Government Contracting: the unofficial story. Lauren Weiner and Donna Huneycutt provide straight-forward advice on the wild world of government contracting. Former military spouses, they founded their two-person firm in 2004. Today, it has over 24 remote locations and 230+ employees. New episodes post every other Wednesday.
The WWC Podcast: Winning with Connections
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As firms grow, many begin to assess their need for a business intelligence tool to support their BD team. Christopher Pohle, Founder and CEO of Capture 2 Proposal (C2P), offers a defense tech solution for smaller and mid-size businesses that rivals the larger platforms with added flexibility and less costly customization. He discusses why he developed his platform in this manner and how companies can use it to fortify their pipeline. Please note, this episode was recorded previously to the WWC Global acquisition and includes topics applicable to woman-owned firms. While WWC Global is now tribally owned, we did not re-edit the episode in order to provide the information to many of the woman-owned firms we continue to mentor.
Accessing and contracting with new federal agencies is a business development goal for many firms. Randy Lange, CEO and Managing Partner of Firebird Analytical Solutions & Technologies (AST), discusses how he leverages relationships and subcontracting partners to identify new opportunities for awards.
Culminating our series focused on women leadership for Women's History Month, Jenny Stone, CEO of Partner Forces, visits the podcast to discuss how she believes her generation is working to eliminate the sharp elbow/scarcity mentality of women in the government contracting industry and how depending on relationships has helped guide her professional career.
To celebrate Women's History Month, Lauren chats with Courtney Jackson, CEO of Paragon Cyber Solutions, about founding a woman and veteran-owned small business by leveraging subcontracting partners. Focused on IT, Courtney uses her compliance expertise to grow her customer base.
Leah Sanders, CEO of D&G Support Services, visits the podcast to discuss her firm's recently acquired 8(a) status from the Small Business Administration. Lauren provides her with ideas to leverage the 8(a) program for organic business as well as new contract awards.
In honor of National Veterans and Military Families Month this November, Jose Jimenez shares the steps he is taking to open his federal contracting firm as veteran and small business owner.
In recognition of Native American Heritage Month, Jon Panamaroff, CEO of Command Holdings, a corporation owned by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe, shares his story as a member of the Sun'aq Tribe of Kodiak, the adversity he faced, and his focus on growth within the tribe's business sectors.
Katie Lopez, Director of Military and Workforce Development for the Tampa Bay Chamber, speaks about the importance of veteran and military spouse hiring. She discusses the importance of advocacy and quality of life issues both in the local and defense communities.
Carlos Salvat, CEO of security firm Defense Elevated, shares his motivations and strategy as a new small business working to win their first contract. A first generation American and intelligence officer supporting Defense Intelligence Agency at USCENTCOM, Carlos is identifying ways to utilize his passion for public service and his background in counterterrorism to provide the government with contracting solutions.
Will Goodman, acquisition policy expert and former Policy Director at NDIA, discusses new legislation aimed at supporting small businesses moving into mid-level size. With expertise in business and government regulations, Will provides details on a new ESOP policy that will help businesses as they bridge the gap out of 8(a) status.
Identifying Best Practices for Supporting Government Customers
Identifying Best Practices for Supporting Government Customers
As a collegiate basketball coach and military spouse, Elizabeth O’Brien realized she would need to pivot her career to continue on a professional track. Through a connection in her military spouse network, she began work at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and was able to establish and support one of the largest military spouse networking organizations in U.S. history, the Military Spouse Professional Network (currently, over 60,000 members). Now the Chief Executive Officer of Freedom Learning Group, Elizabeth discusses how she has used her coaching skills to excel in different roles during her professional career.
Mary Reding, a government affairs executive with diverse private sector, non-profit, and public sector experience, spent time in the Office of Management and Budget prior to transitioning to a business development position at a large contracting firm. Focused on supporting Veterans Affairs, Mary provides insight about working with veteran owned firms, how to write a white paper that will land new business, and how small firms can leverage their capabilities to work with a large firm.
Alexis Kovalchick, Senior Account Executive at General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT), has brought many small firms into GDIT’s partner ecosystem. This interview provides advice and tips on how to define a firm’s value proposition until it is large enough to expand into other specialized areas. She also discusses the best ways to approach a big firm on partnering on a contract together. According to Alexis, “It’s a team effort with both firms bringing important mission requirements to the table.” Click to hear the full interview.
Aisha Bowe, Founder and CEO of Stemboard, discusses leveraging 8(a) status, her focus on innovative solutions to societal challenges, and how her workforce of engineers and programmers pivoted to business development as a result of the pandemic. Leadership does not mean you must have all the answers, but that you work with your staff to learn and identify new business opportunities together. For more information on Stemboard, click here - https://www.stemboard.com/ For more information on Aisha Bowe, click here - https://www.linkedin.com/in/aishabowe/
From the RFP release to the final submission, drafting a winning proposal is the key to the contract award. Leslie Leaver Bermudez. President and Founder of Strategic Business Solutions and government contracting proposal expert, breaks down the process - how to determine if the contract is worth a bid for your company, key sections to review and government technicalities that need to be followed.
This episode tackles the topic of people and human resources within a growing contracting firm. Heidi Snell, Chief People Officer at WWC Global, discusses ways to identify the core strengths of the employees within an organization and how to cultivate a transparent culture that is open to feedback and change. It is important to understand what motivates people and have critical conversations, even when that can be difficult.
This episode tackles the topic of people and human resources within a growing contracting firm. Heidi Snell, Chief People Officer at WWC Global, discusses ways to identify the core strengths of the employees within an organization and how to cultivate a transparent culture that is open to feedback and change. It is important to understand what motivates people and have critical conversations, even when that can be difficult.
This episode tackles the topic of people and human resources within a growing contracting firm. Heidi Snell, Chief People Officer at WWC Global, discusses ways to identify the core strengths of the employees within an organization and how to cultivate a transparent culture that is open to feedback and change. It is important to understand what motivates people and have critical conversations, even when that can be difficult.
Government contracting firms transform in different ways. Veteran and entrepreneur, Michael Grochol purchased Iron Eagle X in 16 days (!). The company’s existing security clearances, accounting system and other fully compliant offerings enabled him to make this a lucrative sale and land immediate contract wins. He has grown the company 600% since he purchased it last year. On this episode, Michael explores making the leap as an entrepreneur, his advice for growth and always asking, “what is the worst that can happen?” For more information on Iron EagleX, click here. For more information on Michael Grochol, click here.
How does an emerging defense contract firm determine fair and reasonable pricing? Jeffrey Shapiro, CPA, is a Partner at CohnReznick in the Firm’s Government Contracting Industry Practice. He provides advice on contract negotiation, when to communicate cost impacts and how to provide disclosures to contracting officers - all while still supporting the growth of the business.
There are many resources (some are even free!) available to small businesses in the Government Contracting space. Jenny Clark, with Solvability, is the self-declared “Oprah of Government Contracting” and provides advice on becoming compliant, how your capabilities need to correspond to your customer, and the accounting standards involved in the industry.
Frank Kuska, Vice President at WWC Global and retired Air Force Colonel at U.S. Special Operations Command, offers tangible advice for transitioning out of the military into industry. He highlights the importance of networking, attending events to meet firms and to be consistent with your career direction. Frank discusses the idea of leadership vs. management and ways to apply skills from the field to the private sector.
Most people in the industry agree, business is built via relationships. How does marketing play a role in this? On this episode, Seattle-based design agency Chalkbox Creative offers their recommendations for strategic marketing and provides a behind the scenes look of the WWC Global rebrand.
This episode introduces a new ongoing topic - a focus on a small business and the current obstacles they are facing in the industry. This discussion with Frank Vassallo, founder of Tecomsys, offers advice on new business development, specifically given the COVID-19 environment, and how to best market your company’s capabilities. Lauren also reveals three “must-haves” for gaining a new contract.
There are a few key steps to establishing your company as a federal contracting partner. Karen Krymski, Florida PTAC at University of South Florida, specializes in helping businesses branch into government contracting or expand beyond their current projects. She explains how to optimally market your firm and obtain more subcontracting partners and contract awards.
Banking goes beyond straight financial reporting in the government contracting industry, it also encompasses planning for contract awards, strategic direction for the company and focusing on the evolution of the client. Gwynn Davey, President, and Aaron Jones, Florida Director of Government Contracting, both at ServisFirst Bank, discuss the ways a banking partner can help a small business fulfill their organization goals and strategies.
Recently, protests seem to be increasing during contract awards. While many are filed on behalf of firms, they often settle out. Mary Beth Bosco, an attorney at Holland & Knight, discusses the protest system and how to effectively manage it on behalf of your firm.
Relationships with members of Congress and region…
Planning and managing budgets are a top concern f…
Small commercial businesses CAN land massive gove…
Landing some government contracts requires specif…
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