New Legislation Grants More Opportunities for Women-Owned Small Businesses

Last year, the U.S. Small Business Administration announced that the federal government reached its goal of awarding 23% of contracts to small businesses for the first time in eight years. Of the $83.1 billion spent with small businesses, 4.32% was awarded to women-owned small businesses (WOSBs) – up from 4% in 2012 and 3.98% in 2011 – but still short of the 5% goal in place through the SBA’s Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) Federal Contract program.

The journey to meeting the 5% goal for WOSBs has been a challenging one, but it has sparked the creation of programs and resources to help women business owners get their fair share of government business. One program that is helping women in the procurement arena is  ChallengeHER – a joint initiative by the SBA, Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP) and American Express OPEN. The program, created in 2013, gives WOSBs access to connections and resources to help them get a leg up in the federal marketplace.

And now, women business owners have another exciting tool at their disposal.

In December, President Obama signed into law the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act, which included the expansion of the Sole Source program to women-owned small businesses (WOSBs) and economically disadvantaged women-owned small businesses (EDWOSBs). The Act stipulates that if there is only one WOSB or EDWOSB that can perform the work and the value of the contract is below $4 million (or $6.5 million for manufacturing), procurement officials have the ability to award to the company without competition.  In other words, the procurement officials would be able to bypass a formal bidding process.

This is a huge win for women contractors. If you are looking to take advantage of this opportunity, pay attention to these five things:

• Certification Status: Are you self-certified? The new legislation requires that you be certified by a federal government agency or an authorized third-party certifier, like WBENC.
• The Landscape: In order to capitalize on this opportunity, you need to educate yourself on the relevant regulations and learn how to qualify for the certification. Also, take the time to identify what the benefit is to you and your business. Remember that the SBA still has to write the regulations for implementation throughout all federal agencies.
• Marketing Materials: When preparing your marketing materials, such as business cards, website content and any hard-copy collateral, include mention of your WOSB or EDWOSB certification. If you are certified by one of the approved third-party certifiers, make sure that is clearly mentioned as well.
• Pitching: In preparing any verbal presentation that you may be making, even if it’s your 30 to 60 second elevator pitch, always lead with your strengths, capabilities, strong past performance and include your certifications, too. It’s important that you package these along with your capabilities; a client will see your certifications as the “icing on the cake” of an already impressive résumé.
• Customers: Examine your capabilities to determine if any existing or new customer feels that your product or service is unique to them and would consider the opportunity to provide you with a sole source contract. It may be that your product has a particular feature that other products do not have or that the service or credentials you provide are so special that the government can justify providing a contract to you without competition.

Regardless of your product or service, having the ability to market your unique capabilities to capture more contracts through this new opportunity is a win-win for both government and women-owned businesses in our country. Do you research and start finding ways to grow your business by taking advantage of the Sole Source program.