Tweet

DOING BUSINESS WITH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT – PART 1

Written by: Atul Uchil

Article Overview: The FAR is a body of regulations which is the primary source of authority governing the government procurement process. The FAR, which is published as Chapter 1 of Title 48 of the Code of Federal Regulations, is prepared, issued, and maintained under the joint auspices of the Secretary of Defense, the Administrator of General Services Administration, and the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

DOING BUSINESS WITH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT – PART 1

The best thing about doing business with the federal government is that there are no surprises. All processes, procedures, requirements, rules, regulations, etc. are defined and documented.

However, you as a potential government contractor need to know where to look. The other downside of everything being documented is the fact that there is an astronomical volume of information to sift though to get to what you need.

Like everything else, the acquisition lifecycle followed by the federal government is also well defined and documented. The process for Federal Acquisitions is available in the Federal Acquisitions Regulations (FAR) Part 7. Here are some of the excerpts.

Milestones for the acquisition cycle include but are not limited to the following.

Procurement Planning is the process of identifying which project needs can be best met by procuring products or services outside the project organization. It also involves knowing whether to procure, how to procure, what to procure, how much to procure, and when to procure.
- Acquisition plan approval.
- Statement of work.
- Specifications.
- Data requirements.

Solicitation planning is the process of preparing documents needed to support solicitation
- Completion of acquisition-package preparation.
- Purchase request.
- Justification and approval for other than full and open competition where applicable and/or any required approval.

Request for Proposals is the process of receiving the bids and proposals from the sellers and applying the evaluation criteria to select a provider.
- Issuance of synopsis.
- Issuance of solicitation.
- Evaluation of proposals, audits, and field reports.
- Beginning and completion of negotiations.

Contract Award is process of compiling and delivering the contract to the winning proposal.
- Contract preparation, review, and clearance.
- Contract award.

Please look for additional articles by Atul Uchil on doing business with the Federal Government including set-aside contracting, 8(a), SDVOSB, etc. in the management section of http://www.evancarmichael.com/

Related Articles
  DOING BUSINESS WITH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT – PART II
  How Can I Win Government Contracts? Part 1
  Government Small Business Loans
  DOING BUSINESS WITH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT – PART III
  Different Types of Bonds

Article Tags:



Related Forum Posts
Re: Is facebook adverts effective? - We have done it for our online live tutoring services. But, I have decided not to use it again because we could know that there were around 250 clicks in a week ,but we could not see capitalise a single student. We targeted UK based 24-30 or something. We actually received a very few (I think around5 out of 250 clicks!) ... They too seem to be Indians and Pakistanis residing in the UK with a full time student visa, which prevents them from taking online lessons from us (then why they clicked our ads and even contacted us mean, I think, they do not going to lose anything!) ... So, I realised that our target market UK based PART TIME ACCA and CIMA students do not use FaceBook to browse ACCA and CIMA related sites although they use FaceBook. So, as our website is for ACCA and CIMA courses, probably it might have been shown in ACCA and CIMA FaceBook groups, where FULL TIME students were browsing it. So, I think it is we, selected the wrong medium .... Not to blame FaceBook I think .... So, it mainly depends on your target market, where they reside and actually from that area/country, truly would your target group see your adverts ? Much to consider ....
Re: SEEKING PRIVATE OR ANGEL INVESTOR - Definitely have a thorough and accurate business plan. In the US, you can get help at SCORE - their website is full of great information and you can check for local chapters. If you would like a book that has all kinds of great information about financing options - this one is very good --- HOW TO GET THE FINANCING FOR YOUR NEW SMALL BUSINESS: INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS FROM THE EXPERTS WHO DO IT EVERY DAY—WITH CD-ROM This new book will provide you with a road map to securing the financing. The book goes into traditional financing methods and assists the reader in setting up proper financial statements and a proper business plan. It details the differences between debt and equity financing and how and why to use each. Valuation techniques are explained for determining what your business is truly worth. However, the book’s real strength is in explaining alternative and creative methods of financing, such as SBA financing, investor angels, IPOs, limited public offerings and venture capital. Essential resources for finding the detailed information you need are included throughout. Item # 9780910627559 $39.95 Shri
Re: I want to make money online - First, I'd say definitely online. Your $3,000 will go a lot further online than offline. Second, I'd read Kevin's list and the linked article and make a BUSINESS decision what you want to do, what you can offer and who you can sell it to. Do some serious keyword search and find a hungry niche, and this is your start (free). Second step (free): Sign up for clickbank, paydotcom or some other affiliate exchange and find suitable products to promote. Third step (free): Get a free site somewhere, but make sure it's on something that looks like its own domain - yourname.wordpress.com or yourname.blogspot.com or some such. Write some nice things that promote your affiliate products and put your affiliate links on the page. Fourth step (free): Go on article directories like evancarmiahcel.com (if appropriate) or ezinearticles.com and write stuff that is interesting for your niche, using your niche keywords. Put a link to your new site in the resource box/bio. Keep doing this until you make money. My kids (18 and 12 at the time) sold stuff on clickbank. Anyone can do this. Good luck!
Are you Self Employed or a Business Woman? - Us women are especially vulnerable to thinking we can do EVERYTHING ourselves! I'm not immune to this way of thinking either. (It seems to go with the territory of having XX chromosomes and growing up in our North American culture.) Anyhow, this kind of thinking can actually trip us women up when it comes to business. I've heard it said that a true business is something you create that can eventually run by itself. A business is meant to give us freedom and not tie us down. A business works FOR YOU. If you are the one working FOR YOUR BUSINESS, then I invite you to open up to the possibility of using your entrepreneur skills to recreate a business that works for you. When I was first challenged on this concept, it was a huge AHA moment. I am grateful because I realized I was still a little stuck on working harder instead of working smarter. I've opened up to a whole new world of possibility and now I'm thinking MUCH BIGGER than before. I expect my income will be much bigger as well. In all honesty, I've realized that my coaching business has been a glorified job. I will still do coaching because I love to do it, but now I am in the process of developing multiple streams of income that use my time more efficiently and products that sell even while I'm on holidays. I'm also developing a retail store which will eventually mostly run itself. Then I will move on to my next project. It's liberating to be on the path of creating businesses that work FOR me. This is how I can run multiple companies without wearing out! In fact, I plan on having MORE time for me. So, what are you doing? Are you self employed or running a business?


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Emotional Energy is Our Engine

How to Sell to the Price Driven Customer

How to develop the best lateral thinking skills

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.