Why start a government contracting business?

I have owned DynaGrace Enterprises, a Woman-owned Small Business (WOSB) and 8(a) firm for almost a decade.  So why did I start a government contracting business?  The answer is quite simple.  I was younger and dumber and wanted to see if I could.  I did not know what I should have known when I started.  Maybe this article can give you some insight and help you determine if it was the good idea you thought it was. 

There are several types of government contractors, and the one I am most familiar with provides services to the federal government.  The manufacturing part and being able to offer a product to the government might be better for you, but I am not as familiar with that type.

Federal government contracting can be a way to start a small business.  The market is worth over $100 billion in sales to small businesses each year.  Providing services or products to the government is quite different than selling to the commercial sector.

Government contracts can guarantee ongoing revenue to your business. A stable cash flow enables a business to develop marketing budgets, hire staff and grow their business intelligently. Reoccurring monthly business generated from government contracts can also hedge against months that are slow. In fact, many contracts have 3-5 continuous year contract terms.  Keep in mind though it can take 30 to 90 days to get paid.  But once the payments start you are usually fine.

The procurement process for a government contract is extensive.  You can speed up this process by marketing to government customers that have a budget.  That can be like finding a needle in the haystack.  The government goes through cycles for services.  Sometimes they ramp up contractors and some years they ramp up on civilian employees. 

You should be prepared for long hours when responding to solicitations.  The last couple I have lost to very low bidders.  I am not sure how they expect to give any benefits to their employees, but the government will get what they bid for, hence the term, “low bidder”.  It is like buying the cheapest vehicle and realizing the plastic cracks in the sun after a month of owning it.  I refuse to win a bid on the backs of my employees so the contract goes to a company that will.

The good part is I have some fantastic employees, and I have met some wonderful business people who are involved in government contracting.  I started out as a civilian employee way back when and then worked for about four contractors before starting my own small contracting business.  Having a small budget or lack of budget is a huge problem.  The government employees in charge of budgets are usually friendly and appreciate the services we have to offer. 

I would never even have thought about having my own business, and this opportunity has given me the experience and the pleasure of being an entrepreneur.  It is an excellent way to get started and the SBA offers some training but expect to learn a lot on your own and with the help of mentors.

Choosing a Company Name (DynaGrace Enterprises)

Choosing a business name can be one of the most difficult parts of starting a business because of the availability of the name or the domain.  The company I have had since 2006 had just gone through a trademark suit that could have been won with a lot of litigation.  I didn’t want to change the company name from Sensory Technology Consultants but because of the thought of expensive litigation we had to change.

I happened to find the domain available but only after extensive help from family and friends including a Facebook “Name my company” page.  For DynaGrace Enterprises, I went to Business Name Generator.  I started with my grandmother’s name, Olive Grace.  I was like how many companies have that name.  Well, it turns out a few have derivatives of that name.  But then I liked Grace.  Now I don’t share my middle name very often because my brother’s always used it when I tripped.  But now that I am an adult I love the name and think it is beautiful.

So what did I want to portray in my company besides elegance and grace?  Well, we aren’t dancers or ballerinas but I did want the feminine aspect in the name.  What would make it better?  How about a word meaning power or strength?  So I went to the Thesaurus and entered “power”.  I got several words, but one stood out, “dynamism”.   Then I went to dictionary.reference.com and looked up the word “dyna”.  The definition was perfect, a combining form meaning “power,” used in the formation of compound words. 

A quick search on domain names revealed that dynagrace.com was available, and DynaGrace Enterprises was born.  I felt incredibly lucky, and we had a meaningful name that combined into a great tagline, “Between POWER and GRACE lie EXCELLENCE.” 

Coming up with a name turned out to be the easy part.  After changing the name with the State of Utah, there were other things to consider especially in the realm of government contracting.  I will outline those steps in a subsequent blog article.

What is my story? (Today’s version)

I was glancing through my LinkedIn feed this morning and noticed Leadership Coach, Ken Sharrar, asking “What is your story?”

Hmmm…my story is always evolving.  I am a serial entrepreneur and of course ideas flow constantly.  Determining which of those ideas can be profitable is the question I always have.  But my entrepreneur story starts about ten years ago in a building at Hill AFB, UT where I was writing database software for the 84th Radar Evaluation Squadron (RADES).  I got hired as an Oracle DBA but was also a talented.Net programmer, so a few information systems became born or enhanced during my time there.  I love writing software and data has always been my thing.  I love getting information out of a relational database and formatting to fit what the user wants.  I was perfectly happy being a cube rat.

When I started at the RADES, I was just going through a divorce.  My husband had moved out the weekend before I started.  It was not expected although we had issues for a while.  So the first week I was in shock but also relieved.  So while my personal life was in strife, I had to turn my life around and take care of my three teenage kids so that their life was somewhat normal.  I poured myself into my work and managed to run the kids around to all their activities. 

I never thought about being an entrepreneur although as I look back I can see I had tendencies.  I sold things door to door as a child.  I had ADHD so my mom was constantly shoving me out the door, so I didn’t drive her crazy.  I wasn’t good in school until I was a teenager, and I always got good grades while being involved in FBLA, sports, and band.  I grew up in a penniless single mom household.  From meager beginnings came the experience in how to work hard to achieve results.

I was working in the RADES for about two years when I got the call that would change my career forever.  The call that came was from Vincent Kinsey.  He was working for IHS and was trying to integrate an RFID tag into a Hazardous Material system called HMMS at Edwards AFB in California.  As a single mom, I had to consider my family first.  Then I thought, I have skills, what would be the worst thing that would happen?  My kids might have to sleep on somebody’s couch for a month or two.  It doesn’t hurt children to experience hard times. 

I jumped in and became a sub to MECX, and Sensory Technology Consultants became born.  That was in June of 2006.  It is so hard to believe that I have worked for myself all of that time.  Sensory Technology Consultants has since become Dynagrace Enterprises and is a 100 percent women-owned small business and we are 8(a) certified.  My kids never slept on anybody’s couch, and I managed to give them an excellent lifestyle.

No matter what your story is, you can be successful.  Don’t let anything stop you and don’t be afraid to take risks.  Believe in yourself and your abilities and you will go far.

Mentors - Who is holding me accountable?

Starting a company is hard, so you're going to need a lot of advice along the way.  If you are like me, you have constant ideas flowing about a new idea for a product or service.  You cannot stop thinking so what should you do to execute at least one of these ideas.  

The answer is finding good mentors.  

I have had some excellent mentors that have held my hand, called my bluff, and gave me pros and cons of ideas.  These people are my personal board of directors that know me and can tell me the holes in my ideas.  Is it a good idea or not?  Is the idea profitable?

I recently read Keith Ferrazzi’s Who’s Got Your Back.  This fantastic book offers the advice to build more supportive relationships.  Ferrazzi provides a nine-step approach to creating what he calls “lifeline relationships,” an inner circle of trusting support peers who serve as advisors, cheerleaders, and accountability watchdogs. These mentors respect you enough to tell you like it is.  Ferrazzi invites you to “let others help.”  Your professional development means more when you let others help.

I have one mentor in particular that I hold a phone call with every two weeks to see how my progress is going.  He holds me accountable for my goals and especially my progress on these objectives.  We discuss strategic tactics and whether these goals are still working or whether we need to change the direction to adjust to changing environmental issues.  I trust him, respect him and he holds me accountable and we work through ideas and execution of those ideas.  In turn, I discuss what is going on with him, and we have a win-win situation where both of us profit both economically and personally.

Without my mentors in my defense contracting business, DynaGrace Enterprises, I would never have known how to organize my accounting records in preparation for a DCAA audit.  My mentors helped me prepare several technical and cost proposals for competitive solicitations and also helped me market my business to government clients.

Because of mentors I have been able to achieve my goals and make them faster because of my personal board of directors.  I suggest you start building that board sooner rather than later and your success knows no limit.

Perspective, Heart and Transition

Step back in perspective, open your heart and welcome transition into a new phase of life. ~Linda Rawson

Stepping back in perspective

My perspective in life has focused on finding somebody to share my life with, a life companion, if you will.  The reality is I have lots of life companions.  I have loved, been loved and am never truly alone.  In the last month, I have had contact with many pages of my past that I thought were long gone including a very painful passing of a past love.  Some I find delightful and others I wish never to contact me again.  It seems the bottom feeders are out in full force while I am coming to the top for air and food.

Opening my heart

I am opening my heart to positive, like-minded, people.  I refuse to let toxic people into my life and have set boundaries.  By closing the pages of my past that don't benefit me, I can find peace and open my heart to meaningful relationships.

Welcoming transition

My approach to work and my environment is shifting with a new approach. I used to be a strong workhorse that never stopped until the job was done at any sacrifice.  I am switching to a smooth operator and working smart.  Realizing personal relationships don't always last a lifetime and making the most of family and friends.  Change is good and offers the ability to bring new in.

Jamaican Bobsled Team

Here is a term you haven’t heard for a while, Jamaican Bobsled Team.  When American businessmen, George Fitch and William Maloney, decided to found the Jamaican Bobsled Team, they took a gamble.  Jamaica is a tropical island and had never sent a team to the Winter Olympics, and bobsledding was virtually unknown to the island residents. However, Jamaica is known for incredible talent in track events.  The Jamaican Bobsled team first started as a team in 1987 with four pioneers, Dudley Stokes, Michael White, Samuel Clayton and Devon Harris. 

This last week, during a break in their training, I got the privilege to host 2 up and coming Jamaican Bobsled Team athletes in my home, Cleon Hall and Seldwyn Deyvoi Morgan.  It just happened to also be Thanksgiving week so my house is a busy place.  I am not really sure how they ended up at my house but Nigel Swaby called in a favor and it has been such a great experience.  These young men are fabulous athletes as well as extremely nice kids.

I took them to some popular hangouts in Salt Lake City for some night life.  They are the same age as my sons but my sons were not in town so Mom had to hang at the bars.   They attended a house poker party, downtown Salt Lake City offered Gracies Bar and Murphys Bar and Grill,  Club 90 had karaoke, and then to Club Habits for some dancing on Saturday night.

The next generation of Jamaican bobsled dreamers need help to continue their preparation for the next season and would like to take you along for the ride through a new television reality show.  They are running a crowd funding campaign here -> https://coolrunnings.tilt.com/pushing-for-gold.  Please join in and help these starving athletes.

What? A radio interview? Me?

Being a serial entrepreneur I started networking as a means to get out and meet people.  My primary market was not entrepreneurs but the poor federal employee with little to no budget.  These employees are visited by me and other defense contractor business development sales people on a daily, weekly or monthly basis.  I found myself working at a home office a lot and missing the water cooler talk so to speak.

My adventures into networking took me to a group called SLCircle (Formerly known as Entrepreneur Circle).  I have been involved with this group for over two years and I am on the board for this large networking group located in Utah.

I got the chance to speak on Women in Business and that led me to my latest adventure, a radio show.  Tysen Webb of the GoForItShow.  How does one prepare for a radio show?  With Tysen it was easy.  He guided me through the questions and I just answered them off the cuff.  I arrived at his recording studio in his basement and he put headphones and a microphone in my face.  We took a selfie of course.

 

We talked about my early beginnings in a small Utah town called Morgan.  How I started my first entrepreneur effort.  We talked about my new company BigSexyWords.  Listening to it later I realized I did have some ums and pauses but it was super fun.

Please listen to the podcast here -> http://www.goforitshow.com/59/

I am extremely grateful that I get to influence other entrepreneurs through my life story and get to meet people like Tysen Webb.  So many talented people in the universe!