Under section 8(m) of the Small Business Act, 15 U.S.C. 637(m), SBA is responsible for implementing and administering the WOSB Program. The purpose of the WOSB Program is to ensure that women-owned small businesses (WOSBs) have an equal opportunity to participate in Federal contracting and to help attain the Federal government's goal of awarding five percent of its prime contract dollars to WOSBs.

The WOSB Program authorizes Federal contracting officers to restrict competition for a contract to WOSBs if (1) there is a reasonable expectation that at least two WOSBs will submit offers that meet the requirements of the acquisition at a fair and reasonable price and (2) the acquisition is for a good or service assigned a North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code in which SBA has determined that WOSBs are “substantially underrepresented.”

The WOSB Program also authorizes contracting officers to award a sole-source contract assigned a WOSB Program-eligible NAICS code, provided that only one WOSB can be identified that can perform the contract at a fair and reasonable price.

The mission and the market: 

To build a female business conglomerate that is a player in every space that the government is a buyer. My plan is to build working partnerships and form strategic joint ventures with other woman owned small businesses from every industry combining our experience and capabilities to go after the contracts that have been set aside for businesses such as ours.  

As an HR firm, we are able to partner with any company in any industry on any project. We currently work with other companies in various industries from construction, educational services, program and facilities management, IT, healthcare, and data management just to name a few examples. 

Many do not realize the fact that the Federal Government is the largest consumer of goods and services in the world, spending roughly $600 billion each year. President Joe Biden’s trillion-dollar infrastructure package is a new wave of federal procurement dollars. Many of which will rely heavily on federal contracting.

In 2021, women-owned small businesses received $26.2 billion in federal contracts, representing 4.63% of the fiscal year 2021 total eligible dollars, the SBA said. The goal was 5%. To reach that 5% procurement goal the government is working on getting more women owned small business to aim for federal contracts. 

The government buys all kinds of goods and services from catering to IT. 

Examples of how the federal government spends money on goods and services are:

• office supplies, e.g.: paper clips, pens

• equipment purchases, e.g.: computers

• professional services such as consulting or design work by contractors

• construction or renovation of buildings

• transportation, e.g.: airline tickets, rental cars

• telecommunications, e.g.: phone service, internet access

• commodities, e.g.: food

• medical supplies and equipment

More women owned businesses need to aim for federal contracts too many dollars have been left on the table. According to the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Voices program survey, half of women owners who chose not to apply to federal contracts said it was because the process was too time consuming, 40 percent said it was too complicated and lacked sufficient information, and 38 percent said they felt small businesses weren’t prioritized so it was unlikely they would get a contract if they went through the motions of applying. 

The federal government’s requirements tend to disproportionately impact disadvantaged business enterprises, said Judith Dangerfield, a senior fellow at Policy Link, a national research and action institute focused on advancing economic and social equity. Barriers have blocked women-owned businesses from accessing federal money for business contracts or procurement dollars for decades, barriers that the SBA has promised to reduce under the Biden administration. For example, businesses that haven’t worked with the federal government before may get passed over for new contracts. That just perpetuates inequalities that have been baked in, making it less likely for women-owned businesses to snag federal dollars.

For women-owned businesses, SBA has increased the number of certified firms to nearly 6,000 from about 1,000. It has also expanded the NAICS codes, the classification system used by the government for business categories, for which women-owned businesses can receive set-aside awards. More than 92% of federal spending is covered by NAICS codes eligible for WOSB (Women Owned Small Businesses) set-aside awards, according to the SBA. 

SBA also recently completed a study to include additional industries to the list of women-owned small businesses that may qualify for federal procurement dollars. The agency is also working with the Biden administration on its newly announced effort to expand contracting opportunities for underserved small businesses. The administration wants to raise the share of contracts to minority-owned businesses by 50 percent over the next five years, translating to $100 billion to those businesses in that time frame. 

To achieve this goal, agencies will assess every available tool to lower barriers to entry and increase opportunities for small businesses and traditionally-underserved entrepreneurs to compete for federal contracts,” the administration said. 

Despite the overall increase in the dollar value of small-business awards, the absolute number of small businesses receiving prime contracts with the federal government decreased again in FY21. This continues a multi-year trend of decreases in small-business vendors, dating back over a decade.

In December, the government issued a policy memorandum intended to reverse the decline in the small-business supplier base, in part by tracking new entrants to ensure that new government contractors are entering and then finding opportunities in the federal marketplace.

My plan is to build a network of partnerships and strategic joint ventures between woman owned small businesses across industries. Together we will work together to compete for and win these contracts. Working together we will expand our capabilities, and lift each other up past the barrier to entry that has kept us from one of the most lucrative business markets in the world; our own government.  

My journey here:

I have been bringing people together from different backgrounds and building teams since I was on the playground. Then I learned the power of people as I grew into a woman, and a professional. I believe in the power of teams. It is my specialty and I have made a career out of doing so.

I spent a 23-year career in the military working in HR/Admin. I served 10 years in the navy and 13 in the army serving as an AG/HR officer. I also served as an air force civilian HR director after retiring from the military. Then I got into the contracting side of things working as a senior executive. I am also a wife of 20 years and a mother of three kids. As we all know no matter how much you know, you still know nothing. 

For all my experience I like many people and businesses was unaware of just how game changing federal contracting can be for a business overall.  When I retired from the military, I had no clue how hot of a commodity my skill sets were to companies that had or were in pursuit of federal contracts.  I eventually got an offer that I had to take advantage of, and it was in this job that I learned what was possible. 

I was hired on as a contractor leading an HR department for a new contract, so I did all the recruiting and team building for this contract from the top down. I was astonished with what I learned. For one budget on the salaries that I was able to offer were so competitive that I was often amazed. I had only heard of these type salaries in Silicon Valley. This made me very curious about the business side of contracting and so I went down the rabbit hole of research that led into business and eventually here writing these words to you.  

I began to research the businesses that were awarded the contracts and I was astonished to learn just how high some of the dollar amounts were and many of these companies were winners of multiple contracts over the years. The pool of companies that compete is not as large as you may think.

As I researched many of the companies from the top down. I learned that many of the CEO's had about the same or lesser qualifications than I had gained over a 25-year career in the federal government. I am a country girl, so I am not a person who cares about position much.

Though I had served in many in my career from director to senior executive, a job is a job no matter your title. Never did I consider that my qualifications were that of a woman that could be CEO of my own company. I was a company woman so to speak. I only cared about being a good worker and colleague no matter my title. I never thought about owning the company! 

I began to research the businesses that were awarded the contracts and I was astonished to learn just how high some of the dollar amounts were and many of these companies were winners of multiple contracts over the years. The pool of companies that compete is not as large as you may think.

As I researched many of the companies from the top down. I learned that many of the CEO's had about the same or lesser qualifications than I had gained over a 25-year career in the federal government. I am a country girl, so I am not a person who cares about position much though I had served in many in my career from director to senior executive. Never did I consider that my qualifications were that of a woman that could be CEO of my own company. I was a company woman so to speak. I only cared about being a good worker and colleague no matter my title. I never thought about owning the company! 

After some encouragement from my husband, our kids, and my colleagues. I took the advice to start my own company, and here I am in a position that I never imagined myself in. The journey of starting your own business is humbling and tests your resolve, however it has been one of the most rewarding and empowering experience in my life.

It has opened my eyes to business, it has given me freedom, it has put me in the paths of some amazing women doing amazing things in business, and in their lives. I am motivated more and more every day that I do this. It is amazing watching a house start to form the hard work of laying the bricks.

The plan:

I hope to raise at least 30,000 then pay it forward by hiring other woman owned business professional services such as, legal, financial, insurance, marketing, and contracting to help build this on a strong foundation, and with a formula that makes sure all parties involved thrive. As anyone who is doing business quickly learns, to do things correctly you must humble yourself and value the advice of others. I truly do.

A proposal writer for example, someone with extensive experience in proposal development. There are more federal contracts available than one would imagine. The problem is the proposal process. If you do not play you cannot win. The proposal process alone keeps most small businesses from even trying. There are often the deadlines, the procedural headaches, and statutory requirements which prevent most small businesses from even applying in the first place. Hiring a professional in this area is a game changer. 

Accounting software and accounting services as we grow. I value professional financial guidance.   

Advertising/Marketing the more that I do business, the more that I realize that a successful business never stops marketing itself. We all know who Ford and Walmart is and they still spend hundreds of millions per year on marketing. If companies with that much revenue and success are doing it, how can I rest on my backside? 

Employment search engines and verification services such as indeed, simply hired, etc. This make it much easier to find staff for contracts that may require more personnel or are geographically outside of our physical locations.

Memberships and business certifications from women owned business advocacy organizations such as the WBENC or the SBA WOSB for example. We currently hold MBE certifications in the state of Colorado and the commonwealth of VA as well as the service-disabled veteran owned small business. Certifications such as these give the business venture an opportunity to bid on contracts set aside only for companies that hold these certifications.

Thank you for your time and consideration. I know these things are supposed to be short, however I feel a sense of duty to give you my best effort and to try my best to clearly explain the vision.

When there is a vision, there is a lot of thought behind it. I wanted to do my best in these words to try and share the detail of my thoughts that make up this vision in hopes that we connect enough that  you can see it with me. I hope that you are a part of this journey .

Also please feel free to contact me about partnering up on business opportunities, no matter what your industry is there is opportunity for us to work together. 

Sincerely, 

Sandra Johnson.