I recently saw a solicitation for Home care services .They were looking for providers in the 46 counties. I prepared an email for 22 home care agencies in 11 counties. I received one response the next day.. Since this was my first contract, I did not follow up with the other agencies this time. This is a rolling open bid- it is offered twice a year. They put the open bid dates- so, I will start in Oct and start marketing my services for another round. I am offering an a la carte menu - Helping become a vendor for your state, I charge for preparing the bid response, I offer auditing services and even staff training on the paperwork required for the state. I just received an interest in transitional housing bid. I will be contacting transitional housing companies to tell them about this opportunity. I want to thank Tara for her amazing course I followed it , read and reread the different modules. I am also grateful for Tara's support. This course is life changing for me. At 73 yr old, I am reinventing myself once again! If I can do this, anyone can do this.

Good news, I spent yesterday sending emails out to potential clients yesterday. I have already had 1 response. Then, a surprise response. I reached out to a construction company about a potential job, just to see the interest level. Today they responded and said they are interested. It feels good to ahve people show an interest. The construction one is one I will really build a relationship with , As I am seeing many jobs I may be able to help him bid in the future. This week I will be calling back following up with the other potential clients. As I was writing this, I had a potential client call. She told me to send over the info ASAP.. She also told me that she has another business > She is actually on the SC procurement site and wants to bid on other jobs. Here's the thing, this lady has been wanting to bid on jobs for 2 years She is so glad I contacted here as a consultant!!

Today reminded me why relationships matter in government contracting. One of the biggest lessons I've learned is this: Don't stop at the first quote. Build the relationship. This week I was working on pricing for a government opportunity. After receiving an initial quote, I continued the conversation and had the opportunity to speak directly with a decision-maker. Instead of focusing only on price, we talked about building a long-term partnership, government contracting, payment terms, and how working together could help both of our businesses grow. The conversation completely changed. What started as a request for pricing became the beginning of a relationship built on trust, communication, and a shared vision for future opportunities. Another important topic we discussed was payment terms. Many new government contractors focus only on getting the lowest price. While competitive pricing is important, your payment terms can have just as much impact on your profitability. For example, if a supplier is willing to extend Net 45 terms, you may be able to complete the contract and receive payment before your supplier invoice is due. Net 45 can improve your cash flow and, depending on how your contracts are structured, may help preserve your profit margins by reducing or eliminating the need for outside financing. On the other hand, if you have to use a funding or factoring company to pay suppliers upfront, those financing costs become part of your overall project cost and can reduce your profit. That's why I encourage people to think beyond the quote. Look at the entire business relationship: - Competitive pricing - Payment terms - Reliability - Product availability - Communication - Long-term partnership opportunities One thing I've learned over the years is that successful government contracting isn't just about finding bids—it's about building relationships. Relationships with: - Manufacturers - Suppliers - Teaming partners - Contracting professionals - Small business specialists - Fellow contractors

One of the most rewarding parts of building this community is watching members take what they're learning and immediately begin putting it into practice. Today I'd like to recognize Diane Carbo, RN. Over the past week we've reviewed several government contracting opportunities together, discussed strategy, evaluated whether the opportunities were a good fit, and explored potential next steps. What has impressed me most is Diane's initiative. She didn't stop after reading the solicitation. She researched prior contract awards, identified incumbent contractors, compared historical contract values, analyzed funding trends, and gathered information that will help guide strategic decisions moving forward. That's exactly the type of research that helps businesses become stronger government contractors. I'm excited to see Diane continue growing and look forward to the day we celebrate her first contract award. Congratulations, Diane! Keep up the great work—we're cheering you on every step of the way. 👏👏👏

One of the biggest mistakes contractors make is focusing only on the solicitation and not the agency's actual purchasing history. Over the last few days, I've been working on a government contract opportunity that looked promising on paper. We found a strong subcontractor, built a solid technical solution, and developed competitive pricing based on initial assumptions. Then I dug deeper. As I reviewed the agency's actual payment history, I discovered something important: the estimated quantities in the solicitation and the agency's real-world spending patterns told two very different stories. That changed everything. Before submitting a proposal, I always ask: ✅ What has the agency actually been buying? ✅ What have they actually been paying? ✅ How was the incumbent pricing structured? ✅ Are we solving the problem the agency has, or the problem we assume they have? Sometimes the biggest competitive advantage isn't writing a better proposal. It's understanding the numbers better than your competitors. One contract taught me this lesson years ago. We won it, lost it the following year because pricing wasn't competitive, then won it back after revisiting the data and adjusting our strategy. The takeaway? 📌 Don't just read the solicitation. 📌 Study the agency. 📌 Study the incumbent. 📌 Study the spending patterns. 📌 Let the data guide your pricing strategy. This lesson applies not only to government contracting but to business in general. Whether you're bidding on contracts, selling products, offering services, or negotiating partnerships, understanding the customer's actual needs, buying habits, and spending patterns can make the difference between winning and losing. Government contracting is not always won by the biggest company. Business is not always won by the company with the most resources. Often it's won by the company that understands the opportunity best. I'll be sharing more behind-the-scenes lessons learned from this opportunity during our live call this Saturday. 🚀