Government Contracting 101: What All Businesses Need to Know February 18, 2014 Wyoming Entrepreneur Procurement Technica

1. Government Contracting 101: What All Businesses Need to Know February 18, 2014 Wyoming Entrepreneur Procurement Technical Assistance Center Brett Housholder Andrea Lewis Alyssa Lozier

2. Topics Part I– Basics to Consider Before You Jump Into Government Contracting How is the Govt. market different? How much does the Govt. buy of your good/service? What are basic requirements? How do you market to the Govt.?

3. Topics Part II– What You Need to Know After You Jump Into Government Contracting Set Asides Purchasing Thresholds Types of Solicitations Types of Contracts How to Find Opportunities

4. Topics Part III– How to Pursue Opportunities Offer/Acceptance How Contracts Are Awarded Responsive vs. Responsible Proposal Review Payment

5. PART I: The Basics

6. Comparing Government Markets to Commercial Markets

8. How is it Different? • Utilizes Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) • Competition requirements • Strives for achievement of socioeconomic objectives • Small business, woman-owned, HUBZone, 8a, veteran-owned • http://www.sba.gov/content/small-business-goaling • Specific federal requirements • Service Contract ACT/Davis Bacon ACT

9. The FAR System

11. What is the FAR? • Federal Acquisition Regulations (and Agency Supplements) • Title 48 of the Code of Federal Regulations • Divided into 53 Parts • Parts 1 – 51: Regulations • Part 52: Provisions and Clauses • Part 53: Forms

12. Where Do I Find the FAR? • Federal Site: https://www.acquisition.gov/far/ • Air Force Site http://farsite.hill.af.mil/

13. Who Can I Work With?

14. Who Can I Work With? • Here’s where it gets tricky. These different agencies may have different requirements.

15. How Can it Benefit Me? • New Revenue Source • Builds Relationships • Reliable Customer • Competition

16. The Government Market

17. Am I Missing Opportunities? • $460.4 Billion spent in FY2013 • Because it seems too complicated, businesses may be hesitant to become involved. Source: http://usaspending.gov/

18. What About Wyoming? • Next highest dollar recipient locations – ID, CO, VA, CA $311,435,346 awarded in FY13 in WY 4,641 Federal Contract Actions 82.69 % of the dollars to out-of-state firms $53,921,438 (17.31%) to WY recipients Source: http://usaspending.gov/

19. Getting Started

20. What Should I Think About Before I Start? • Assess your current situation • How long have you been in business? • What are your annual revenues? • How much “past performance” can you show? • Do you accept credit cards? • Can you work online? • Determine if the government buys what you sell, and how much of it…

21. Where Do I Look? • North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) • http://www.census.gov/eos/www/naics/ • Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS) • https://www.fpds.gov – (note: https) • USASpending • http://www.usaspending.gov • registration/login not required

22. Requirements

23. What Do I Have to Do? Certain registrations are absolutely required • Must obtain a DUNS number • Must register in System for Award Management (SAM) • Should also fill out an SBA Profile from within SAM, also know as the Dynamic Small Business Search (DSBS)

24. D&B iUpdate Dun & Bradstreet assigns you a DUNS number • http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform • This is free - do NOT pay for ANY service offered by D&B or anyone else! • Call your PTAC for help or if you have any questions about this process

25. System for Award Management (SAM) Replaces/combines CCR, ORCA, EPL • https://www.sam.gov/ (make SURE this is the site you use) • Absolutely must be registered here to receive any government contracts • Designed to be a single resource for multiple required registrations

26. Marketing to the Government

27. What Should I Do to Market My Business? • To effectively market your company’s product or service: • Identify your customers • Research their requirements • Learn federal procurement regulations • Present your capabilities directly to the federal agencies and large prime contractors that buy your products and services • Attend procurement conferences, business expos and business matchmaking events • Add details to your Dynamic Small Business Search (DSBS) profile (e.g., certifications, commercial customers, federal customers, special capabilities). • Show contracting officers that your company is a good match for their needs and requirements

28. Where is the Best Place to Start? • Dynamic Small Business Search (DSBS) • Not an absolute requirement, but still vital to contracting success • http://dsbs.sba.gov/dsbs/search/dsp_dsbs.cfm • This is your tool to market to contracting officers • Your opportunity to tell agencies what you’re good at, what products & services you provide, and what past work you’ve done • Able to be edited through SAM (SBA Profile)

29. What is a Capabilities Statement? • Capabilities Statement • One page – As an intro at events • Brochure – As part of response to an RFP • Detailed presentation – for capabilities briefings • Include relevant data like NAICS, DUNS, past performance, certifications, core competencies, differentiators, etc. • Tailor it whenever possible