Cognizance

Solicitation, Bid or Procurement are the word which may seems scary to some one who is new to business line but it is most effective way to grow and enlarge your business.
For a small scale business industry it is more important to generate a continuous and reliable source of revenue. This source could come through proper bidding.
To do business with any governmental body is not that complicated though it seems very tough.

WHAT TO DO
To go for governmental bids first decide your geographical limits. Once you are clear about your sky you can reach to unlimited opportunities. To know about the bids placed one can go through various site which provides details of solicitations available.
For example –

www.fbo.com

https://www.stateandfederalbids.com/index.html

http://www.governmentbids.com/

It is also a good idea to study the agency you may be targeting, and figure out how your product or service might fit in to its needs. Realize that the agency will look critically at your business, specifically your financial status, staffing, history and track record


HOW TO DO
To do business with federal government it is mandatory to register with Central Contractor Registration (CCR), primary registrant database provider to federal government. Its URL is
http://www.ccr.gov/

For registration with CCR one has to provide his TPIN number (Trading Partner Identification No.) along with DUNS number. Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) provides a D-U-N-S Number. Basically this company rates the business on some criteria.
http://www.dnb.com/us/
Once you are registered with CCR you are almost all set to place a federal bid.

FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATIONS
Before placing a bid it is advisable to understand all the rules related to Federal procurement process. It is a unique set of rules and regulations called as Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR).
It can give you an insight to offering a good price for your product and can help you in achieving the goal of grabbing the bid.


WHERE TO APPLY
You need to figure out which department has published a bid. As mentioned earlier you could do this through various website. One can find link for bidding for a particular business on same page where details are available. You need to follow the instructions and fulfill all the conditions.

REGISTRATIONS
Usually for doing business with state departments one needs to register with that state. It may be done either through one agency for almost all departments or through individual department of the state. For example if someone wishes to do business with State of Florida he could register on MyFloridaMarketPlace.com and can check solicitations available for almost all departments.
http://dms.myflorida.com/mfmp

FEE
Few State registrations require certain amount to participate in procurement. This fee is always mandatory and can be paid online also. But sacrificing few bucks for a big gain is not a bad option.


HOW TO APPLY
To do business with any government body one has to figure out whether one body/agency is responsible for whole state’s bidding process or separate department or counties have their own bidding system. According to this information one can register with that particular body. Some times this is completely an online process and in some cases one has to fill in certain form and submit them physically. Still this paper work is not that tedious. One has to provide particular information including Federal Index Number or SSN.


SPECIAL PREFERENCE
Government agencies are required to contribute for advancement of Socially and Economically disadvantaged people. For the very purpose these classes gets preferences in certain government projects -

o Women-owned businesses: A woman-owned business is one that is owned and controlled 51% or more by a woman or women.
o A small disadvantaged business: A small disadvantaged business is one that is 51% or more owned, controlled and operated by a person who is socially and economically disadvantaged. African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Pacific Americans, Subcontinent Asian Americans, and Native Americans are presumed to meet this standard. Other entrepreneurs can qualify by showing, via a “preponderance of the evidence,” that they are disadvantaged.
o A veteran-owned business: This is a business that is owned 51% by a veteran.
o A service-disabled veteran-owned business: This business is owned 51% by one or more service-disabled veterans. The Veterans Administration confirms the disability.

MINORITY BUSINESS PARTICIPATION
In some projects up to 25% participation is reserved for MBE. So try to take advantage of this opportunity if you fall under this category.
For becoming a Minority Business Enterprise one has to get certified first with his own state then only he/she can forward in other state.
To register with a particular state all information can be accumulated from the State’s website

AS AN INDIVIDUAL
There are certain agencies which invite proposals from individuals also. Especially artists, writers, announcers, journalists and some field specialists can bid for themselves too. For an individual also procedure is same i.e. he/she has to first apply for DUNS number then register with CCR and then apply for particular position. It may require registration with State too.


TIPS TO LOCATE OPPORTUNITIES
It is not easy to pin point one opportunity and grab it. For that one has to be aware all the time. Keep eye on up coming opportunity. There are some ways to locate opportunity.
First, try to contact the small-business liaison within any agency, each has one. Keep in mind agency’s small business specialist may or may not be the buyer himself but he could be the person who will point you in right direction.

Second, consider attending a "Business Matchmaking" event. Business Matchmaking is a United States Small Business Administration program that is sort of like speed dating; it is a place where small business can have quick get-to-know-you meetings with government and corporate procurement officers.Business Matchmaking is the brainstorm of Hector Barreto, the administrator of the SBA who recently resigned. According to Barreto, traditionally most of these government contracts went to small businesses "inside the beltway" (in and near Washington, D.C.) Barreto figured that other small business people around the country might like to earn some of these contracts, so he teamed up with Hewlett Packard and created Business Matchmaking, a sort of traveling road show of procurement opportunities.
Up Coming Business Matchmaking Events –
Chicago, IL – September 16, 2009
Boston, MA – October 15, 2009

Following all these steps squeezes out a lot of energy, attention and a lot of paper work but the result is surely remarkable enough to pay back all these efforts. So go ahead and start gambling for a good fortune.

Best of Luck.