miss out on your chance to bid on these lucrative jobs. If you’d like for us to handle your SAM registration, just click on the green New Registration tab on our homepage and fill out our quick contact form. Once our registration specialist contacts you, be sure to mention that you need SAM registration and help to sign up with the SBA, as well.