As a small business owner, making the New Year lucrative is undoubtedly one of your top priorities. The start of a new year presents an opportunity for growth and success. By implementing effective strategies and developing a solid marketing plan, you can set your small business on the path to prosperity.
One key aspect to focus on is customer retention. It’s essential to nurture existing relationships and keep customers coming back for more. Offering special promotions or loyalty programs can incentivize repeat purchases and create a sense of loyalty toward your brand.
Another crucial strategy is to analyze your target market and identify emerging trends or consumer demands. By staying ahead of the curve and adapting your products or services accordingly, you can position your small business as an industry leader.
Investing in digital marketing is also vital in today’s digital age. Utilize social media platforms, email marketing campaigns, and search engine optimization techniques to reach a wider audience and drive traffic to your website.
Additionally, consider collaborating with complementary businesses or influencers in your industry. This can help expand your reach and attract new customers who may have previously been unaware of your small business.
Lastly, do not underestimate the power of setting achievable goals for the year ahead. By setting realistic targets and tracking progress along the way, you can ensure that you stay focused on continuous growth.
In conclusion, by implementing these strategies and developing a comprehensive marketing plan focused on customer retention and growth opportunities in line with emerging trends in the market; you can make the New Year truly lucrative for your small business.
Understanding The Marketplace
It might initially feel like working for the government is unpredictable. Contractors can be affected by various factors such as budget cuts, regulatory pressures, changes in administration, and stringent accounting rules.
However, all marketplaces can be volatile and change rapidly according to the whims of consumers. A company needs to ensure that they have a deep understanding of the end buyer and why they want to use its products and services.
This is also true for the United States Government. You will need to develop relationships and cultivate trust that allows you to showcase your competitive advantage. Strategically managing the right relationships might guarantee the federal government a solid client that can assure your business of a bright future.
The United States Federal Government
The United States government buys many products and services from suppliers who meet certain qualifications. It applies standardized procedures to acquire goods and services. The procedures used by the government can be found in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR).
The beginning of the decade is a great time for small business owners to get their hands on lucrative government contracts. The Small Business Administration has changed the rules on measuring what qualifies as a small business. The 2018 Small Business Runway Extension Act will increase the period of measuring annual revenue from three to five years when the business is being evaluated for government contracts. This means a lot more businesses will qualify for small business set-asides. Nearly a quarter of all government contracts have gone to small businesses in the last five years.
Department of Energy
The Department of Energy defines its mission as “…. to ensure America’s security and prosperity by addressing its energy, environmental and nuclear challenges through transformative science and technology solutions.”
The Department of Energy has a network of 36 Facility Management Contracts. They include the following:
- Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
- Office of Environmental Management
- Office of Fossil Energy
- Office of Nuclear Energy
- Office of Science
- National Nuclear Security Administration
This provides many opportunities for contractors that have energy management capabilities and supplies.
Infrastructure Construction
There are at least 21 billion dollars allocated for infrastructure spending by the federal government. The United States is a vast land of highways, roads, bridges, and dams. All of these structures need to be constantly maintained for safety and to fuel a strong, vibrant economy. The country also needs to construct new infrastructure to keep up with the needs of a growing population.
These types of large infrastructure projects take years to complete and will be a viable source of revenue for many types of small businesses. The United States government will need supplies, labor, and services for these projects for many years to come.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
FEMA is a government agency that handles disasters such as tornadoes, earthquakes, and hurricanes. They are always hiring government contractors, particularly since much of their work revolves around being able to mobilize a large workforce in a relatively short period of time. These jobs can range from providing temporary housing to the displaced to providing clean water and food to those in need. Go to this site to learn more about small businesses working with FEMA.
Reforms In Security Clearances
There will be a complete overhaul of the Department of Defense’s clearance process which will affect all government agencies in 2021.
Government contractors need to be able to pass several security clearances. A background check on your company and employees is often a condition of employment.
This will include the following:
- Employment
- Education
- Criminal Records
- Credit History
- Motor Vehicles and License Records
You should make sure that all your personnel and employees can pass this intensive screening. If there are any issues, make sure the government is made aware of them ahead of time, so that an explanation can be given. For example, if you are participating in programs that rehabilitate criminals by giving them jobs. Transparency is often the best way to deal with situations that might cause an issue in obtaining lucrative government contracts.
How Do You Get Started Working With The Government?
SAM stands for System Award Management.
To do any business with the federal government, you must register your business in the System for Award Management. The government will not hire any type of business that has not registered in the SAM directory.
We have an article on our site, Everything You Need to Know About SAM for Small Businesses, that gives you important information about this process.
As a smart entrepreneur, you have already used our site to register in the SAM directory. Congratulations on taking this important first step to becoming a government contractor.