“The federal government has made a tremendous commitment to small business – setting aside numerous contracts to support their launch and growth. Assuring that these competent, successful businesses continue to provide great service to their government clients leverages this investment and reaps the return of more mature companies,” said Beth Fleshman, Vice President, Alion and Chair of the Lion’s Den.

GTSC’s Lion’s Den, comprised of companies between $15 million and $1 billion in revenue, focuses on policies and activities to support the growth of companies that have grown out of, or are about to grow out of, their North American Industry Classification System codes (NAICS). The campaign, launched with an info-graphic on the value proposition of mid-tier firms, will work with the public and private sector to understand why there should be a viable path for these companies and how to achieve it. Learn more about the campaign here.

“The lack of mid-tier opportunities leaves matriculating small businesses with nothing to bid on. Often, they can’t even bid on continuation of their current contracts despite exceptional performance.  While change isn’t always bad, the government stands to lose substantial investment in providers with proven business acumen and expertise meeting mission needs,” said Dianna Francois, Vice President, WBB Inc.

Members of the Lion’s Den include Alion, Barbaricum, Blacktsone Technology Group, BlueWater Federal, CENTRA Technology, E3 Federal, Eagle Ray, GAP SI, Grant Thornton, Integrity One Partners, Micropact, Miracle Systems, Morgan Franklin, NCI, Salient, SE Solutions, and WBB.

What can you do?

We invite you to join us to be part of the solution.

• Share our infographic with colleagues in the public and private sectors.

• Schedule a mid-tier presentation for your office.

• Join the Lion’s Den.

• Share our media updates, twitter posts, and linkedin updates using #midtier
  and #midtiergovcon

• Join the GTSC Linkedin group and the Lion’s Den subgroup.

• Refer interested government officials to the Lion’s Den to set up a presentation.

  Contact us with questions or comments ktanasichuk@gtscoalition.com.

Learn more about Babs Doherty here.

 Join us

Babs Doherty CEO Eagle Ray, Inc.

GTSC: What is your first piece of advice for a company entering the Federal homeland and national security market right now? 

Babs Doherty: Prepare for a long road.  The acquisition cycle is over 2 years now due to sequestration and other budget cuts.  A small company cannot keep a bench of qualified candidates on hand for 2 years so you will need to plan ahead and keep your candidates up to date on the progress of any new business you are going after.  If you have an 8(a) status, then you may be able to move things along faster than 2 years but even those contracts are seeing delays longer than before.  So have a plan on how to grow your business over the long haul and be patient and persistent.  The work will come.   Also do not hesitate to team with solid primes.  Pay particular attention to any work share opportunities or areas that you are considered a subject matter expert to get the attention from the primes.  Most important, execute on any current work you have flawlessly.  You’ll need good, solid references to win additional work.

GTSC: What is one thing you “learned the hard way” and could help mentor another company?

Babs Doherty: When you are getting started in the business, you usually are a subcontractor before a prime.  Many times the primes provide you with “target” rates in order to be on their team.  Be careful to analyze EVERY rate carefully and do not bid on labor categories that are not your sweet spot, even though it is tempting.  Once you have provided your rates to the prime, they can, and do, bid any mix of those labor categories to win the work.  If you are not prepared to deliver a qualified person at that labor category price, you will be in trouble.  Check every labor category in a realistic way to ensure you can deliver a qualified candidate before you provide that rate to the prime.  Be prepared to negotiate but also be prepared to walk away if the prime cannot give you the rates under which you can deliver successfully

GTSC: The environment is very competitive.  How are you staying ahead of the curve/or afloat?

Babs Doherty: I am paying attention to my competition and the bidding trends.  The bidding trends are changing as the budget environment dictates tighter and tighter profit rates and escalation.  The government is desiring a true partnership from industry and wants to see that reflected in your bid (lower escalation, lower profit margins, creative bidding) to save money.  We are always looking at ways to deliver our services better than our competition and analyze other projects to see what works and what doesn’t.  We also want to show a strong bench or the ability to obtain highly qualified staff in a creative way.  Everyone says they have a data base of candidates.  It’s important to show other ways beyond a data base to maintain a qualified staff.  Lastly, be quick to respond to requests from your customers.  They will find other means to get what they want if it takes too long to get to an agreement or get the requirement fulfilled.

Babs Doherty     CEO                 Eagle Ray, Inc.

Eagle Ray, Inc. is a Lion’s Den member of the Government Technology & Services Coalition. Eagle Ray, Inc. takes a pragmatic, common-sense approach to organizational transformation, tailoring our  proven, systematized processes to meet your unique requirements. Our transformational approach is based first and foremost on common sense. Learn more about Eagle Ray, Inc. here.