Small Business Set Aside

The best way to understand how contracting officers think and how they approach working with small businesses is go to the source.  Shauna Weatherly has more than 30 years working in federal procurement and now brings that expertise to the private sector. The say knowledge is power and she now shares her knowledge with her small business clients and with Randy on Small Business Set Aside.

Eileen joins Randy to talk about how to come up with methodical roadmap to building your federal business.  She talks about wandering in the “wilderness” of the federal sales landscape as she sought to sell to government customers all around the country right after 9/11.  She brings proven methods and techniques to the federal sales process to eliminate wasted time and effort.  Come along to learn how to get the top of the mountaintop. 

GovCon Guru Neil McDonnell has been working in and around government contracting for twenty five years since leaving the Army.  He was an airborne Ranger, Machine Gunner during his military service and he brings his approach of focusing on the target into the govcon world.  He is the President and Founder of the GovCon Chamber of commerce where he helps train and advise companies on how grow and scale their businesses.  He joins Randy to share some of this accumulated wisdom so you can put it to use at your company. 

Army Veteran and long-time intel analyst Brendan Huff joins the show to discuss how his company helps to make sense of disparate data, offers his views on the trends in intelligence analysis tradecraft and its ever increasing velocity.  Finally, he reminds Randy that the good and bad will come in business and keeping in mind that “this too shall pass”...will help you weather them both. 

Devon Hewitt from Potomac Law joins Randy to help small business leaders understand how to protect themselves in negotiations with big firms, key pitfalls to avoid,  and reminder that everyone is going to get knocked down at some point, so be ready and prepared to bounce back by having good representation.  If you think you can operate without a good lawyer in GovCon, this episode should make you reconsider. 

Carlos Salvat and Gabriel Cosentino join Randy to discuss their path as government contracting entrepreneurs.  Like any good friendship, it started with one trolling the other and the rest is history.  They speak to the power of their professional network as a force multiplier and how staying fast and agile has allowed them to begin scaling their business for success.  Come along for the ride on another episode of Small Business Set Aside.

Kevin is one of the busiest guys around the Beltway and Randy managed to pin him down for an hour to learn about how he “finally got a real job” in Government Contracting.   Kevin talks about his journey from finance  and onto founding multiple companies that provide deal advisory, capital, capture and proposal support to companies who work in GovCon.  He shares his insights into how companies can create durable value in the sector, offers some thoughts on where he sees the market going during these turbulent times, AND, ponders the meaning of  “purpose” and why it matters.

Longtime Beltway financial guru, Richard joins Randy to talk Private Equity and explain how it is deployed in the GovCon space and the ways in which owners might be able to leverage  it to create value and build scale. If you've always wondered what private equity is, this is your episode.  Come along for the ride on another episode of Small Business Set Aside.

Mark joins Randy on this episode and shares nuggets from nearly four decades of experience selling and marketing products and services in the government contracting market.  He has literally “written the book” on how to drive brand awareness and position firms for success both in the digital arena of LinkedIn and the analog method of getting in front of the right buyer early in the sales process.  Come along for the ride to learn from one of the govcon industry legends.

Carol Monroe, the CEO and founder of Red Sky, joins Randy to talk about her journey from Ecuador to the US as a child, learning program management and government contracting from the ground up, and founding Red Sky to help her government clients look beyond the horizon to plan for the future. Her “perform or perish” attitude has helped her navigate uncertainty and challenges in growing her business and in life.  

Lori Larsen, Chief Strategy Officer of Celestar, kicks off season two of Small Business Set Aside. She joins Randy to talk about her journey from an uber-competitive family of high-achievers through ROTC in college and into Military Intelligence in the Army.  The lessons and experiences gained along the way prepared her to help lead Celestar along with her partner, Greg Celestan to new heights.  Her values, patriotism and faith have been her guiding star throughout her journey and align tightly Celestar's mission to serve its clients in the Intelligence and National Security space. 

In the final episode of season 1, John Grinnell—founder of Grinnell Leadership Group—sits down with Randy and discusses how he and his team use behavioral science, psychology, and the study of leadership to help organizations optimize their potential.  He talks about how “human system” problems are much harder to solve than business systems challenges and that learning how to get your ego out of the way to build trust with your team will help to drive better outcomes.  Come along for the ride and discover how great leaders experience a “third birth” of awakening to help level-up their organizations.

In this episode, Jason Miller, Executive Editor of Federal News Network drops by the show and shares his insights into the issues he's following in the federal contracting market.  He reveals the three most influential—but little known—agencies that drive effective and efficient government.  Finally, he shares his journey from culinary school to sports reporter, to covering the federal beat while cheering on his favorite Beltway sports teams.   

In this episode, Joy joins Randy to share her company's story and the inspiration of her great-grandmother who was the real-life Rosie the Riveter.  She brings small business lessons from the boxing ring to include: “timing beats speed and precision beats power.”  Hop in the ring with Randy and Joy for 10 rounds of insights, lessons and inspiration from the battles of a building a small GovCon business. 

Brian joins Randy on this episode of Small Business Set Aside to talk about the value of market intelligence and making “savvy” investments to help your small govcon business grow.  He also articulates some of the “sins” of proposal development that should be avoided to achieve greater success in winning contracts. 

In episode 6, Ross Wilkers from Washington Technology joins Randy to talk about the direction of the federal budget, current industry trends and the state of the M & A market in government contracting.  As a born and raised DMV native, he also shares his journey from small town court reporter to the Beltway business beat and the up and down journey as a DMV sports fan. 

In episode 5, Amber and Lisa sit down with Randy to talk about their business development support company, the Pulse of GovCon, and attempt to make sense of the craziness of trying to win work in government contracting.  Their story of what motivated them to start their company and the perseverance to stick with it through the highs and lows, reveals lessons in how a partnership can make the journey less lonely and more rewarding.

Brian Meadows joins Randy to talk about the importance of trial and error in his career path, the value of being patience in business and in life, and how a painful personal loss inspires him to help others.  

In episode three, self-described “Chief Simpleton”, Adrian Rich joins Randy to talk about his journey as an entrepreneur and making technology simple and easy to understand for his Federal clients.  Adrian shares how he knew it was time found his own firm, the challenges he faces as a minority entrepreneur in the federal IT ecosystem, and the way he pays that forward to give a hand up to the next generation of technology entrepreneurs.  

In this episode, Randy sits down with Lido Ramadan: Founder, President and CEO of Aminad Consulting to explore his journey as a highly successful entrepreneur in government contracting.  Lido shares how the legacy and values of his parents inform the kind of leader he is, and the values that drive the company that he's built. 

In the inaugural edition of “Small Business Set Aside”, Firebird CEO Randy Lange interviews his partner and Firebird founder, Bruce MacNair, to explore the company's founding, early days, and decade long journey to become an established small business contracting firm.   They discuss challenges, successes and key insights to getting the company off the ground and creating a shared vision for company.

Firebird CEO Randy Lange introduces Small Business Set Aside - a podcast that leads the conversation with small business owners, leaders, and influencers in GOVCON to discuss the issues of the day and discover the strategies that lead to sustained success in the market.