r/govcon

I recently launched my own digital marketing agency after several years of freelance marketing and graphic design work. I’m registered under NAICS codes 516210, 541430, 541613, and 541810.
This summer, I completed my SAM.gov registration and received my WOSB and SDVOSB certifications.
I was recently approached by a larger company that has been in business for about 14 years and supports government customers with fuel, facility, transportation, lodging, janitorial, groundskeeping, and other operational services.

They proposed partnering to pursue SDVOSB set-asides. They would handle sourcing and proposal drafting, then send me weekly lists of businesses to contact for quotes. They would also cover upfront costs, but charge approximately 40% interest on the amount borrowed.

I’m very new to government contracting, don’t currently have the funds to cover significant upfront costs, and they’re offering to provide guidance and teach me the process.

Does this sound like a reasonable opportunity, or are there major red flags I should be looking for?
For those with experience in SDVOSB contracting, partnerships, or subcontracting: what questions would you ask before signing anything?
Also, is ~40% interest remotely normal for this type of arrangement?

Ok, so I got an email yesterday from a client that said they have won a $1.3 million dollar federal contract. They are the first client so far to win a contract using our software. We have only been out for a couple months and this helps prove that we took our decades of experience in the field and built something that is actually helping people compete more. We are excited to see more winners, coming down the pipeline. Now lets see whose next, we have over $4 million in our entire pipeline.. Lets end the year strong!!!!

I recently launched my own digital marketing agency after several years of doing freelance marketing and graphic design work. I’m currently registered under NAICS codes 516210, 541430, 541613, and 541810.
This summer, I completed my SAM.gov registration and received my WOSB and SDVOSB certifications. Now I’m trying to figure out what the next step should be.

For those of you who have experience with federal, state, or local government contracting:

• Where are you finding contract opportunities besides SAM.gov and state procurement portals?

• Are there specific agency procurement forecasts, subcontracting databases, or other platforms I should be using?

• How did you establish past performance when you were a new business without government contracts? Can relevant commercial/freelance work count?

• Is it worth pursuing subcontracting opportunities first to build government past performance? (If so, how do I find prime contractors?)

• At what point did you bring on a contract manager, and is that something a new/small business actually needs?

I’m not necessarily looking for someone to hand me a contract. I’m trying to understand the process and build a realistic roadmap for getting my first government contract. Any advice from business owners who have actually gone through this process would be greatly appreciated!

I am building OppRadar, which is used to collect and consolidate federal contract opportunities.

Basically OppRadar helps federal contractors by identifying contracts that are coming up for recompete, open for bid, and what to do about it, months before the RFP exists.

If you are interested in discussing this, shoot me a message or joins my waitlist.

See more at:
https://oppradar.org

So last year I started an IT staffing business. Had no intention of doing staffing, opportunities just fell into play. I now have a MSA signed with a large well known prime and two placements.

I’ve been consistently doing payroll for them, now I’m entering a period of my life where I have more time to dedicate to try and grow this thing.

I know I technically have past performance with those two placements, but I want to try and grow/establish more relationships with primes.

Still pretty new to this game, what events should I go to? How many per week? Outreach system? I technically have legit past performance now, how to best market that?

I’m pretty new to this and don’t have guidance to be honest.

Formed my LLC in June 2026, haven't filed any taxes yet (company is brand new, no return due yet). Getting ready to submit SAM.gov registration and have two things I want to sanity check before I hit submit:

1. Most Recent Tax Return Year — There's no option for "haven't filed yet." I entered the current year (2026) since that's when the EIN was issued. Is that right, or should this reflect an actual filed return? Worried this trips the IRS TIN match since there's no return on record.
2. Annual Receipts — Field won't accept $0. I entered $1 as a placeholder since we have no receipts yet. Is this the standard workaround or is there a better way to handle it?

Anyone dealt with either of these for a brand-new entity? Want to make sure I'm not setting myself up for an IRS validation failure or having to redo this later. Thanks in advance.

Hey everyone,

I'm doing some research into the daily friction we all face when navigating sam[dot]gov. I'm trying to figure out if a dedicated browser extension could actually make the site more efficient and less painful to use.

I want to hear directly from the people using it every day, without planting any specific ideas in your head: if you could have a Chrome/Edge extension built specifically for the site, what would you want it to do?

• Are there site-wide improvements you'd want to see?
• Are there specific pages (like the opportunity search, workspace dashboard, or registration pages) that drive you crazy and desperately need a fix?
• What is the most tedious part of your workflow that an extension could potentially automate or simplify?

Would love to hear about your biggest pain points and what your absolute wish-list items would be!

We are based on the west coast and have a solid presence for state and local but are having a hard time branching out in to the federal sector.

We have been an SDVOSB and received our 8(a) last year. We browse sam.gov for contracts and keep our profile and capabilities statement updated. We are on a free trial of highergov and it seems like the right tool for us but we are unsure if it is actually needed.

Is it really just about reaching out to contracting officers for sole source opportunities and vulnerable 8(a) companies to try and subcontract with? I feel like bizdev wise, we are spinning our tires because we are struggling with past performance or going after RFPs/RFQs and are late to the party.

Appreciate any and all help in advance.

Roughly 36 million businesses exist in the U.S. Depending on the year, somewhere around 100–110k of them actually win a federal contract. That's under 1%.

People see that number and assume the game is rigged or impossible to break into. It's not — but the reason so few businesses win isn't what you'd think. It's almost never "we lost to a bigger company." It's usually one of these:

* **They never registered properly (SAM.gov) or let it lapse.** No active, correct registration = invisible to contracting officers. * **They're bidding on everything instead of a lane.** Agencies buy from vendors who look like specialists, not generalists chasing any RFP that pops up. * **No past performance, and no plan to get any.** Contracting officers de-risk their decisions. A business with zero track record is a hard sell no matter how good the pitch is. * **They gave up after 1–2 losses.** Most people who eventually win spent months just learning the system before their first award. * **They never talked to a human.** Capability statements sent into the void rarely work. Relationships with contracting officers and prime contractors do.

The "1%" stat is real, but it's not really measuring difficulty — it's measuring how many businesses never seriously tried past step one. The actual bar to entry is lower than people assume; the actual bar to *staying in the game long enough to win* is where most people drop off.

Happy to answer specific questions if anyone here is looking into this — registration, finding your first RFP, subcontracting as an entry point, whatever.

Little outside the normal, but I'm looking for a business mentor. Have 15 plus years in the industry with experience in BD, project management, contract management, ops, etc. Would like to think I'm well versed, have a plan, have done as much risk mitigation as possible, have a team with similar past performances and experience, and have all the pieces in place.

This is not a rushed idea. Utilize my Apex accelerator advisor, just looking for some mentorship before taking the plunge fully. Bonus points for anyone in the Huntsville area.

Small shop here. Trying to understand how people keep track of when their own contracts and competitors' contracts come up for recompete.

Do you pay for something (GovTribe, GovWin, HigherGov, Govly, EZGovOpps), or is it spreadsheets and SAM alerts?

Mainly curious what's actually worth the money and what you find annoying about whatever you use.

Full disclosure: I've been poking at building something in this space, and I'm increasingly suspicious it's already solved. Would rather hear that from people who do this daily than find out in six months.

Is this a good business plan? (Experienced contractors only)

I posted yesterday and didn’t know what I was talking about. I did some research and made this business plan. Tell me if I need to change something or add something. Also someone yesterday told me to give up on this and do something simpler. I don’t want any negativity like that on the post or discouragement. Is this good ?

**Shepherd Solutions, LLC (not actual llc yet)**

Shepherd Solutions is a federal supply contractor that sources products from qualified distributors/manufacturers.

Start w $200-$300
Federal Government Prime contracting using subcontracted supply fulfillment

Starting with janitorial/facility supplies

GA LLC $110 ($60/yr)
NAICS (multiple naics numbers to identify what services or products I provide) (naics is provided when registered on Sam.gov) (also register on DLA for gov product contracts)
Business address, email, business phone number
Business bank account
EIN
Register on Sam.gov to get UEI/CAGE code (identifies business )
Build relationships with financier
Find supplier before bidding for pricing
Calculate bid profit after expenses (product, shipping, etc)
Submit bid as prime contractor
Win the contract
Confirm with supplier that all requirements can be done
Apply for PO financing (star funding inc)-"I won the government order and need money to buy/fulfill the products."
Provide financing with govcontract, supplier quote, llc, delivery requirements, profit margin
Financier evaluates contract, approves, then funds supplier
Supplier fulfills order

Gov receives products
Gov pays my LLC (30 days)
LLC pays financier
LLC keeps profit

Net 60 contracts with government and pay back in 60 days.

Gov pays my contract in 30 days.
Net 60- pay back supplier in 60 days.
I keep profit

**Find contract → Get supplier quote → Bid → WIN → PO financing → Supplier fulfills → Government accepts → Government pays → Repay financing → KEEP PROFIT**.

🏢 **SETUP**
**Georgia LLC:** Shepherd Solutions, LLC
**EIN:** Free
**Business bank account**
**Business email + phone**
**SAM.gov registration:** Free
**UEI + CAGE Code:** Obtained through federal registration
**NAICS codes:** Choose appropriate supply categories
**Capability statement:** Simple 1-page document
🔎 **FIND CONTRACTS**
Search **SAM.gov** for simple federal supply opportunities.
Focus on easy-to-source products: janitorial, office, safety, maintenance, and facility supplies.
Find a supplier **before bidding**.
Get pricing, availability, and confirmation they can meet the government's requirements.
💰 **FINANCING**
Calculate **product + shipping + financing + other costs + profit**.
Find a PO-financing company that will consider the government contract.
Give them the **government contract, supplier quote, delivery requirements, LLC information, and financial details**.
Get comfortable with the financing terms **before committing to the order**.
🏆 **WIN & FULFILL**
Submit the bid as **PRIME contractor**.
Win the contract.
Financing funds the approved fulfillment.
**Subcontractor/supplier provides and ships the products.**
Government receives and accepts the products.
Your LLC invoices the government.
💵 **GET PAID**
Government pays according to the **actual contract payment terms**.
Your LLC repays the financier + financing fees.
**You keep the remaining margin.**
⚠️** BEFORE EVERY BI**D
Verify NAICS/size standard
Set-aside requirements
Subcontracting limitations
Product/country-of-origin requirements
Certifications
Delivery requirements
Insurance/bonding
Supplier compliance
Financing availability
**Your entire model**
**Georgia LLC → SAM/UEI/CAGE → Find contract → Find supplier → Confirm financing → Bid → WIN → Financing → Supplier fulfills → Government accepts → Government pays → Repay financing → Profit**
**Startup goal:** Keep the business extremely lean—**no employees, warehouse, inventory, equipment, or office initially.**

**NMR / SUPPLIER COMPLIANCE:**
Before bidding on a supply contract, Shepherd Solutions will review the solicitation to determine whether the Nonmanufacturer Rule (NMR) applies. **If the NMR applies, Shepherd Solutions will use a qualifying manufacturer or an applicable SBA waiver/exception. If the NMR does not apply, Shepherd Solutions will source the required products from an appropriate supplier that meets the solicitation requirements.**
Shepherd Solutions will verify the product, manufacturer, country of origin, and other requirements before submitting each bid. Suppliers such as Uline, local distributors, or direct manufacturers may be used when their products and fulfillment arrangements meet the specific contract requirements.
Simple rule: Check the solicitation → If NMR applies, follow it → If it doesn't, source normally → Bid only when all requirements are satisfied.

I frequently get asked to provide my resume as Key Personnel for companies responding to RFPs. Mostly teams I've worked with before or have helped to author the sections that align with my expertise. But, I don't think a single one of these companies has ever won any of these opportunities.

Has anyone here actually converted a KP submission into a real job for a prop for another company? I have converted a couple of my own proposals into wins, but those were re-competes and I was already in the job. Am I just wasting my time obliging when someone asks me to update my resume for a potential role?

Hello, I'm very new to govcon and I am trying to figure out what I don't know but that I should know. I have been working with my local APEX accelerator office and another local group to help me figure out the way to our first contract (or sub). I would greatly appreciate some insights into things I should look into or consider that I have not yet.

Some context info: Small business, SDBE, HUBZone, NAISCS 541690 and 541990, no previous contracts, we have commercial experience in scientific consulting and technical due diligence reports.

Here is what I know/have done so far

1. CAGE code obtained
2. HUBZone and other certification applications have been submitted
3. Capability statement and slide deck templates have been made
4. Target agencies have been identified (do you usually select the parent agency or the subtier agency when identifying targets? Example: HHS vs FDA)
5. Identify prime contracts with set-aside requirements and make subcontracting/teaming accounts with those companies
6. Identify OSDBU for the agency/company and start building a connection
7. Set up a notification system to find RFP, SS, and pre-solicitations
8. Make accounts for OTA consortiums to find relevant alternative contracts as a nontraditional vendor

Things I have no idea about but know they exist

1. Accounting requirements and if it is beneficial to start trying to set something up to receive government funds before even applying for sub/contracting?
2. How pricing works, I know there are wrap rates, G&A, overhead, fringe, and profit are all part of the wrap rate but I have no idea what is acceptable to include or not include or how to think about things like bench time or estimating hours to complete a task in government contracts
3. What types of software are required for normal contracting. Compliant time keeping, document controlling, compliant accounting? (our previous commercial work has all been on a spreadsheets)
4. Methods for finding proposals at state and local levels? ( I am in CA so i know about their system but unsure about other states/county/city)
5. Insurance/bonding, do I need insurance when I apply and are the requirements generally different such that the requirements change between contracts?

Things I don't know about but probably should

1. I am hoping some of you more experienced folks could provide some insights here.

Contract opportunity data used to be updated daily at https://sam.gov/data-services/Contract%20Opportunities/datagov?privacy=Public ContractOpportunitiesFullCSV.csv but it now just shows headers and nothing else. It has been like this for a week or two now. Anyone know who to contact about this?

Update: it started working as soon as I posted this haha.

Our team is still checking multiple sites throughout the day to see if any new government contract awards have been posted, and it's starting to eat up a lot of time.

Are most people still doing this manually, or have you found a tool that sends alerts when new awards are posted? Curious what everyone else is using.

I've been working with the federal tender open data feed from CanadaBuys and hit something I can't explain. The tender Status field stays "Open" well past the closing date. I pulled the "currently open" file - 893 notices - and found several with closing dates more than a year in the past. Worst one was 348 days expired, still flagged Open.

Two other things that tripped me up:

1. The dataset description on open.canada.ca and the PSPC supporting docs give two different names for the status column. The description says tenderStatus-tenderStatut-eng, the supporting docs say tenderStatus-appelOffresStatut-eng. Production uses the second one, so if you built against the first your filter silently returns nothing, no error.

2. Most notices have no URL in the data. Only the MERX-hosted ones carry a link. The CanadaBuys page slugs look like bt-<uuid> or qc20160100, so you can't construct one from any published field.

Questions for people who work with this daily:

- Is the stale status field expected behaviour, or a known issue?

- Do SEAO or BC Bid have the same problem, or is this specific to the federal feed?

- Is there a canonical way to link to a CanadaBuys notice that I'm missing?

Happy to share what I did to work around each if it's useful to anyone.

Hello everyone !

I’m sharing a difficult update and a professional pivot, along with a situation that highlights a critical risk we unfortunately had to learn the hard way.

My partner and I recently made the leap to transition from our previous roles as contract administrators, into independent consulting within the federal contracting space.

We entered deep-dive negotiations with a construction-focused prime contractor who actively recruited us to join their team. We spent weeks in alignment meetings, agreed upon terms and compensation, finalized the onboarding steps, and submitted all of our documentation.

Trusting that the agreement was secure, we officially resigned from our previous positions(mainly legal reasons).

But immediately afterward, we received a text message from the prime stating they could no longer move forward,knowing full well that we had already left our jobs. Since that moment, all lines of communication have been completely cut off, leaving us stranded without our primary source of income and with bills and obligations right around the corner.

Why I’m sharing this:

Beyond the personal impact, it highlights a sobering reality about professional accountability in our industry. Verbal agreements, handshakes, and finalized onboarding processes should mean something. Leaving professionals high and dry after they have committed their livelihoods based on good faith is entirely unacceptable.

Accountability matters, especially in federal contracting where reputation, compliance, and trust are supposed to form the baseline of everything we do.