Impressive

I came across a terrific graphic on the nature of women-owned small businesses (WOSB) filled with many statistics.  One outstanding fact is that female ownership in small business increased more than 20 percent between 2002 and 2007, compared with a 5.4% increase in male-owned businesses.  Explore the graphic below to learn more.

Many of you may have spent a lot of time in the past few weeks playing games with your children or grandchildren.  Or perhaps some of you are kids at heart and received some of your own games during the holidays.  Many of these games were probably electronic PlayStation, Xbox or Wii games.  But what about the good old fashioned board games.

Slight Decrease in overall GSA Schedule Sales but some Schedules Thrived.

GSA has released GSA Schedule sales figures for the entire FY2011, which ended September 30, 2011. Overall schedule sales dipped to $38,591,523,579 or 1.5% decline over 2010 figures.  You can view raw figures on our GSA schedule sales page.  This slight decline may not come as a surprise as the government is tightening its belt, and stimulus funds have been expended.  [Note:  These 2011 results do not include VA schedule sales.]

GSA Contracts: Minimize Your Competition within the Rules

Hiring a consultant to help you through the GSA contract process is an excellent idea, but what happens after you get the contract? Can that same consultant help you through an audit or an extension? Can they help you find new government customers? You should find answers to these questions before you engage with a qualified GSA consultant.

Prior to or immediately after your GSA contract award, you should have a training session to brief sales reps on the benefits and requirements  of this new GSA contract.  The basics include

The General Services Administration (GSA) was established in 1949 by President Harry Truman. The original mission of the GSA was to stockpile supplies for wartime, store and manage government records and dispose of surplus war supplies.

GSA’s eBuy system, is an online system that allows federal agencies to post requests for Quotations (RFQ) and requests for proposals RFP.  eBuy is a nice benefit of having a GSA contract that is exclusively available to GSA schedule contract holders. 

Many businesses that aspire to expand into the Federal market often conclude, and rightfully so, that obtaining a GSA Schedule contract could be a great tool in their  Federal marketing toolbox.  But some firms have been led to believe that all they need to do is simply apply for a GSA contract, as you might a business loan from your bank. This is definitely not the case and there is no such thing as a GSA application. And while some people may use the term “application” in the vernacular, it tends to make one believe that the process is form driven and straightforward. This issue is not merely semantics; obtaining a GSA contract is serious business and requires a lot of thought and preparation.

GSA will begin using its new report card in the coming months during their audits, which they call contractor assistance visits (CAV).  Here are the questions that will be asked by your auditor, which GSA refers to as Industry Operations Analyst (IOA).