Identifying Finding Bid Opportunities
Every day, local, state, and federal branches of government purchase millions of dollars of goods and services. There are plenty of opportunities for companies of any size to become a supplier to the government, but finding the right opportunity can be difficult.
Searching the government market requires that companies have staff with both the time and expertise to:
• Understand the contract requirements a particular proposal will enforce upon the company.
• Locate bid opportunities: requests for proposals (RFP’s), requests for quotes (RFQ’s) and requests for information (RFI’s), which may later lead to an RFP.
• Identify which bid opportunities the company can fulfill.
As a contractor, you must organize a business plan containing the ideas on how you are going to sell your services and a complete list of offerings, financial data, and support documents that will complement your knowledge in the industry. Your local small business administration office can help you prepare your business plan. Besides your experience, you also need some financial backup.
If you are starting a new company or haven’t done the IRS registration, you must enlist and get an employee identification number (EIN, Federal ID Number); this is a requirement if you want to bid on federal or government projects.
Once you have all your initial requirements ready and filled out, you must start looking for bidding opportunities and construction bids. Here is a list of common places where to find bids, proposals, and solicitation information.
• PTA Centers - They offer an abundance of information and technical assistance. They are a local resource available at no or minimal cost that can provide assistance to business firms in marketing products and services to the Federal, state, and local governments.
• Daily Journal of Commerce - The daily journal of commerce will list the local opportunities available for you to bid. The DJC provides news and public records for local business professionals in the industries of architecture, construction, engineering, commercial real estate, and law.
There are also other sites that will require you a subscription sometimes for a small amount of money that will email you with the latest information depending on your requirements and parameters, such as:
• Gov Directions - It is low-cost and accurate.
• ONVIA - This website analyzes, tracks, and reports the spending of more than 89,000 federal, state, and local government agencies, giving companies a single source for conducting intelligent and efficient business with government.
One last source is the input from friends, colleagues, and other professionals to get bids and solicitation announcements. Contact Malyszek & Malyszek today for more information on how to find bid opportunities.
