UPDATE:Are you aware of the advantages of possessing a small business certification? Women Owned Small business, Veteran Owned Small business, Small Disadvantaged business are a few of the set asides that can give you an upper hand on competitors. Every year the GSA sets a goal of awarding 23% of their entire budget to small business. In fiscal year 2017, DoD awarded more than $60 billion in prime contract spending to small businesses (Medium.com, 2018). Federal agencies strive to meet this goal by setting aside certain opportunities for these certifications. To show how much of an advantage it gives you, for example, Schedule 00CORP SIN 899 1 has 569 contractors. But, only 3 are Women Owned Small Businesses!
We have a breakdown of the goals from a previous blog below:
Often we hear small businesses voice their concerns about being a small fish in a big pond of the Federal Marketplace. In the 2016 Fiscal Year the Federal Government, as a whole, met or exceeded most of the set-aside goals that were set by the Small Business Administration (SBA). With only falling short in 2 of the 5 categories.
The small business set aside categories are broken down as follows:
1. Small Business: based on NAICS code
2. Small Disadvantaged Business: based on NAICS and net worth of owner
3. Woman Owned Small Business: 51% of business is owned and controlled by a woman or women
4. Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business: 51% of business is owned and controlled by a veteran who was disabled during their service
5. HubZone Certified Business: Business headquarters is located in an are that is deemed a historically underutilized business zone
If you qualify for one of the above set asides we highly recommend being certified. If you’re not sure if you qualify you can find out here, Small Business Certifications
On top of the SBA setting the government wide goals, each agency has its own goals for each category. We took a look at the top spending agencies and see that they are working hard to set aside contract for small businesses of various certifications.
Take a look at the below for 2017 goals breakdown and the 2016 actual numbers.
