Leveraging The Stimulus Dollars - Some Facts and Resources
Background. In February 2009, President Obama approved a stimulus package of $787 billion that would be used for tax breaks, loans, and national, state, and local government projects. With that package came the promise that 23% of the money going into federal contracts would be awarded to small businesses each year. The small business set-asides in state and local governments, however, vary.
In March 2009, Government agencies pledged they would make certain that money from the Recovery Act went towards small businesses, specifically citing veteran owned small businesses. Additionally, there are also specific set-asides for woman owned, minority owned, service disabled, and hubzone (historically underutilized business zones). Different agencies are taking their own steps toward utilizing small businesses. The Department of Transportation for example, has put aside $3 billion for small business contracting and subcontracting opportunities.
How Do I find Opportunities? You can find most of these opportunities on FedbizOpps.gov; only those that exceed $25,000 are posted. When you go to the page, on the right hand side there is a link for Recovery opportunities. Here you can browse through the over 3600 current solicitations. These solicitations are in addition to the normal thousands of solicitations, awards, subcontracting opportunities, and foreign business opportunities that are posted to the site. Unlike other sites, FedBizOpps is free and requires no registration to search opportunities. Another key information site is Recovery.gov.
How Do I find Opportunities at the State Level? Remember, a large portion of the stimulus money has been distributed to state and local governments, therefore, don't forget to check your local government website or State Recovery sites for links to their own programs. Different states will have different amounts of money available depending on many factors, including how much infrastructure needs to be built, repaired, or remodeled. If you go to Recovery.gov, you can see how much money has been allocated and spent by each state. The recovery.gov site will link you to state recovery sites where you can search for active solicitations at the state level.
Stimulus $$ for Small Business Loans. Are You a Small Business Who Needs a Loan to Expand/Pursue Larger Opportunities? The Small Business Administration, is a great source of information. The government has set aside over $15B to stimulate small business lending, and the Recovery Act supplied the SBA $730 million. Of that, $375 million will go to temporary fee reductions or elimination on SBA loans, $255 million to help businesses pay debts, and $50 million for new lending. This funding temporarily eliminates 7(a) and 504 loan fees and provides loan guarantees up to 90% of the loan for qualified businesses as well as many other potential benefits for small businesses. The following link, provides a short focused overview on loans and other changes to help small businesses.
Working With the Federal Government. With all of these opportunities, the interest in government work has greatly increased. More companies have been seen at trade shows and other events trying to gather information and basically learn how to navigate the complicated field of government contracting. The opportunities are appealing because of the money and stability, but it must be remembered that it's not easy jumping into the arena of federal contracting. Truthfully, the businesses that will find the most success in getting a slice of the stimulus pie will be those who already have experience, contacts with government officials, and the support of their management who understand that the capture and proposal process are lengthy and not without their risk.
Small businesses new to the government contracting world need to gain a thorough understanding of the steps involved in navigating the process. (See our 4 part blog) There are also some things that all businesses can be doing to prepare themselves for competition on Recovery projects. Invest time in developing relationships. As a small business starting out in the federal contracts sphere, you will probably start as a subcontractor. Therefore, be prepared to explain what makes your company special and what niche you will help a prime contractor fill on their team. Seek out large companies that you can be presenting yourself to, that way when they apply for a contract (or are already involved in a large contract) they will be aware of your specific capabilities and whether or not you are a good fit. Another important preparation is having a plan to what you would do with the stimulus money and how it will benefit the economy.
Are You Already a Prime/Sub Contractor on a large Government Contracting Vehicle? Most large agency-wide Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (ID/IQ) can be used to support almost any government agency if stimulus dollars are being used. Many government contracting officers may prefer issuing a contract task order vs. a new contract competition.
What Type of Opportunities Are There? If your business is involved in education, infrastructure, IT, healthcare, housing, energy, or transportation, then you should be seriously looking at what opportunities are available to you on a national, state, and local level. Don't limit yourself to just one level of government. Companies in certain product and service industries will also find there are more stimulus opportunities available for them than others, however.....remember that even a construction project may have need of diverse skills as varied as public outreach, graphic design, and many others.
Prepare to Commit Business Development Resources. Going after stimulus opportunities is no different than any other business development activity in that it will require your time and resources, but the risk may be well worth the reward for those who take time to seek out these opportunities and take advantage of other stimulus benefits. Take advantage of the opportunities the government has provided!
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