END OF FY - Beginning of FY and the Myth of the Level Playing Field

I am not certain I have seen a stranger year ever, across the board.

With the advent of ARRA (TARP, stimulus), there was a media and event rampage on getting into the government market, bringing your wheelbarrow down to the Capitol and going home with a couple million for your pet local project. Ain't gonna happen.

I'd just as soon buy some magic beans and wait for the beanstalk. The odds are better.

But, as usual, the government contracting world marches on in the only (nearly) recession-proof market in the world - Global One - selling to our favorite Uncle.

For the truly initiated, this market is recession-proof. The government needs contractors, it needs the products and services we bring to the table. And I hope you (the truly initiated) had a great FY and are ramping up for another.

But this year, especially because of the economy and the stimulus program, many companies came into the B2G market because of the rumors and out-right lies perpetrated by a few about how "easy" it is going to be to get some of that stimulus money, or to nab a contract. One pitch claimed "You are a phone call away from a $200,000" government contract. One company offering seminars on how to make that call apparently seeded the audience with employees and others who claimed to have done it.

I am not here to rehash that topic or to beat up of the seminar company. I am here to remind the gullible that NO market is easy to break into, especially the government market.

In the government market there are terms and conditions that you would never agree to elsewhere.

In the government market the GSA or DCAA can show up on your doorstep without advance warning and audit your books.

In the government market the contracting agency can terminate your contract "for convenience".

In the government market there are already people and companies doing whatever you do.

In the government market there are companies that do nothing but government, and do it well. While they may not have the best product or service, they have a track record of performance and a bid team with experience.

In the government market - there is no level playing field.

Not that I have an opinion.

Unrealistic Offers from Questionable Sources

When you hear claims like "one phone call to the right office can land you a $200,000 government deal," or that a seminar can provide the "formula" for winning TARP (ARRA) stimulus $ in 60 days, you should be hearing the robot from "Lost in Space" -

"Danger Will Robinson! Danger!"

In my 2nd book, Why Epiphanies Never Occur to Couch Potatoes, I call the sucker pitch the "shiny rock syndrome" and use a quote from the broadway musical, Guys and Dolls:

“On the day I left home to make my way in the world, my daddy took me to one side. ‘Son,’ my daddy says to me, ‘I am sorry I am not able to bankroll you to a large start, but not having the necessary lettuce to get you rolling, instead, I'm going to stake you to some very valuable advice. One of these days, a guy is going to show you a brand-new deck of cards on which the seal is not yet broken. Then this guy is going to offer to bet you that he can make the jack of spades jump out of this brand-new deck of cards and squirt cider in your ear. But, son, you do not accept this bet because, as sure as you stand there, you're going to wind up with an ear full of cider.’”

The government market is not now, nor has it ever been "easy" to break into. It requires education from legitimate sources - sources with a strong background in the B2G market (PTACs and SBDCs are always good places to start). It requires dedication and significant resource investments by the company wishing to become a government contactor. It requires a deep understanding of the client agency, the budget process, the contracting process, and more.

There are a variety of good sources for this information and more than a few bad sources. Do your homework before you invest your hard-earned money.