I’ve written a few blogs on becoming an 8(a) certified small business so we can compete in the government’s marketplace. Just recently the Small Business Administration (SBA) shared a video on how small business owners can learn how to sell their products or services to the federal government.
The SBA has a Size Standards Tool (http://sba.gov/size-standard-tool)you can use to determine if you qualify as a small business. Before you use the tool, you may want to find the NAICS codes that apply to your area of expertise and business profession. NAICS means, North American Industry Classification System, which is the standard used by Federal statistics agencies in classifying business establishments for the purpose of collecting, analyzing and publishing statistical data related to the US business economy. http://www.census.gov/eos/www/naics/index.html
A couple of other links mentioned in the video to assist small businesses are:
http://sam.gov (System for Award Management)
However, one of the major themes that run through our experiences is networking. Just as any organization, the federal government is a group of people. As the saying goes, “People do business with people,” not with a business. So, make the calls, forge the relationships and work them.
You don’t have to be a large company to sell your products and services to the federal government. You just need to learn how and get to know the right people.