Foret Contracting Group, LLC is a construction, landscaping, and building maintenance company based out of Thibodaux, Louisiana. Through US Federal Contractor Registration's (USFCR) Simplified Acquisition Program, they won a contract for grounds maintenance for the U.S. Coast Guard Base New Orleans.

Veteran's Choice Procurement, LLC is a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) located in Austin, Texas. They provide healthcare supplies and equipment to federal agencies. With USFCR's services, owner Jesse Carlow went from starting a business to winning six contracts in less than a year.

When a business starts winning government contracts, they may experience some cash flow changes because the government pays a little different than your average client. This is something that you have to consider when submitting your offers. On this episode of "The Government Buys...a Podcast," we're going to uncover some of those challenges. We'll look at some early wins for a successful small business government contractor to understand what went right and what went wrong.

Recently Todd Marchant Construction Co. dba RockNErosion won its first two federal contracts. Although it takes an average of 12-18 months for businesses to win their first award, RockNErosion completed this feat in just half of the time. For Todd Marchant however, searching, bidding, and performing federal contracts isn’t just something that he does for an income. Todd has found genuine enjoyment and passion in this type of work.

In federal contracting, having a great past performance record can open up a wide range of opportunities down the road. After all, the U.S. federal government wants to build relationships with quality businesses that they can rely on. Although Metropolitan Logistics, LLC dba Metro Managed Services has recently won its first two contracts, they are no strangers to working with Uncle Sam. Their repeated success in federal contracting demonstrates how a business can scale this sector by establishing a solid reputation.

It’s no secret that a lot of America’s manufacturing has gone overseas. This couldn’t be more exemplified than with the textile industry’s move toward countries such as China, Vietnam, Malaysia, and India. This massive shift has left many factories across the U.S. closed. Pacific Continental Textiles, Inc. isn’t one of them. In fact, they’ve been manufacturing apparel and textiles for the commercial sector for 37 years. Now, with a recent contract from the Defense Logistics Agency, they’ve just added the federal government as their newest customer.

In the federal marketplace, there are loads of opportunities across every industry imaginable. You don’t know what you’ll just find or what you will even be working on. That’s because there are plenty of businesses who will jump on opportunities that are outside of their own industries. From an outside perspective, this may sound impractical or even impossible, but it’s more common than one would think. One recent example of a business finding success in the federal marketplace by reaching out of their normal spectrum of work is Near Me, L.L.C.

Federal contracting is a long term investment for any business to take on. It can also be quite difficult to get your foot in the door as well. On average, it will take a business registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) anywhere between 12 and 18 months to win their first federal contract. Los Angeles-based business, CreativIT Consulting, LLC dba Cloud 9 Solutions, achieved this milestone within an even shorter span of time and won two federal contracts. What makes this achievement even more astounding? The business only consists of just one person.

Federal contracting is a highly competitive sector. Getting your foot in the door is a whole feat of its own. However, a true indicator of a contractor’s prowess and quality of work is when Uncle Sam chooses to build a working relationship with their business. Such is the case with RTG Building Services Inc. (which has held previous contracts under LP Custodial) winning their rebid on a janitorial contract with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. After a 10 year contract, the Army has once again solidified their trust in RTG Building Services Inc. with this recent award.

June 1st marked the beginning of the Atlantic Hurricane season. These past few years, the United States has endured waves of devastation from Maria to Michael. Then, in the West, there have been numerous wildfires with the Camp Fire being one of the most destructive in recent memory. Although it seems as if disaster is inevitable, what’s also inevitable is that there will always be contractors who will answer the call to help. With a recent Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) award from the U.S. Forest Service, B&G Forestry, LLC will be there to answer the call and provide aid.

On Dec. 18, 2018, Strategic Centric Solutions, LLC was awarded its first federal contract. The purchase order, valued at $39,546.10 was for 500 tablets and 700 tablet cases for the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine. The tablets will be used at the Academy of Police Patrol in Kiev, Ukraine. To ensure the quality of the delivery, CEO Jason Tautfest will visit the site for inspection.

Recently, NS Software Services won a major contract with the federal government. In fact, they have five years of research and development for the U.S. Navy lined up ahead of them. Although they've been performing on government contracts for the last 25 years, the key to their success is no secret. All it took was persistence, dedication, and well-developed expertise.

Networking is just as crucial in government contracting as it is in the private sector. Sometimes though, landing government-related work doesn’t mean getting an award notice at all. Instead, it could be a matter of actively putting yourself in the right place, at the right time, and with the right people. Although a newcomer to the federal marketplace, AJ Consultants, LLC is already making their mark and they did it by simply attending bid training sessions.

These past few months have marked two major developments for NAI Acquisition, LLC dba North American Imaging. In July, the company was awarded a simplified acquisition contract from NASA for one of their flat panel detectors. More recently, they launched their new exo249MGE digital camera.

Camp Redwood Inc. is a children's camp located in Walden, New York. Founded by Irma and Buddy Estis in 1961, this family-owned and operated business has all the makings to bring the perfect summer experience. Campfires, canoeing, and nature programs can all be found just an hour outside of New York City. However, this year marks their 57th season and with it comes a special event to wrap up August.

Verified Vendor Diversified 3D Technologies, DBA Exiom and CEO Erik Paul set up a booth 2018 The Defense TechConnect Fall Summit & Expo and The Small Business Innovation Research /Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) Innovation Summit. US Federal Contractor Registration's John Lynch and Anna Boutin visited Mr. Paul to find out his goals, strategy and advice for connecting with the government.

Past performance is crucial towards winning federal contracts and you can only obtain it through working with the government. However, many newcomers to the federal marketplace have been faced with this paradoxical dilemma:

On April 4, 2018, verified vendor Facility Compliance Services, LLC (DUNS #080806431) in Branson, Mo., won its first government contract. Valued at $58,785, the business is tasked with upgrading the intelligent switchgear main platform for the emergency diesel generator system at the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center in Charleston, S.C. This job is estimated to take about one day to complete and the company has subcontracted with Blanchard Caterpillar to help carry out the task.