Are You Eligible For The Minority Business 8a Certification Program?

The minority run enterprises in the United States of America have grown in numbers in the last decade yet they could not establish themselves fully due to certain constraints on the socio-economic frontier. The aim of SBA is to draw in response from the minority business owners who are finding no way to boost their small business presence. The SBA therefore came up with the 8a certification program, which is undoubtedly the best thing to happen to the US minority owned businesses. If you belong to one of the minority communities in the USA, you stand a chance to grab this unique opportunity provided by the Small Business Administration (SBA) by earning the 8a certification for your enterprise.

Minority Business 8a Certification Program

To start with you have to apply to the SBA for obtaining the 8a certification. Before you start processing your 8a application you must take a break from all the activities and make sure that your personal and business status both stands eligible for obtaining the coveted 8a business certificate. To make things easy here are the prime eligibility criteria -

1. The applicant business firm must be ‘majority-owned’, that is the owner must have 51% or more of the ownership rights (in case there’s more than one owners)

2. All applicants must be American citizen either by birth or through naturalization.

3. The applicant business firm must be owned directly by individuals who belong to one or more of the minority communities of the United States of America. The term ‘minority’ is variously defined by the SBA, more prominently it indicates people who belong to one or more of the socially and economically segregated groups like the aboriginal American Indians, the Alaskan natives, the Hawaiian islanders as well as includes the black Americans and Hispanics naturalized American’s.

4. The applicant’s business must essentially be a ‘small’ business in every sense of the term.

5. The applicant small biz firm must display its promise and potential for future growth and success.

6. The small business must also have a considerably good track record in the same field in the last 2-3 years prior to applying for 8a certification.

Once your business meets all the of the above eligibility parameters, as decided by the SBA authority, you’re free to apply for the coveted SBA 8a Certification program and take your entrepreneurship initiative to the next levels of prosperity.

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How 8a Certification Benefits Small Business Development?

The small business development programs conducted by the SBA is launched with the intention of helping entrepreneurs from economically weak and socially segregated communities that are native to the American soil, to gain business success with federal government help. The 8a certification program is foremost among the different initiatives launched over the years by the SBA. However, to realize the several 8a certification benefits the eligible businesses have to keep their eyes and ears open. The aim of SBA or Small Business Administration is to help spread word about the several 8a certified advantage and benefits offered by the federal government and inspire U.S owned small business owners to apply for the coveted certification. Let’s take a look at the various 8a certification benefits and how it helps in small business development.

Benefits of 8a Certification Small Business

• All successful candidates can receive sole-sourced contracts. Sole sourced or ‘no-bid’ contracts enable the 8a firms to clinch government projects without having to contest with other established business houses, as is the norm outside the government run marketplace. Thus, one of the prime 8a certification benefits is that it helps the 8a certified companies to get government contracts and help to establish them in the highly competitive marketplace.

• 8a certified firms are free to form joint ventures with other approved firms and bid on huge federal projects as a team. The high point of these joint venture initiatives is that the contesting firms can work on big federal agencies and increase their business revenue as well as earn valuable experience and increase their business network in the process. Moreover, working with a recognized department of the federal government adds to the business portfolio of the 8a approved firms and helps in improving their market presence and reputation.

• Participating firms can cash in with the “Mentor Protege Program” and obtain a detailed know how of the 8a certification benefits. The mentor ship program will help the newly inducted 8a firms to understand the tricks of the trade and help them to get acquainted with the workings of the federal marketplace.

You might be wondering that in spite of these several 8a certification benefits why aren’t most small business firms aware of the 8a certified advantages? Well, you can put the blame on the lack of public promotion and advertisement for that. But the good news is, recently the SBA themselves have started to take huge initiatives in terms of promotion of the 8a certification benefits. With ample support from 8a consultants and agencies, the situation looks promising. For a detailed know how on the 8a certified advantage I invite you to visit 8acertification.net. Get inspired!

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How To Evaluate Your Eligibility For 8 A Certification in 4 Steps?

We have been discussing all about the 8 A Certification and its efficacy in helping small businesses flourish, for as long as we can remember. However, little is being said about how a business owner can self-evaluate his/her company’s market standing in order to decide whether they need to apply for SBA 8a Application or not. This post will shed light on this less-discussed issue.

Simply put, here are 4 steps of eligibility to evaluate whether your business requires 8a certification -

1. If you are at social disadvantage – Are you an American Hispanic, an Asian American? Or do you belong to one of the Native American tribes or even a member of the Black American community? In either case, the SBA will consider you as a member of the socially disadvantageous people residing in the United States of America and give you permission to submit 8a certified application. Moreover if you have ever been at the receiving end of any sort of discrimination against you concerning your ethnicity and financial as well as social backwardness, the SBA will grant your case a special status and allow you to pursue the 8a certification program for your enterprise. Further you might be asked to provide a “proof of discrimination” against you / your business, which you may have faced in the mainstream US society , in fields other than business like career, society and education, just to name a few.

2. If your net worth is below $250K – The SBA has designed this 8 A Certification program for those businesses that are economically weak, which means the owners of such businesses must not hold personal assets worth USD 250K and above. If your personal net-worth is below this fixed sum, then obviously you can prepare to submit your SBA 8a Application.

3. If your business indeed fall under the small business clan- “How do I know whether I’m a small business or not?” Well, let me tell you this. A company is determined as small business depending on the number of employees it has as well as the gross income it generates in a single financial term. The NAICS code helps to determine your company’s true status. So get the NAICS code for your business from the SBA website to find out your business size –small, medium or big.

4. If you have a full 51 percent or more business ownership – the SBA has made it clear in their rule book that before submitting their SBA 8a Application, the 8 A Certification aspirant business must provide documents to the SBA which would clearly act as a proof indicating that the owner has 51% or more single ownership of the firm concerned.

These are just the 4 major steps to finding out whether your business is eligible to apply for the 8 A Certification. If you have any comments on any of the information shared, or if you wish to add a keynote on the same, feel free to comment below. Stay connected to Ez8a 8 A Certification blog for more.

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Prevalence Of 8 A Certification In Contemporary Business Procedures

Business is literally defined to be an economic activity which gives in for a prominent platform to carry out the basic economic activities like the buying and the selling of products and services in exchange of something that is considered to be of equal worth whatsoever. This activity has been in prevalence since quite a long period of time and the fact remains that the features of the business procedures have undergone considerable modifications over years and at present they simply exhibit the best of what businesses are suppose to be.

8 A Certification Business Procedures

Businesses are active in almost every part of the world and that America is one of the most significant places in this regard as because it gives in for business activities to be carried out in an extra-ordinary extent. It is here that the mention of the feature of 8 a certification is required. This is a program which essentially forms an integral part of the SBA authority, the abbreviation of which stands for the Small Business Administration. This is an authority that has been given in by the Americans so as to cater the scope and chances of the business authorities that are grounded on the land of the United States of America.

8 (a) certification is a program which gives in for a specialized status to those business authorities which are not financially stable or rather are not capable of establishing themselves as mainstream business procedures amongst the others that are existent here in the same land. The main objective that has been attached on to the initiative of this feature is to make way for these business procedures to compete in the field of business functioning amongst those who have reached the position of the marginalizing high profits whatsoever. One of the noteworthy criterion that an 8a small business beholds is that it has to be proved that it is a small-scale business procedure that is socially deprived on grounds of finance and resources; that is to say that the authorities of the 8 a certification are liable to be vigilant on the facts that the business organizations which seek to be registered with the provisions of this program essentially need to be proved lacking on grounds which are associated with no faults of their own. It is only then that the same will be able to get help and support from the authority.

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Role Of The 8A Certification Consultants In Upholding Business Authorities In America

The term 8a certification refers to an effective step that has been undertaken by the authority of the Small Business Administration so as to cater the scope of the business processes that have been stuck behind, to get back on the roll of processing. This is a feature that is in prevalence in the land of the United States of America and it is a fact that the inception of such a concept has created revolutions amongst the existing business authorities in this country. This is on account of the fact that this feature has been initiated by the authority of the Small Business Administration 8a which undertakes the responsibility of upholding the downtrodden business initiators so that they can get capable enough in making their grounds firm enough so as to compete with the other business authorities who have reached high levels of profits out of their processes.

8A Certification Small Business Consultants

It is a noteworthy fact that the program of the 8a certification is supposed to have certain qualifications and criteria to be fulfilled by the initiators of the business authority who seeks to be involved into the processing of this program and it is reality that fulfillment of these criteria is not a very easy process and it is here that the integrity of the role of the 8a certification consultants come into the forefront. These are persons who are supposed to be entitled with the task of making the building a bridge between the business owners and the 8a authorities which would let the former to carry out the criteria required, in a proper manner. These persons are efficient in helping the seekers to shirk out the additional hassles of going through the procedural methods of 8a certification so that the under-privileged lot of the society can avail the advantages of this authority at a rapid pace.

As is mentioned earlier that the 8a certification is an authority that has been grounded on the base of the Small Business Administration and that the latter is characterized by a number of mainstream criteria that are mandatory to be fulfilled so as to get eligible for consideration of the authorities. The sba qualification, in association with the term, refers to the features that are brought under consideration so as to register a particular business authority under the SBA, which include the concerned authority to be a proved small-scale business authority.

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Features Of 8A Certification Requirement In Business Procedures

Business procedures are commercial activities which are carried out by persons who are associated with the financial facets of functioning in the society. The basic feature of a business procedure is to deal with buying and selling of goods, commodities and services in return of cash or at times, kind. Businesses are prevalent in almost every corner of the world and that these form a major part of the economy in any kind of a society whatsoever.

8A Certification Requirement

While talking of businesses, it has to be mentioned that a significant feature which is highly attached on to business processes is the feature of 8a certification, which, in association with the term refers to an organization which works under the banner of Small Business Administration in the United States, serving the purpose of lending a hand of help to the business procedures which are existent in that land, but are not being able to flourish or compete with the full-fledged business organizations that are doing well in the same land. This is actually a status which is tagged on to those business authorities which lack in certain requisites like fund or resources so as to establish themselves as the same. This kind of a lack in business requisites may be resultant of certain social disparities like on grounds of caste, creed or financial status. Here it is relevant to mention that 8a certification requirements, in association with the term refers to certain credentials which have to be evidently satisfied by the authorities who seek for such certification. This kind of a status would require the business owner to own the business majorly and that he or she should essentially be a citizen of America. Persons who are managing the business must be evidently recorded to be a socially deprived being and that they must portray some real effective potential of success through the business strategy so as to get undertaken in the Small Business Administration. The feature of sba 8a qualification essentially checks whether the persons in charge of the business portray positive characters or not, before assuring them of their help.

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SBA Federal Contract Opportunities To Women Owned Small Business

SBA 8a certification has offered new opportunities to get more federal contracts for women owned small business. As per its final verdict on the program, it has included a new certification, known as edWOSB (Economically Challenged Women Owned Small Business). As per this new program, women business owners get increased chances of getting the government contracts.

Women Owned Small Business SBA Certification Federal Contract

Benefits of edWOSB program

• As per the new program, women business owners can also win set-aside government contracts
• 5% of these federal government set-aside expenditure is for the WOSB or edWOSB program
• Projects that are less than $3 million and $5 million can take advantage of this set-aside
• 5% of the subcontract requirements are fixed to wosb from large major contractors
• Along with other programs like SDVOSB and HUBZone, this new program has equal opportunity
• The new program also has a separate mentor protégé
• The program has no term limit
• Nearly 83 industries that are qualified by NAICS codes are enlisted in the program
• On 45 industries, rule of 2 for wosb is implied
• On nearly 38 industries there is no rule of 2 for edwosb companies

How to get 8A Certification

You can get new 8a small business certification in a number of ways, some of which are –

o Third party certification
o Using existing 8a or 8a BD certification
o Using DOT’s DBE certification
o Self certification

Procedure for Self Certification

The procedure for self certification is as follows:

1. As per the SBA final rule guidelines, you need to determine whether you are eligible for the program
2. Your business needs to have at least 51% women ownership
3. The financial threshold of the women owners should be as follows:
o Gross asset should be less than $6 million
o Net worth of business should be less than $750,000
o The annual income or salary of owners should be less than $350,000
4. You need to review 83 industries under NAICS and see whether you are meeting the standardized size
5. As per your business qualification you need to choose either wosb or edwosb program
6. You need to provide documents for the program, which are as follows:
a. Business profile – type, financial statement, tax returns, and so on
b. Owner’s (s’) profile – financial statement, personal tax return, credit history, and so on
c. Management profile – list of employees with residential details, list of officers with residential details, and so on
d. You need to fill out IRS form 4506-T
e. You need to fill out SBA 413 form
f. You need to fill out SBA guidebook’s appendix C, in case you are applying for edWOSB certification
7. You need to register or update (if already registered) your CCR registration
8. You need to complete or update DSBS database of SBA
9. You need to complete or update ORCA database
10. You need to sign all the documents mentioned above with notary affidavit
11. Then submit all the documents along with the application form to repository database of WOSB or edWOSB
12. Need to maintain a duplicate copy for company record

However, if you want to be free from the hassles of so much paperwork and stringent application procedure, you can take help of a professional consultant and pay more attention to increase your business revenue.

Please Check Video  GSA Schedule Contract & 8A Certification

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How To Form An 8A Certified Small Business Administration

In the United States small and medium scale enterprises play a hugely important role keeping the nation’s economy running. As a result, it has become important more than ever to provide these business organizations with optimum support so that they can continue making contributions in the economy. A large number of socially and economically challenged entrepreneurs in the country are involved in the small and medium scale enterprises sector which has grown exponentially over the last few years. The 8a certificate has been introduced to provide some extra leverage to the small businesses owned by economically and socially challenged entrepreneurs. 8a certified small business administration enjoys some extra facilities from the government and are able to stay in the market competing with large business corporations.

8A Certified Small Business Administration

In order to file a successful application for an 8a certificate a business organization has to prove certain things. This certificate is for those who have been in a disadvantageous position for a long time in history due to no fault of their own. The socially disadvantaged class includes African American, Native Americans, Hispanic Americans and Asia Pacific Americans. All these people have suffered some sort of racial or ethnic repression at some point of time and the 8a certificate is designed to provide them some respite in matters of business and self employment. An 8a certified small business administration must be governed by those who are in a socially disadvantageous position. However, the business organization has to prove that it is in a similar situation if it has to earn a certificate.

8a Certification - What is 8(a) Certification Advantage?

Another important requisite for having an 8a certificate is being economically challenged. In the United States anyone having a capital less than $250,000 is economically challenged and is eligible for an 8a certificate. It is to be kept in mind that there are a large number people who are economically challenged when it comes to investing money in business. It is possible for 8a certified small business administration to gain some extra leverage in the market and be in business competing with others. It is to be kept in mind that there are a large number of people who think that when it comes to capital, small and medium scale enterprises lag far behind larger corporations. This certificate works a lot to allow the small business units enjoy certain facilities that would help them move forward in the market. Moreover, businesses managed by women are also eligible for 8a certificates.

The best way to file a successful application for 8a certificates is to take the help of professional 8a certification consultant who has quite a few years of experience in this field. There is no room for making errors in the process as if once the applications gets rejected all future efforts get even tougher. Hence, a professional consultant can help a person out in this regard and can make the filing process a successful affair. It is better for clients to contact more than one service provider and choose the right one.

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How To Hit Upon The Right Growth Strategy For Your Business?

Do you feel that the surrounding market ambiance in which your organization keeps running is some sort of a green eyed monster? Well, it is pretty natural on your part if you feel so especially when things in the world of business tend to get so knotty in these days. In the midst of the culminating pressure points as well as challenges in the business world it is pretty important on your part that you hit upon the right growth strategy for your business. Here is a brief discussion on some of the strategies that you might like to consider in this regard.

If you have to hit upon the right growth strategy for your business you need to proceed the right way. So, let us just make it a point that we are going to focus on the right points with no rooms for slipups.

8a certification

Have proper and streamlined financial plan ready

In the first place, you do have to make it sure that you have a proper as well as streamlined financial plan ready with you. A financial plan should lay the foundation of your success in your respective niche or target market. So, preparing a streamlined financial plan should be at the top of your priority list. While setting up the financial plan for your company you should know the ultimate objective of the plan very well. You need to remember one small thing in this regard. Break the plan in terms of monthly goals as well as yearly goals.

Chalk out a befitting product development as well as service catering plan

If you really wish to make it sure that you are going to make a seamless entry to your niche market or your target market then it is evidently important on your part to have a befitting product development as well as service catering plan ready at your disposal. These plans are going to create the right sort o podium that you need to accomplish your objective as well as flourish in the competitive market. You should have a complete as well as a surefire process which is going to ensure that the product ranges which you propose to launch in your respective target market is going to be a big hit. In order to make it sure that your products are going to enjoy some sort of a surefire success in your target market you do need to make it a point that you are going to focus on three things quite specifically. Those three vital aspects are as follows- market analysis, market research as well as proper as well as streamliu8ned product designing procedure. A perfect combination of these three vital components is definitely going to make it sure that you are going to rest assured of the success of your products as well as services even before you rope them in the market.

Think of alterative channels

You do need to think of alternative channels in this regard. It is indeed pretty imperative on your part. These channels are more or less going to serve the purpose of a back-up plan for you. In order to figure out how to make the most out of these channels you can resort to an 8a certification program. When you get yourself engaged in a crucial task such as thinking over the alternative channels then it truly becomes important on your part that you are going to focus on proper screening as well as analysis of the target market. When it comes to the issue of alternative channels for the growth of your business you have got to think about the real prowess of social networking. Social media marketing is quite an in-thing in the present scenario. You do need to mull over the effectiveness of social media in this regard. In order to hit your target market with a bang you do need to make it a point that you are going to integrate the efforts of your sales team with your social media marketing initiatives.

Focus on intensive growth spectrums

It is really imperative on your pat to be able to think of or focus on intensive growth spectrums which happen to be an integral part of various industry verticals in the present scenario. You do need to know what your compatriots or pals as well; as your close rivals prefer to do in the challenging as well as changing business scenario.

Make it a point that you are going to cast a cautious glance at the few aspects that have been suggested to you. These happen to be the growth strategies initiated as well as followed by an array of developing or growing organizations all over the globe.

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Top Ideas To help You Achieve Success As An Entrepreneur

Winners don’t do different things. They do normal things in a bit different way. The maxim is true in its entirety. If you are an entrepreneur by profession and are in the habit of seeking constant streams or sources of ideas you should get the point that every time you might not need a concept which is as new as a new penny just out of the mint. In order to achieve success as an entrepreneur you mint have to mine a little harder. Probably you are going to find a perfect mix and match of the traditional methods as well as some mint fresh concepts useful for your ultimate objective. Here is a quick peep at some quintessential ideas which are going to help you a lot in terms of accomplishing your objectives and set your mark as a visionary entrepreneur of this era.

Overcome pessimism

Pessimism can prove to be biggest hurdle for your success as an entrepreneur. It is an impediment as well as a predicament. So you do need to make it sure that you are going to overcome pessimism at any cost. In order to overcome the problem of pessimism you can make use of the technique which renowned and astute motivators would like to describe as ‘auto-suggestions’. It is a particularly useful method which is often adopted by professionals, sports people as well as top notch sales people so that they can tide over the negative feelings that threaten to unhinge their mindset.

Go for a certification program

If your business is in a state of its formative years or in its startup phases then you do need to go for a certification program. You can consider the 8a certification program in this regard. With the help of this kind of a helpful program you are going to win your spur in your respective field of business in due course of time.

Use latest technologies

Use latest technologies such as crowd sourcing, social sharing through internet, life style apps, specific tools for enhancing productivity (TENXER, EVERNOTE). These technologies are gradually turning out to be the tools that change the way business are done on global platforms.

Take care of official red tapes

Take care of official red tapes are going to be a pain in the neck if you are not careful enough about them. Do everything in your power to make sure that the obstructions are well taken care of. If you have to pull strings, then pull strings. Use your connections. You would be surprised to know that an 8 a certification program can prove helpful in this regard. If you are 8a certified then you get to face less amount of stringency from official circles.

In order to give you a final word on this issue, you must make it a point that you are not going to get distracted while making your earnest initiatives. If you have to achieve success as an entrepreneur then you do need to make it a point that you are going to turn out to be more productive in a true sense. You need to reinstate or concretize your business vision. You have to tap into your expertise or potential and most importantly you have to keep asking questions that keep you motivated and help you brave through oddities.

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How Small Businesses Can Increase Their Sales Through Federal Contracting?

If you are an owner of a small business, you can increase your sales through federal contracting. As per the law, the federal agencies are needed to establish contracting goals. In fact, twenty-three percent of all the government purchases are intended for small businesses and these contracts goals are established for small disadvantaged businesses, service disabled veteran owned businesses, firms in HUBZone area, and women-owned businesses. So, if you are an owner of a small business, you can take this opportunity to bid on for federal contracts.

The U.S. government is the world’s biggest buyer of goods and services. It purchases about all categories of service and commodities available. It’s actually up to you to promote and match your company’s services and products to the purchasing requirements of the federal agencies.

However, not all small business owners can get an access to the federal contracting opportunities. Only the firms that are eligible for the SBA certifications can compete for the federal contracts.

How Small Businesses Can Increase Their Sales Through Federal Contracting?

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Getting the business certified

The first thing that you need to do is get your business certified by the SBA. If you are a small business owner who is economically and socially disadvantaged you should obtain 8a certification. If you are a woman who owns and controls 51% of a small business, you are eligible for women owned small business certification. On the other hand if you are a service disabled veteran who owns a small business, you should obtain SDVOSB certification. The small businesses that have their principal offices and thirty-five percent of their employees located in a HUBZone area are eligible for HUBZone certification. By obtaining the SBA certifications, the small business can get sole source and set-aside contracts.

Getting the business registered on the contracting resources

If you think that by getting your business certified, you can win government contracts you are wrong! You need to register on the contracting resources because these are the places where the federal procurement officers usually search for when they are in look out for contractors. As a business owner of a small business, you can register your company on the DSBS database, SAM, GSA Schedules, FedBizOpps, Federal Procurement Data System, OSDBU.Gov and USASpending.gov.

Identifying federal contracting opportunities

As a small business owner you should be able to identify the federal contracting opportunities. You need to be proactive. You should first decide the products or services which you want to sell to the federal government and look for the agencies that need your services or products the most. Remember one thing that the federal government is considered as the biggest consumer of goods and services in the world. It buys almost all kinds of products and services. You just need to find out which agency needs your product/service. After finding this out, you should start bidding on the contracting jobs available. Federal Business Opportunities website is a great place to find the federal contracting jobs.

Obtaining SBA certifications are truly an awesome idea! Especially if you are a small business looking to win federal contracts!

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How To Get In Touch With The Right Person After 8A Certification

If you think that getting the 8A certification is all that you need to do, to get access to the hugely funded federal projects, you are absolutely wrong. An 8A contract is all about pitching the right person the right time.

Often applicants after getting the 8 A Certification get confused where to look for feasible contracting options. If you are keen to initiate your business growths and sales efforts then it is imperative for you to get in touch with the right contracting persons. If you fail to communicate with the right person, it is quite likely that even after being awarded by the federal certification; you will not be able to reap of 8A contracts.

8 A Certification

After being awarded with the SBA 8A certification, your sole objective is to look for federal contractors and try to get access to government contracting. The section managers, program managers or functional area managers often administer such authority. Such qualified professionals take the executive decision where the dollars should be spent to earn maximum income. It is considered one of the most difficult parts of federal contracting. After being awarded, often applicants lack the opportunity to gain access to the government projects. Hence, it is imperative to implement a strategy to overcome this hurdle.

In this regard, one of the most basic things that you can do is you can consult with the contracting officers. By talking with the contracting officers you can locate the feasible project opportunities available. The primary function of the contracting officers is to monitor and control the contracts. It is the duty of the contracting officers to take care of all the legal formalities and paperwork involved to make sure that no complications arise due to lack of proper documentation. The budget of the contract plays a significant role in the federal programs; however, the contracting officers do not have any authority in regard to control of the budget.

It depends on you who will control the budget. For instance, if you are a seller of information technology services, you might want to get in touch with the OCIO- Chief Information Officer’s bureau. It is quite likely that you may have to interact with a number of people at the OCIO and find it difficult to locate the right individual. It depends on you how will you determine the right individual who monitors the appropriate budget for the particular type of service offered by you.

According to SBA professionals and business analysts, one of the best and extremely useful ways to look for the 8A contracts is by focusing on individual sales. By concentrating on individual sales along with business development efforts on particular people, you can ferry the contracts the way you wish to. This is considered one of the less-expensive and most-efficient options to look for the 8A projects.

Preparing for the federal programs and acquiring the certifications successfully is just a small part of the federal projects. The most important part is acquiring the project after being awarded with the 8a certification. Hence, it is recommended to devise effecti8ve business strategy and look for feasible options to reap the advantages off 8A programs.

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Tips To GSA Pricing Negotiation

Negotiation is basically a skill, which may be honed over time until it is perfect. However, developing this skill needs a lot of persistence and practice. The General Service Administration in the United States allows for negotiation. It conducts a price negotiation with the company that wants to apply for the federal contract. The price negotiation is generally conducted after the submission of the GSA application. The main objective of the negotiation is to get the best price for the federal government.

By obtaining a GSA contract, the vendor comes to an agreement to offer the best price to the government for any quantity. But, it’s also true that the General Services Administration will look for more concession. So, before starting the negotiation, it’s important that you do a thorough research.

GSA Schedule Contract

You are in fact highly recommended to seek products that are same as yours and are listed on the General Services Administration. However, there are some complications with regard to this.

• A GSA applicant may always try not to give the extra cost of the products that arise due to quality difference between their products and the one that is listed on the Schedule. Quality differences between the products are determined on the basis of weight, strength, warranty, product lifetime and durability.
• If the company is located in an area where the number of competitors you have is few, modifying the pricing strategy becomes a difficult affair. This is mainly because of the presence of the few regional competitors. Such a situation generally demands higher price to General Services Administration for your firm and less concessions.
• The General Services Administration ensures the Schedule holder to provide the most favored customer pricing. At whatever price you are selling your products to the commercial clients, it’s important to remember that it’s the price that General Services Administration presumes.
• As a GSA applicant, you should monitor the quantity discounts or payment that are proposed by your competitor to the General Services Administration. Proper monitoring will give you an insight on the successful discounts that were made by your competitors previously. By doing this, you can be enlightened about the negotiated agreements, which GSA acknowledged previously.

At Advance GSA, we say to our clients that every kind of price concession will have something in store for the Schedule holder. Therefore, we suggest our clients to try their luck for GSA bulk order discounts rather than the blanket price concessions. Getting faster payment terms need to be requested as an important part of price concession.

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SBA 8a Application: 4 Major Mistakes Applicants Often Make

Do you want your small business to get 8a certified? You first need to make sure whether you are eligible for the SBA 8 a certification requirements. If you are unable to meet any one of them, you will be rejected by the United States Small Business Administration. The SBA is very strict with reviewing the application. Any mistake on your part will delay your request and cause harassment to you or even jeopardize your chances of getting 8a certified by the SBA.

8 a certification

Here in this blog, we have discussed the four major mistakes, which applicants often make while applying for the 8a program. Make sure not to make these mistakes when you apply for the certification program.

Never appoint your better half as the CEO of your company

Many applicants make the mistake of appointing their spouse as the CEO of the firm. This is one of the major mistakes they do. You should never do this unless your better half has a strong background in business management or has held a top management position in other companies in the past. Make sure your spouse has technical credentials as well if you plan to appoint him/her in the position of CEO.  The person you appoint as the Chief Executing Officer of your small firm should have the appropriate skills, expertise, licenses and credentials required to succeed in the industry.

Never obtain contracts from your X-employer

You should make it a point not to acquire contracts from your past employers. If you do acquire contracts from them, it will see as if your form is just a front for them. All you need to do is develop a wide base of clients and have a balanced project portfolio before getting involved in the SBA 8a application procedure.

Never appoint a number of Board of Directors

One of the major mistakes, which small companies often do is, just after few months of their commencement they appoint a number of board of directors. Never do this because you might dilute your firm control or come up with an affiliation or size problem. Carefully vet all the directors and officers before applying for the 8 a certification because these people will need to submit some of their personal documents as part of the firm’s 8a application.

Never show a loss on company taxes

Applicants often think that they might get approval from the SBA if they show the agency that they have incurred losses while running the company. Never do this. Instead show positive equity and positive revenue in your business to prove the SBA that your firm is in a stable and healthy condition.

Always make sure that you do not make these above-mentioned SBA 8a application mistakes if you want your company to get 8a certified at one go.

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SBA 8a Consultant Increases The Approval Chances of Your Application!

8a Certification

If you have started a business then you need SBA 8a approval to manage and control the daily operations of your company. To get the SBA approval, it is better to take help of a reliable 8a consultant and increase the chance of approval.

Does taking help of a consultant mean getting a guaranteed SBA approval on your application?

The answer is a definite NO.  If any consultant claims that he can give you guarantee of having your 8a application approved by the SBA, then you better try looking for another consultancy. Apart from the SBA, nobody can guarantee the approval. Beware of the desperate consultancies who promise money back guarantee, in case of rejection of the application. A good consultant would ensure that your 8a application meets all the necessary requirements for getting SBA approval. It can only assure that your application will get a fair review. A good consultant is aware of SBA requirements for 8a certification and sees that there are no irregularities in your application.

How to select a reliable SBA 8a consultant?

When you are looking for a good and reliable 8a consultant, consider the following tips and make your choice:

• Check with BBB: Whenever you come across a consultancy company, the most authentic way to check its credibility is through BBB or Better Business Bureau. If the company is listed in BBB website and has at least a “B” grading, you can say that it is quite reliable. Check out the various customers’ reviews and grievances and see how the company has handled such issues. If the issues have been resolved by the company, you can go ahead with it.

• Check the website: Once you have short listed the consultancy companies from the BBB, you can check out the homepage of each. If the company is reliable enough, it will have a physical address on the website. It will also state its affiliates (if there is any) and state about the principals clearly.

• Check references: The consultancy companies display the list of customers who have acquired certifications with their help. You can directly make a call to these people and check about the company, regarding their service, originally quoted price, duration to get the application completed, process used by the consultancy to manage and collect data submitted by the clients, and so on.

Once you are satisfied with the chosen 8a consultant, you can call them up and speak about your potential problem. If you feel the chosen one is cent percent trustworthy then provide them with the necessary documents and move ahead to get the SBA 8a certification.

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