The Plague, Gold and The Fish That Got Away

The Plague

There’s a plague running rampant among many small businesses today. No…I’m not talking about that good ‘ole swine flu. I’m talking about Government Contracts…or more specifically…the perception of obtaining them.

“For us, the concept…was a paradox.”

The stigma surrounding government contracts resembles that ever elusive pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. This perception is best described by Chris Denny, President of Creative Strategy and a Founder of The Engine is Red,

“For us, the concept of the Government hiring small businesses was a paradox. While we knew of its existence, and believed it to be technically available, we never considered it to be a reality. Even if we could fathom the possibility of exploring obtaining a government contract, we didn’t even know where to start.”

This is largely the result of several factors:

- Can’t see it, Don’t believe it…The simplest explanation of this is “Lack of Faith”. Government Contracts don’t usually come knocking on the door or calling on the phone. A company must go looking. This becomes problematic when combined with the next factor;

- Lack of Information is probably one of the leading causes of any small business not pursuing government contracts. This combined with intimidation is extremely detrimental for any company.

“For the most part, government contracting is not ‘Rocket Science’”

- Favoritism and Red Tape are common, recurring themes when talking about anything political.

- The Fish that Got Away relates more to companies that have “tried” government contracting once or maybe even twice and have found the experience distasteful to say the least. But when the facts are laid out, this can generally be attributed to “Lack of Information”.

- Other factors are sure to be out there. I would love to hear your thoughts on obtaining government contracts. Feel free to leave a comment or email me at: Wes@ResoluteBusinessSolutions.com

Coming Next: Cures, Big Fish and Opportunity……”Real Opportunity”

Ken Larson, a volunteer counselor at SCORE, says it plainly,
“For the most part, government contracting is not ‘Rocket Science’, it’s just different.”

This spreading plague can only be cured by one thing……Cutting through the mist to see the reality.
A breath of fresh air and good information is the knife we’ll use to slice
through the stigmatic mist, that surrounds…….
Government Contracting.