5 Tips to Generate a Six-Figure Income with Discretionary Spending
As a small business owner or “solopreneur,” a lot of effort is required to balance the books—and a lot of strategy is needed to generate a six-figure income. One such strategy is to work with government agencies with discretionary purchasing authority. What is a discretionary purchase? A discretionary purchase …
Read More5 Tips to Avoid a Cash Flow Catastrophe
{3:21 minutes to read} “How can my business be broke and profitable at the same time?” Most business owners will agree: ebbs and flows in business can create a cash flow crises. What if you have steady business activity, but onboarding new contracts—and payment for those contracts—takes an unprecedented amount of …
Read MoreMWBEs, Let’s Work Closer Together to Achieve Success!
{3:10 minutes to read} I was recently at a meeting where there was a lot of pushback from MWBE firms that preferred to self-perform and take credit for MWBE goals; they wished to do this instead of subcontracting the work to other MWBEs. I was a little taken aback by …
Read MoreAttention MWBEs: The Procurement Department Can’t Find You!
{3:25 minutes to read} Yesterday, I spent the entire day chasing down an opportunity for a professional service that I found on a prime contractor’s website that I thought would be a good fit for one of my clients. The problem was that the date had already passed to apply for …
Read MoreGovernment Contracts for Minority- or Women-Owned Businesses in New York City
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio made a commitment to award $16 billion of government contracts over 10 years to small minority- or women-owned business enterprises (MWBEs). At this year’s Procurement Fair, he reiterated this promise. The importance of this commitment is that it creates opportunities for small businesses. …
Read MoreHow to Get Paid As a Subcontractor
It has been my experience that subcontracting can be an excellent way for MWBE firms to increase market share while gaining valuable experience and past performance that is often required to do business with government agencies and large corporations. That said, when I suggest subcontracting to my clients, I am …
Read MoreHow to Use Email to Market to the Government
Over the past several years, I have successfully used email marketing to increase opportunities with government buyers and private sector clients. Last year, I became a certified Constant Contact solution provider giving me access to a broad range of learning tools, expertise and resources which I am happy to share. …
Read MoreAre You Talking Yourself Out of Your Next Big Deal?
Last week I was on a coaching call with a client, sharing several new bids that came up in an emerging market. Although the bid descriptions were not a direct match for the business, it was an opportunity to introduce the business and get in on the ground floor of …
Read MoreWhy are you bidding on Projects You Are NEVER Going to Win?
Here is a simple tip about doing business with the government. Government agencies are risk adverse – they are not going to take a chance on companies that don’t have a proven track record of experience with contracts/projects of similar size, scope and complexity. Similarly, government agencies will not do …
Read MoreShould You Hire A Coach?
This year I was able to achieve significant milestones in my business by hiring professional coaches. My coaches helped me with goal setting, accountability and gave me short cuts, tips and resources to achieve my goals. My coaches also taught me new skills, and helped me to avoid blind spots …
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