“SMALLTOFEDS” By Ken Larson “Regularly review your company labor category rates and fringe benefits for ongoing compliance with DOL Area Wage Determinations. Sample the DOL Wage Determination web site regularly as a normal function of maintaining your labor rates and fringe benefits costs.” ______________________________________________________________________________ MANAGING COMPLIANCE WITH THE SERVICE CONTRACT AND DAVIS-BACON ACTS When pricing government contracts, in part
“FEDERAL NEWS NETORK” By Jason Miller “The Defense Department’s third message to industry since early May is prompting many contractors to strongly doubt whether Secretary Pete Hegseth’s goal of revitalizing the defense industrial base still is a priority. The latest example in the last three months of the Pentagon adding more compliance and complexity to contractors working for the DoD.” _________________________________________________________________________________ “Taken
“THE WARHORSE” By M. Tabar “My stepfather, brother, and I served in Afghanistan and Iraq. We are still there, frozen in the suck—a boomer, a Gen Xer, and a millennial—ducking mortars, mourning dead colleagues, and waiting for care packages curated by Mom. For seven years, I was an aid worker outside the wire and embedded with the U.S. military inside the wire. In the mid-2000s, I overlapped with one or both of my family members in each war zone. We rarely speak of it.”...
“MILITARY TIMES” By Natalie Oliverio “The Department of Veterans Affairs is nearly tripling the ceiling on its contract with Oracle to modernize the agency’s electronic health record system, yet lawmakers left a House Veterans’ Affairs Committee hearing without clear answers about why the increase is necessary or how much taxpayers will ultimately pay.” ________________________________________________________________________________ “VA’s original electronic health record con
“MILITARY TIMES” By Kirk Windmueller “Understand that your passion might be in your work or it might lie outside of it. Know the difference. If your passion lies outside of work, find something you can be happy with that matches your skill and experience and can make you money so you can live your best life when you are off the clock.” ________________________________________________________________________________ “For many, figuring out what to do after your time in the mil
“WASHINGTON TECHNOLOGY” By Alan P. Balutis And Dennis Lucey “There seems to be a few common “truths,” some “givens,” and a whole lot of conventional wisdom spoken as to how to get into the door of government. A quick overview of eight basic (and true) rules to gain your first foothold with the customer.” ________________________________________________________________________________ “Know what the agency does and what it’s looking for. Bring specific ideas, not a panoply of
“WASHINGTON TECHNOLOGY” By Elizabeth Harr “The world of government marketing has been slow to change, but that’s no longer the case, and increasingly, contractors are adopting best practices from the private sector. These five strategies, when executed well, can offer enormous benefits.” “No single strategy can guarantee success in government marketing. But my firm’s recent research reveals five marketing strategies that can significantly benefit government contractors. 1. Ga
“SMALLTOFEDS” By Ken Larson “Small Businesses typically have a learning experience growing into government services contracting. Part of that process is undergoing reviews by the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA). It takes knowledge of the requirements and strategic focus to set up the type of business processes required for accommodating government contract job cost accounting and fit those processes into the way your company does business.” ______________________________
FEDERAL NEWS NETORK” By Jason Miller “The Small Business Administration finalized new rules for the 8(a) business development program in record time. In 60 days, SBA went from proposal to reviewing more than 100 comments to final regulation that will transform the 73-year-old program.” __________________________________________________________________________________ “The fast timeline is one of several concerns experts have about the new 8(a) regulations and why it adds to t
“SMALL TO FEDS” By Ken Larson “Utilize social media to promote your small business. The process requires a front-end loaded investment in time, but it is well worth the effort when using free or very low cost utilities on the Internet. The return may surprise you. Set up a free Google or Word Press blog as an extension of your web site. A blog is quite different from a web site. Provide good, solid information free of charge and use blog searches for synergistic business tea
CBS NEWS” By Gen. Stanley McChrystal (Retired) “Young Americans come together for a year or two and work in efforts as varied as healthcare, education, conservation, the military, or other community projects. They work alongside other serving fellow citizens, learning about each other – and themselves.” ________________________________________________________________________________ “Political divisions are tearing our nation apart. Perhaps not since the last decade before ou
“FEDERAL TIMES” “If you’re a small business owner looking into government contracting, you’ve probably seen the well-meaning advice: Just go to SAM.gov and search for contracts. If you find one that seems like a fit, bid on it. If you’re the best applicant, you’ll land the contract. Not so fast.” _________________________________________________________________________________ “When Lauren Weiner speaks with business owners who want her advice, she tells them the truth. “Ther
Integrate Long-term Company Strategy With Short Term Proposal Pricing Objectives ‘SMALTOFEDS’ By Ken Larson “Small businesses entering or growing into federal contacting often struggle with developing a pricing approach. They must design a pricing structure to pass an audit and win competitively. A winning strategy for federal services contracting must involve a view of the horizon as well as the instant bid on the table.“ _____________________________________________________
US INTERNATIONAL TRADE ADMINISTRATION “The easy-to-understand Trade Finance Guide provides practical, how-to advice in a simplified format to help achieve the goal of getting paid—especially on time—and effectively managing risks associated with doing business internationally.” ________________________________________________________________________________ “Is your business looking to make that first export sale or expand into more markets, but needs clarity on financing opt
“SMALLTOFEDS” By Ken Larson ” The practical aspects of how business ethics effect a company past performance rating and how not meeting the associated challenges can jeopardize an industry reputation and business success.” ________________________________________________________________________________ “It is vital to maintain solid ethical business practices in dealing with customers and industry partners. Maintaining an Ethical Company Image IGNORANCE ON POLICY AND REGULATO
“STRATFOR” ON SECURITY By Scott Stewart “Terrorism is a tactic used by radical extremists of many different ideologies, which means there is no fixed ethnic, religious or gender profile for what a “terrorist” looks like. But while their motives may vary, all would-be attackers are still bound to generally follow the same attack cycle. Thus, tactics used to disrupt terrorism of one strain can also be successfully used against others.” __________________________________________
“SMALLTOFEDS” By Ken Larson “Start-ups, entrepreneurs and new small businesses regularly seek information regarding small business grants. There are many misconceptions about the nature of such instruments, who qualifies for them and what constitutes a small business grant. Other than the special circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 Pandemic, there is generally no such thing as “Free” small business government grant money. In many instances individuals seeking grants should
By Ken Larson Every U.S. citizen from the individual voter to the politician must view our country’s recent, recurring, war-making motives as factors when considering future defense and financial security decision-making. ________________________________________________________________________________ Our near term future as a country involves weighty decisions regarding fiscal and national security. There are trade offs during federal government war-making decisions and inc
