Federal Contracting Made Easy's Podcast

#accountingLet's face it. Everyone thinks they know the purpose of the accounting system(#PurposeOfAccountingSystem) however there is a legal requirement. After all, you do have to pay taxes. Today, I will discuss not only the purpose of the accounting system but the 11 functions contained within the #accountingsystem. Also, I will provide suggestions on policies to include in your business to help deter theft and fraud. Your accounting system(s) plays an important role in your business. #FinancialAccountingSystem Are you using your financial accounting system to its potential? Have you restricted access to employees to only the information that they need? #accounting #smallbusiness #entrepreneur

Do you want to know the Top MISTAKE Gov't Contractors Make? Well, that is what I will be talking about today as well as a few strategies to help. Let's face it government contracting #Government Contracting is not easy. If it was then everyone would be doing it. As a government contractor, (#governmentcontracting) you need to be better than the rest if you want to stand out. Bidding on government contracts can no longer just be the lowest price as the government is moving to the lowest price technically acceptable. Small businesses need to have a strategy in place to achieve their goals. What strategy (#strategy) should you use? Well, that is up to you. I will talk about three strategies today. The first is Cost Leadership Strategy, the second is Differentiation Strategy and the third is Focus Strategy. #Entrepreneur. #SmallBusiness #GovernmentContracting

Hi Guys,   This is a short video explaining why I am changing the name of the podcast soon.  If you are a long time listener you know that our podcasts cover more than Government Contracting.  That is why we are changing the name to "The Nancy Byerly Show".   Also, included in this episode is updates on upcoming episodes.   Please support the channel

Hi, thanks for joining me today.  My name is Nancy and our top ic today is on Cybersecurity Maturity Model Frequently Asked Questions. The Department of Defense will soon start requiring Defense Contractor to obtain a certification in order to bid on Defense contracts.  If your information systems have not been certified to the level required by the solicitation, then you cannot be awarded the contract. PERIOD.

A great introduction goes a long way to setting the stage for a professional conversation—especially when used at networking events or tradeshows.  The one tool that people use to make introductions simple and effective is the elevator pitch.  Today, we are going to provide several elevator pitches (speech) examples and tips to help create, craft, and deliver your message.  Throughout this blog, we will use elevator pitch and elevator speech interchangeably. 

YOU want to become a Consultant. That Is great. Today, we are going to go through seven steps to help you achieve your dreams of How to become a consultant with no experience. Starting a consulting business is definitely hard work. In fact, being a consultant can be downright discouraging at times, however,, it is also rewarding. These seven steps will prepare you to enter this exciting world. Running and managing your own consulting business can be rewarding. It is so enlightening to help your clients. We also will discuss your secret weapon. I am a business consultant. Although my primary focus is on government contracting, I do assist small businesses in other areas. The consultant life is not your 9 am to 5 pm job. You need a lot of patience as you are usually waiting for your clients. Don't worry, our discussion today is not limited to business consultants. These steps apply to all types of consultants, from independent consultants to online consultants. Our guide on being a consultant is going to help t

Our topic today is the top 5 entrepreneur mistakes that killed their business.  Now everyone makes mistakes.  We know that no one is perfect that is why you need to try as hard as you can to improve yourself and your business.  Entrepreneur's need all the advice they can get.  It is not easy to put yourself out there.  That is why our listing in no particular order the top 5 mistakes that we have seen entrepreneurs make. I hope today's topic provides entrepreneurial motivation for you.  Especially, those young entrepreneurs that are just getting started but don't worry we have also provided some mistakes that more mature businesses make in business. Our top 5 small business mistakes can help you.  You just need to sit back and look at your business from a different point of view.  Look at your business from your customer's point of view.  By avoiding these mistakes will only help your business grow.   

Some time ago, I read an article by Deltek regarding Government Contracting Industry Study.  I will put a link to the article in the description for you to refer too. Now as a disclaimer, Deltek is not sponsoring this video nor am I affiliated with them.  Frankly, I enjoy reading their articles.   They put out a lot of great articles on the government contracting industry.  If you have not subscribed to them, you may want to consider doing so.  Although this article is almost a year old, I believe that the report is still spot-on for the government contracting industry.  Especially, after the downturn in the economy.  Nothing this year is going to be business as usual.  I believe that the Government will have a ton of solicitations that they want to post but will not have time to do so.  As a result, this year is going to be an off year for government contractors.  We can see this in the chart which I will put up on screen.   Government contract spending has been reduced for the last three months.  As you ca

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is changing the Women-Owned Small Business Federal Contracting Program Regulations (WOSB).  SBA is providing a free, online certification and eligibility application process for Women-Owned Small Businesses and Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Businesses. SBA has delayed the start of these changes due to the pandemic. When are WOSB Changes Happening? On July 15, 2020, SBA will begin to initiate the changes to be consistent with the Small Business Act.  Specifically, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015.  In addition to the certification requirement for firms seeking WOSB and EDWOSB set-aside contracts, the regulations detail certification options for applicants. Also, the rules require authorized third-party certifiers to notify applicants of their fees and the option to use SBA's free online certification process. Essential TIMELINE For WOSB. Below are some critical timelines for Women-Owned Small Businesses: The current self-c

The Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) is a tiered system requiring defense contractors to be vetted by a third-party assessor on a five-level scale for the maturity of their enterprise cybersecurity.  Every contract to include Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contracts and grants will be marked with a corresponding CMMC level that any bidding contractors must have that level of certification to bid on the contract. Presently, there are over 350,000 Defense Contractors that required this certification.  Also, any new government contractors seeking DoD contracts will have to be certified.   Also, they will need to obtain the certification just to be able to bid on the contract. Cost of Business A DoD representative states that they understand that this certification is going to cost money.  The cost of the certification is going to depend on many factors.  However, the initial cost for the certification is $3,000.  That cost is for the lowest level certification.  The higher-level certi

Today, we are going to go over 12 mistakes I almost made my first year as an entrepreneur.  You will want to pay attention to this episode so that you don't make the same entrepreneur mistakes.  This is especially important for startup entrepreneurs.  Heed my advice for new entrepreneurs and avoid these small business mistakes.  Mistakes that business owners make the first year as an entrepreneur can cause your business to fail.

Date Published: May 8, 2020                                                                                        Episode #131   Hello, and welcome to Federal Contracting Made Easy, where we take the complex world of government contracting and break it down into simple steps that anyone can master. Today’s topic is on “DUNS Numbers are Going Away.”    The General Services Administration (GSA) is replacing the DUNS number with a new 12-character identifier ID.  How soon will this happen? GSA states that this is happening by December 2020.   Why Change?   The DUNS was created by Dun & Bradstreet in 1962. It has been the official entity verification number since it was required by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) back in 1998. Why the change? GSA opened the contract to new vendors last year. As a result, they awarded the new contract to Ernst & Young, which will administer the new ID number and manage the transition from Dun & Bradstreet. Next, we will look at the new Unique Entity ID.   Uni

The Department of Defense (DoD) has released its final cybersecurity standards. Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) is the name of the new standard. As a result of the new CMMC certification, all DoD contractors require this certification. Next, we will go into detail on the different levels of certification. CMMC Model The Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification has five levels. Most contractors working with unclassified information must obtain CMMC level one. CMMC Level one is the lowest level. For instance, the more sensitive the data that a contractor handles, the higher the level of certification that they will need to receive under this certification. Every certification level will require an in-person check by independent assessors. In addition to contractors requiring certification, assessors require certification too. Why did the government change its cybersecurity model? That is what we will discuss next. Why CMMC? Why did DoD decide to implement the CMMC certification? Because the

We have discussed contracting trends in the past but not industry-specific trends.  That is what we are doing today.  We are looking at the Information Technology industry trends for government contractors. The federal government will continue its IT consolidation and “as a service” throughout the next few years.  A report released by Bloomberg Government (Jan 7, 2020) broke down the areas likely to impact the information technology industry. IT Consolidation Consolidation is not something new.  It has been gaining momentum over the last five years.  The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) found this the preferred solution and accounted for $40 billion in spending in 2019 alone.  The government is referring to these consolidations as the best in class or BIC for short.  OMB is pressuring agencies to move from stand-alone contracts to designated BIC as part of its category management strategy.  GSA has already made changes to its Multiple Award Schedules based on OMB guidance. GSA Multiple Award Schedules GS

Date Published:  April 17, 2020                                                                                     Episode #127     Welcome to Federal Contracting Made Easy (FCME), where we take the complex world of Government Contracting and break it into simple steps that anyone can master.  We are on episode number 127, and we are going to look at the COVID-19 Contract Performance & Guidance. Essential Business and Operations The government must restrict contract performance to those "Essential Business and Operations" contracts. But what is the definition of Essential Business and Operations? The following meets the government's requirements: Groceries & Medicine; Food, beverage, and licensed marijuana production & agriculture; Organizations that provide charitable and social services; Religious entities Media; First Amendment protected speech; Gas stations and businesses needed for transportation; Financial and Insurance Institutions Hardware & Supply Stores; Critical trades; Main, po

Congress is spending $350 billion to help small businesses through the Paycheck Protection Program known as PPP.  This stimulus package is part of the $2 Trillion stimulus packaged named CARES Act. How Will It Help Small Businesses? Small businesses will receive loans up to $10 Million as long as they have fewer than 500 employees.  The interest rate is at 1% and the loan term is two years.  What is unique about these loans is that they are “forgivable” which means that the owners get to keep the money if they use it to keep paying employees who earn less than $100,000 a year, or for monthly rent (or mortgage) and utilities.  However, 75% of the loan proceeds must be used to pay for payroll. Also, the first loan payment will be deferred for six months. If the owner elects to use the money for anything else, then they must repay the money within two years at a 1% interest rate with a government guarantee protecting the bank or credit union from the loss.

Coronavirus Impact on Supply Chain This disease has interrupted the global supply chains resulting in limited availability of supplies and products. As a result, government contractors may not be able to obtain the supplies and products that they need to meet the performance requirements of their contracts. Besides the supply and product issue, let's look at the impact the Coronavirus may have on employees. Coronavirus Impact on Employees As a small business owner, you must address your ability to continue operating, while at the same time, ensuring the safety of your employees. It can be overwhelming to comply with governmental travel restrictions and following CDC guidelines. Add to that OSHA, EEOC, FMLA, and potential workers' compensation claims and employee privacy rights. That is enough to make your head spin. Financial Risk Not only do you have to be concerned with your employees but also your business itself. If you fail to perform on these government contracts may cause reputational harm to your busi

Has the Coronavisurs impacted your business? Could you use a low-interest loan to get you through this crisis? If so, then consider applying for an SBA Disaster Loan. SBA can lend you up to $2 Million with repayment terms up to 30 years.

As government contracting gets more competitive it is important for small businesses to find ways to stand out from their competitors. Today, we will discuss 17 strategies to help you do just that.  These strategies also apply to any business, not just government contractors.      

The GSA Multiple Award Schedule Program is known as the "Schedule." These businesses on the GSA Schedule gives access to millions of commercial products and services to federal, and educational institutions through this program. There are several benefits if you have a GSA Schedule. The most significant advantage is that your pricing is pre-approved. Also, GSA has vetted your technical capabilities. No more wondering if the government is going to say that your business does not have the technical skills to perform on the contract. Plus, you have access to exclusive GSA Tools and opportunities. Lastly, you have access to marketing tools and visibility through GSA's website.