How Can Small, Diverse Businesses Compete for Government Contracts?

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“Truth = Business” contracts are often not equitable for women and minority owned businesses. When they subcontract with a larger contractor, they often encounter predatory behaviors such as late payment, tokenism, or they are stealing a lot of your scope. How can small businesses not only get a seat at the table, but a fair seat? Listen in as Vanessa talks about all this and more with Dr. Kristen Williams. Williams is a community engagement data analyst and the founder of Amalgamation as well as Nineteen Eleven Consulting.

Connect with Dr. Kristen :

LinkedIn = https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristin-n-williams-ph-d-76804115a/

Website = https://www.nineteenelevenconsulting.com/

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3 Takeaways from this episode include:

• Small businesses need to be able to access opportunities. Applying for a government contract can be confusing and time consuming, especially when you don’t have one person solely dedicated to proposal writing. Small businesses need to pool resources and share information in order to get a seat at the table.
• Cold bids do not end in success, pretty bids don’t equal success as well. Those who have relationships with government offices such as big contractors are in much better shape to secure contracts. Unfortunately, when companies know they will get the bid (over and over again), their deliverables are often sub-par.
• Equity is not here yet. What is valued can show up in strange ways. A DBE (disadvantaged business enterprise) business can be certified in one state but it doesn’t translate over onto other states. In comparison, a concealed carry license carries over to all states.

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