AUTHOR’S NOTE: Even though my natural tendency is to believe anything can be achieved, my instincts as a pathfinder in federal contracting often lead to my helping aspirational GovCon’s find their way in a different marketplace. This is about “The three strikes” that frequently delays or derails success in federal contracting.

I have pet peeves that make me crazy. I don’t believe them to be petty, or inconsequential, but I do know they apply to more aspects of life and business than federal contracting. The main reason they are my pet peeves is because I firmly believe they are unnecessary. These are the kinds of things that make you bonk your forehead like they did in the old “I coulda’ had a V-8” commercials. It’s the epitome of the “duh” moment for many. What are these pet peeves? The ones I’m talking about are:

1. Taking yourself for granted.

2. Making important decisions without solid facts to inform decisions.

3. Biting off more than you can chew.

How do these relate to federal contracting? Like this.

In the course of leading The ASBC, I am privileged to meet and speak with people from all walks of life. Many are referred to me, others approach me at conferences where I’m speaking, and still others have come across articles and podcasts where something I said was a trigger for them. What nearly all of them have in common is a need for clarity. Clarity, for most of them, is a clear path to getting started, or doing better in federal contracting.

Today, I’m focusing on those getting started.

When it comes to starting something new, there are as many quotes as there are opinions, and approaches. I don’t profess to know everything, but I am comfortable in saying I have a pretty good handle on what works, and what doesn’t in federal contracting. With that said, I guess I should explain why I chose to call this blog “The three strikes.”

When I speak to someone just setting out to pursue federal contracting or subcontracting opportunities, there are three things I look for well before knowing what they will sell, how they will sell, or who they plan to sell to. These three things include:

1. Are they already doing business?

2. Do they have a good history with their offering?

3. Do they understand the basics of the federal contracting marketplace?

Collectively, when none of them can be answered in the affirmative, those are the three strikes I refer to as the “Trifecta of death.”

Not Already in Business

Starting a company for the sole or primary purpose of pursuing federal contracts can be done. I have been a part of companies like that, and led/owned a company like that. That was in the 1980s and 1990s. It can still be done, but it’s less advisable in my opinion. In this day of DoD being a catalyst and consumer of dual-use commercial technologies, bringing a product or service that is only useful to the public sector, seems risky. My first company manufactured TEMPEST equipment at a time when it was not available to the private sector. I’m not even sure it was available to all of the public sector. The bigger point here is if you have an offering not exclusive to federal agencies, then don’t start with federal agencies, or even federal primes. Start commercial and get some experience, knowledge, and revenues. The federal customers will be here when you arrive. If they are not, well, let’s just say succeeding as a federal contractor will be the least important thing to you.

Don’t Know Offering

If you are considering federal contracting, and are unsure of what you would provide them, look in the mirror. This is not to say you are the offering, but I am willing to bet anyone dinner at Peter Luger’s Steak House that your offering is already known to you. Over the years, I have had too many conversations with talented and accomplished individuals who planned to start a company selling something they just learned about, versus utilizing the knowledge, skills, and experience they’d acquired over the last 5, 10, or 20 years. Granted, sometimes there is a reason for not choosing from what we’ve accomplished, in which case I point you to my responses under ‘Already in Business?’ Consider this: While the U.S. Government owns and operates proving grounds, the facilities used for testing materials and equipment prior to being put into operational environments, they definitely have an aversion to being used as one. If you’ve just started a brand new business and have an offering that is brand new to you, this isn’t the place to start..

Don’t Know the Marketplace

Somewhere there exists a happy medium between overthinking something, and not thinking about it at all. I can’t imagine anyone buying a house or a car, starting a new job, or trying out a new restaurant, without being able to make some informed decisions first. Doing this requires having access to, and the ability to use, relevant information. Making the decision to engage in federal contracting shouldn’t be an exception, but it happens everyday. New entrants are pulled into the vortex of making decisions for which they are ill-equipped, with little or no idea of the short or long-term consequences. New language, new rules, and new processes can gum up the works in a hurry. Now imagine starting a new company, with a brand new to you offering on top of that. That’s a lot of ‘new’ to shoulder while trying to organize your thoughts on how to sell that ‘new’ product or service to those ‘new’ customers.

New entrants to federal contracting who cannot address these in the affirmative, are ill-prepared to achieve the successes they seek. It’s no secret that Federal Contracting is a process, but it requires preparation versus betting your success on happenstance.

Peace, Health, and Success,

Go-To-Guy Timberlake