DEVELOPING AND EXECUTING YOUR GOVERNMENT CONTRACTING BUSINESS PLAN

DEVELOPING AND EXECUTING YOUR GOVERNMENT CONTRACTING BUSINESS PLAN • Carlos Garcia • President • Tlingit Haida Tribal Business Corporation

A BUSINESS PLAN IS REQUIRED FOR BOTH START UP AND EXISTING COMPANIES • It is a document that validates the value proposition offered by the corporation • It maps out the plan that will be executed • During execution it is the basis for a budget • It measures success and provides management with valuable information in regards to industry trends, competitor behavior and other factors

STEPS REQUIRED TO GENERATE THE COMPONENTS OF A BUSINESS PLAN • Validate that a market exists for your products and services • Validate that you can deliver your products and services at a price that is competitive with the prices at which contracts are being awarded • Validate that there are contracts coming up to bid • Validate that you meet the criteria to bid, including security clearance, past performance, and other factors • Validate that you can staff the contracts you propose to go after • Validate that you have the financing necessary to pursue these opportunities • Validate that you have the financing available to execute the contracts

AFTER VALIDATING THAT YOUR OFFERINGS ARE ALIGNED WITH YOUR MARKET… • Check the timing of solicitations to ensure that you can schedule your proposals with the business development resources you have available • Confirm that sufficient opportunities exist that if some get cancelled or delayed you can still meet your plan • Present your plan to your board of directors for approval of outlays of capital for bidding as well as starting up contracts • Present your plan to your bank to ensure that they will finance your plans • If bonding is required, reach out to your bonding agent

NEXT STEP: CREATE A ROADMAP TO EXECUTE YOUR PLAN • Identify the number of winning proposals you will have to generate • Back into the number of bids you will need to submit in order to win that many awards • Identify the number of opportunities that you will need to track in order to identify the number of bids you need to submit • Research the government’s requirement, funding levels, solicitation strategy, and other factors to ensure that the opportunities will, indeed be released and awarded during the time frame in your budget.

CREATE A SYSTEM FOR TRACKING THESE OPPORTUNITIES • Identify an individual – possibly yourself – who will keep track of upcoming opportunities, proposals in progress, proposals submitted, delayed solicitations, protests, and other important categories. • Calculate how many dollars worth of proposals need to be submitted each month in order to ensure that you meet your plan • If you fall behind, consider lowering your expenses to avoid your G & A rate increasing • If you fall behind, consider increasing the number of proposals in the upcoming months to correct for the deficiency

TRACK AND LEARN FROM UNSUCCESSFUL PROPOSALS • Always request a debriefing • Be prepared for the debriefing • Learn what roll price played in your loss • Ask for advice on how to improve future proposals • Ask debriefers if they felt that you understood what they were looking for • Ask about the look and feel of your proposal – in general did it look as professional as the others • Ask about other upcoming opportunities that you might bid

IN ADDITION TO SUBMITTING PROPOSALS…. • Track ongoing contracts to ensure excellent past performance • Track funding levels of ongoing contracts to ensure that funding is available and you are on track to meet your numbers • Track your safety record to ensure that you maintain excellent ratings • Explore ways to grow your current contracts • Prepare for your re-competes. • Track your size against the size standard • Audit your HR and labor practices • Check your insurance utilization to ensure that you are accruing the correct amount

IN ADDITION TO SUBMITTING PROPOSALS…(CONTINUED) • Make sure your contract files are complete and up to date • Read your active contracts and existing successful proposals to ensure compliance • Audit your HR and policies and procedures files for compliance and adherence to best practices • Track your monthly revenue, expense, and rates each month • Track your “estimate at completion” rates to ensure that you end the year where you expected to

SELECT METRICS THAT ARE CRITICAL TO YOUR SUCCESS AND TRACK THEM • Proposals submitted is a critical metric to track • Book to bill ratio lets you know if you are growing or shrinking • Carefully track your indirect rates. Understand any variances. • Track your billed and unbilled revenue. • Track your accounts payable and accounts receivable • Track your bank covenants and cushion • Reach out to your bank, board, and other stakeholders immediately if you sense that you might miss your numbers

MONITOR YOUR KEY EMPLOYEES • Confirm that you are paying them market rate salaries and benefits • Have a mechanism for measuring job satisfaction. (e. g. surveys) • Have a plan for replacing any key employee that resigns • Have adequate non-disclosure protection • Create career paths for key employees • Ensure that employees that possess licenses or clearances critical to your business are happy at your company

KEEP YOUR FINGER ON THE PULSE OF THE INDUSTRY • Attend industry specific trade shows and conferences • Read industry journals and blogs • Consult your attorneys, accountants, consultants, and other vendors who work throughout your industry • Sign up for newsletters that track your industry • Search for web based training to help you stay current • Visit customers and team mates and even competitors • Speak directly to your employees instead of simply checking in with their manager

WORDS OF CAUTION • Be realistic in your business development objectives and assumptions • Many sure you are bidding contracts that align with the size and scope of your past performance • Resist the temptation to chase work outside of your area of expertise • Avoid contract consolidation. Diversify contract mix. • Ensure that you can successfully start up and staff all of the contracts that you are bidding. • Ensure that you can manage all of your contracts including proposals outstanding that you expect to win

WORD OF CAUTION (CONTINUED) • Make sure you have the correct accounting system to run your business. • Have financial reports and systems that meet audit requirements. • Have financial reports and systems that meet operational requirements • Beware of consolidated categories such as “other direct costs, subcontractors, or materials. ” • Understand your fringe rate – on your billable personnel as well as on your G & A executives.

WORD OF CAUTION • Consultants often preach as if their advice is definitive • Accountants can be more concerned with records management more than forward looking strategy • Attorneys should give legal advice not business advice. Understand the difference. • Business development consultants often exaggerate. Have measurable metrics in place and discuss expectations. • Always expect the unexpected (e. g. government shutdown. )

WORD OF CAUTION • Be realistic in regards to the contracts you pursue • Focus on opportunities that align with the size and scope of your past performance • Look for additional work where you already have a presence • Look for additional work at agencies that recognize your quality • Always look for a comparative advantage over your competitors when making bid/no bid decisions

WHAT IF YOU FALL BEHIND BUDGET? • Reduce the possibility by making a realistic budget in the first place. • If you find you are falling behind, immediately take appropriate corrective action • Consider all impacts on your business as you course correct – including your indirect rates • Eliminate underperforming executives and consultants as soon as it becomes apparent that they are unlikely to meet their goals • Challenge your assumptions in regards to your business plan

CONTACT INFORMATION AND PHOTO • Carlos Garcia • cgarcia@thtbc. com • 303. 619. 2275