Government Contracting

Learn about new changes regarding veteran small business certifications for your business HERE and a video discussion HERE

SBA’s Veteran Small Business Certification (VetCert) Portal

The federal government spends billions of dollars on goods and services each year. A lot of that money is spent through a competitive bidding process. Programs have been put in place to assist some small businesses with the process, allowing them a better chance to compete for those federal dollars.

  • Small Disadvantaged Business Program. The Federal Government awards about 10% of all federal contract dollars, or roughly $50 billion in contracts, to Small Disadvantaged Businesses. The firm must be 51% or more owned and controlled by one or more disadvantaged persons. The disadvantaged person or persons must be socially disadvantaged and economically disadvantaged. The firm must be small, according to SBA’s size standards.
  • Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Program. The federal government seeks to award at least 3% of all federal contracting dollars to such businesses annually, so this program helps with meeting that target. This federal contracting program offers assistance to small business owners who are service-disabled veterans. Eligible small businesses must be over 50% owned/controlled by one or more service-disabled veterans, have day-to-day operations and long-term goals managed by at least one service-disabled veteran and have a service-connected disability. 
  • Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) Federal Contracting Program. The federal government seeks to award at least 5% of federal contracting dollars to women-owned small businesses annually. Through this SBA program, the Office of Women’s Business Ownership provides support to women entrepreneurs by offering business training, counseling, federal contracts and access to credit and capital. Their goal is to offer equal opportunities for all women in business. Learn which NAICS codes can qualify for the Women-Owned Small Business Federal Contracting Program.
  • 8(a) Business Development Program. The purpose of this program is to assist small businesses owned by socially and economically disadvantaged entities. This is achieved by limiting competition for certain government contracts to businesses participating in the 8(a) business development program. To participate a business must be certified as an 8(a) entity.
  • HUBZone Program. This program aids businesses in underutilized business zones by making them more competitive in regard to some government contracts. Businesses that join the HUBZone program can compete for set-aside contracts as well as receive preference on others, including a 10% price evaluation preference in open contract competitions.
  • Natural Resource Sales Assistance Program. The government sells large amounts of natural resources and surplus property. SBA uses small business set-asides to help them get a fair share of government property sales and leases. Set-asides limit bidding on the products exclusively to small businesses first. That way, small businesses get a chance to bid with limited competition before the products are offered to other businesses in the open market. How your small business participates in the program depends on which kind of resources you’re trying to purchase.

 

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Contact the Veterans Business Outreach Center for more information on these topics, 800-542-7232.

The Florida Veterans Business Outreach Center is funded in part through a cooperative agreement with Gulf Coast State College and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). All opinions, conclusions, and/or recommendations expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the SBA.