Federal Contracting Made Easy's Podcast

#Notionapplication does have its flaws.  #Notion claims to be an all-in-one #productivity application however it is not perfect.  In this episode, I discuss the most common flaws with Notion.

Everyone wants to be more productive and stop procrastinating.   Is Notion the application that will finally kick start your productivity?  

SBA has eliminated the "Three-In-Two" Rule.  They have also combined the 8(a) Mentor/Protege Program with the  "All Small Mentor/Protege program". Plus more

Today, I interviewed Kizzy Dominguez a Government Contractor with K. Parks Consulting Incorporated an Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Business (EDWOSB) that has successfully won government contracts. Kizzy is going to share will our viewers today, tips and strategies to help you achieve success in government contracting.

Do you know the difference between #accrual accounting and #cashaccounting?  Which is better for your business; accrual accounting or cash accounting?  I will answer these questions today along with others.

In Government Contracting, Contracting Officers must first go to the MANDATORY Sources of Supplies and Services BEFORE they go anywhere else. What are the mandatory sources?  That is what is discussed in this episode.

The #2020USELECTION is almost here.   #DonaldTrump is running for re-election for President of the United States.  If elected, his policies could impact many small businesses.  Today, I look at Donald Trump's goals, along with my opinions on his goals. #USElection

The #2020USELECTION is almost here. #JOEBIDEN is running for President of the United States. If elected, his policies could impact many small businesses. Today, I look at JOE BIDEN policies along with my opinions on his policies. #USElection

The key to survival in tough economic times is managing your business money.  Many small businesses and entrepreneurs struggle with money.  Today, I will be providing ways to handle your money.

Small businesses need to understand the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) #federalacquisitionregulation #far in order to compete on government contracts.  After all government contracting and the Federal Acquisition Regulation is complicated. #governmentcontracting.  It can take years to understand the federal acquisition process. Today, I will go tell you which parts of the Federal Acquisition Regulation you need to pay attention to when bidding on government contracts

Cashflow is money that is moving in and out of your business each month. Cash is coming in from clients (customers) when they buy your products or services. Cash goes out of the business whey you pay for rent, employees, and utilities. Trying to maintain your cash flow can be a daunting task. To help you solve this problem I am providing 12 ways to increase your cash flow. #1 Invoice Immediately #2 Get It in Writing #3 Include a Specific Due Date on Invoices #4 Use Electronic Invoicing #5 Charge Late Fees #6 Offer Incentive for EARLY Payment #7 Do Not Pay Bills Early Pay On Time #8 Hire a CPA #9 Obtain a Line of Credit #10 Sell Your Invoices (When Hurting for Cash) #11 Use Periodic Payments #12 Review Your Cash flow Weekly

To become a Government Contractor, you need to become familiar with the different types of contracts used by the Federal Government.  In this video, I will discuss the most popular contract types.  However, the list is not all-inclusive.  Here is the list of contract types covered: Firm-Fixed Price Contracts (FFP) - FAR Part 16.2 DFARS 216.2 Cost-Reimbursement & Cost-Plus Contracts - FAR Part 16.3    DFARS 216.3 Time & Material Contracts - FAR Part 16.6 Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity Contracts (IDIQ) - FAR Part 16.5 Cost Plus Incentive Fee Contract - FAR Subpart 16.301-3   Enjoy the episode!!!

In this episode, I am talking about Make Time by Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky. I look at the factors making life busier, the 4 part framework proposed in the book.  Enjoy

Let’s face it, we all need all the help we can get with government contracting. (#government contracting) That is where today’s topic comes into play. What is the DBE Program (#DBE)and Tips & Tricks is aimed to help you make the most of this program. The DBE certification can be complicated at first. But understanding the rules and regulations can make things easier for you. There are benefits to the DBE program and I will discuss them. I will also go over the upside and downside to the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Program. (#Disadvantaged Business Enterprise) This is the only program where women-owned businesses are considered a minority. If you do highway, or railroad construction then this program is for you. In addition, vertical construction contractors can benefit also especially if your airport is undergoing major changes. Lastly, if you do airport concessions or want too then check out this program. Now, this program is administered by the U.S. Department of Transportation. However, you

12 Common Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make With Employees and How To Avoid Them has been written based upon my experience of being an employee and an entrepreneur.  See I had business while still working. Entrepreneurs need advice.  They need to know what they are doing wrong and well as right.  I hope you enjoy this episode. #entrepreneur #commonmistakes #employees

Search Engine Optimization or SEO (#SEO) for short is essential to draw in clients to your business. During the interview with Tanner Scott of Ranksey Digital Marketing, the following topics were discussed: backlinks (#backlinks) one-page websites, blogs, digital content (#digitalcontent), social media posts, what SEO (#WhatisSEO) is. Just to name a few.

  Wrap rates can be confusing as it goes by many different names: wrap rates, fully burden rate, fully loaded rate, and billing rate.  What exactly is included in your wrap rate?  That is what the video is about.  Your wrap rate is made up of Indirect Costs which are also known as burden(s).  Burdens are support costs like fringe benefits, overhead and general and administrative costs (G&A). Fee(s) are your profit.  A wrap rate is what you bill your customer to recover the cost of the employee pay, plus fringe benefits plus an amount for overhead, plus G&A costs, and profit. 

Analyzing the definition of key terms often provides more insight into concepts.  Overhead can be defined as activities supporting the production process that are not direct costs, or direct labor.  As an entrepreneur, it is essential to know why overhead costs impact your small business.  I first start by defining overhead then go into examples.   What costs are included in overhead?  A definition of fixed costs, variable costs, and semi-variable (mixed) costs are also included.  It is important to note that the more fixed costs you have, the less profit you will have.  Also discussed is how to compute your overhead rate. 

This week’s discussion is on “Have Gov’t Contractors Been Impacted by Pandemic”. In order to make this determination I can reports through USASpending.gov. The results were surprising. In fact, two set-aside actually saw an increase in contracting dollars when compared to just a year ago. Now, I could have used the FPDS database to obtain the numbers for this episode, but I find it too cumbersome when compared to USASpending. Besides, the information is the same no matter which system you use. Depending on the set-aside used government contractors saw a 11.54% decrease to a 24% increase! The biggest winner were small businesses with a 24% increase. 8(a) contractors saw the largest decrease of 11.54%. HUBZone contractors saw an 11.03% decrease as well. The service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses saw an increase of 1%. This number really surprised me. Last but not least Women-Owned Small businesses (including Economically Disadvantaged women-owned small businesses) saw a 2.5% decrease.

I am continuing our cost accounting (#costaccounting) series today by explaining the difference between fixed and variable expenses.  Throughout the video, I will be using the following terms interchangeably and they are costs and expenses.  (#VariableCosts.) Variable costs change based on the number of items produced or the number of services provided.  If your production goes up 20% then your variable expenses (cost) goes up by 20%.  If your production goes down by 30% then your variable costs will go down by the same percentage.   Your fixed expenses stay the same.  They do not change no matter how many products or services are provided.  They are fixed, hence the name fixed costs. #FixedCosts #FixedExpenses Why do you need to know the difference between fixed expenses and variable expenses?  Well, the more fixed cost a company has the more revenue the company needs to produce to break even.