A lot of small businesses don’t realize how closely grants and government contracts are connected. While contracts pay you for delivering a service, grants can help you build the capacity you need to compete things like strengthening operations, upgrading equipment, developing programs, or improving compliance. Some businesses use grants to get “contract-ready,” and it often puts them far ahead of competitors who rely on contracts alone. The interesting part is many agencies prefer vendors who can show a clear mission, community benefit, or organizational strength areas where grants can quietly boost your credibility. Do you think more small businesses struggle with finding the right grants, or understanding how grants can actually support their government contracting goals?

One thing many new government contractors overlook is how much weight agencies place on “past performance,” even when you’re just getting started. A lot of businesses think past performance only comes from winning federal contracts, but agencies actually consider things like smaller local jobs, subcontracting work, commercial clients, and even well-documented projects you’ve completed on your own. The real challenge isn’t the lack of experience it’s knowing how to package what you already have so it meets government expectations. Understanding how to translate your existing work into GovCon-ready past performance can make a huge difference in getting noticed by contracting officers. In your opinion, what’s the hardest part about building past performance getting the experience, or learning how to present it correctly?

I’m trying to understand the process of submitting a Source Approval Request(SAR) with the DLA. Has anyone here gone through it? I’d love to hear about your experience—how long it took, what documents were required, and any tips on avoiding a rejection.