Amid economic challenges, many entrepreneurs are unaware of an untapped income source that could offer consistent revenue for their business. According to the Small Business Act of America, the federal government is mandated to allocate 23-26% of its budget to small businesses. These contracts may be one of the best resources for a steady stream of income once the process is understood, including common pitfalls to avoid, and learning practical strategies for crafting winning bids.
The government defines a small business as one with fewer than 500 employees and annual revenues of $20 million or less over the past five years and they allocate over $1.8 trillion each year to invest in small businesses.
Dr. Karwanna D. Irving is a Government Contract Strategist and the author of Don’t Duck The Government – They’ve Got Your Money. She discovered this important resource when she was barely making thirty thousand dollars a year as a photographer and videographer and recalls, “One of my clients was a billionaire and when I asked him how he became so successful, he told me about how government contracts helped build his company. It took me a few years to figure it out, but once I landed my first one for seventy thousand dollars, I doubled my annual income. When I saw how simple it was to grow my revenue with this system and business model, I landed two more projects within six months and made multiple six-figures.”
Karwanna was recently interviewed on Tampa Bay’s Morning Blend TV program and shared how she helps entrepreneurs learn how to apply for and secure government contracts as one of the fastest ways to grow their business whether a person works at home or is just starting a business. “Most home based and small businesses are still using outdated methods to bring in business, making less than one hundred thousand dollars a year, and they don’t know about the government resources that can help them close the revenue gap,” she says. “I want them to know that there is a better way and it’s a game changer since it will not only grow their revenue, but give them consistent income when they learn how to do it.”
Many small business owners may believe it will take five years to achieve consistent profitability and are often intimidated by the proposal submission process for government projects, but securing government contracts is viable for all types of small businesses. In fact, Karwanna is dedicated to teaching women entrepreneurs and small business owners how to navigate these challenges and each month, she leads a Five Day Challenge on How to Grow Your Small Business with Government Contracts. She has developed the following four-step system designed to grow businesses by securing government projects that also helps eliminate the need to chase clients or customers.
Step 1 – The Business Foundation. Validating a business means having all the documents in order and this may include necessary licenses, insurance, and organizational structure. This foundation makes it attractive to government agencies.
Step 2 – Get Certifications. This is crucial since government agencies are mandated to allocate a certain percentage of their budget to businesses in categories such as women-owned and/or minority-owned enterprises. Certifications will help win more project bids.
Step 3 – Marketing is Key. This focuses on creating a compelling capability statement that ensures the contracting officers reviewing the application consider these businesses first when relevant contracts arise.
Step 4 – Writing Proposals. Crafting persuasive and compliant proposals that demonstrate a thorough understanding of the project, approach, and pricing strategy is key to winning bids.
Dr. Karwanna D. Irving is a Certified Business Coach and Government Contracts Strategist who is also the Author of 10 Habits of The Highly Effective Entrepreneur. She’s helped over 300 small business owners generate more than $20 million in revenue by sharing her method of how to land government contracts. Through her Five Day Challenge on How to Grow Your Small Business, she guides business owners and entrepreneurs in becoming pre-qualified and adept at securing profitable government projects as a previously untapped resource to grow revenue.
