Important SBA Update About the 8(a) Program
ULTIMA SERVICES V. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Currently All Women (Minority Group Member or Caucasian Woman) can potentially apply for the SBA 8(a) Certification in addition to the WOSB program.
Call if you would like for us to determine your eligibility.
Insight 1: WOSB & EDWOSB Average Sales Data
| WOSB Industry Group | Total WOSB Federal Sales | Number of WOSB Firms | Average WOSB Sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| EDWOSB Totals / Averages | 10,235,720,046 | 4,266 | 2,399,372 |
| WOSB Totals / Averages | 15,915,184,286 | 14,468 | 1,360,416 |
Insight 2: WOSB Certification Qualifications
- The firm must be a small business in its Primary NAICS Code. Please view the list of NAICS and their length requirements for verification. Click here for the table of small business size standards. https://www.sba.gov/document/support-table-size-standards
- The WOSB applicant corporation should be at the least fifty-one percent (51%) unconditionally owned and managed by women who are also U.S. citizens. The female owner should be responsible for the long-term decisions for the business. Hold the highest title, receive the highest level of compensation as well as have a resume that justifies her ability to run the firm.
- The 51% Woman/women applicant(s) must be U.S. Citizens.
Insight 3: EDWOSB Certification Additional Qualifications
If your firm wishes to have the ED (Economically Disadvantaged) Business Certification the owner of the firm must be under the following economic thresholds.
-
1
Owner of the firm must make less than $400,000 per year, on average, for the past 3 years.
-
2
The owners net worth must be less than $850,000 excluding
a. the owners primary residence,
b. the business applying for EDWOSB,
c. the owners 401k, IRA, or other retirement account's -
3
The owners’ total assets must be less than $6,500,000 excluding retirement accounts.
-
4
Check this link to see if your industry is in an industry where an EDWOSB is a requirement.
EDWOSB is a subset of WOSB
Insight 4: WOSB & EDWOSB + GSA Schedule Average Sales
| WOSB Industry Group | Total WOSB Federal Sales | Number of WOSB Firms | Average WOSB Sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| EDWOSB Totals / Averages + GSA | 6,411,396,359 | 945 | 6,784,546 |
| WOSB Totals / Averages + GSA | 3,767,315,971 | 2,510 | 4,257,372 |
Insight 5: ED/WOSB + GSA Sales Industry Data
Sales vary between industries for
WOSB firms.
Click on your industry below to see specific industry related WOSB sales data.
- Accounting
- Architectural
- Computer Hardware
- Computer Services
- Construction General Contractor (GC)
- Construction Trade
- Custodial / Landscaping / Janitorial Services
- Engineering
- Environmental
- Financial
- Legal
- Management Consulting Services
- Manufacturing
- Medical Offices / Doctors Offices
- Medical Supply
- Real Estate Firms
- Security
- Staffing
- Translation
- Wholesale
- Totals / Average
Totals / Average
| WOSB Average Sales this Industry | GSA Schedule Sales for a firm with an WOSB in this Industry | Synergy (Generally adding an WOSB to a GSA Creates More Sales than from the GSA Schedule Alone) | Synergy Ratio | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WOSB Industry Grouping | Total WOSB Federal Sales | Number of WOSB Firms | Average WOSB Sales | GSA Schedule Only Sales WOSB Firms | Number of WOSB Firms w/ GSA Schedule | Average WOSB Sales Directly from the GSA Schedule System | Total Federal Sales WOSB GSA Contract Holders | Number of WOSB Firms w/ GSA Schedule | Average Total WOSB Federal Sales for firms with a GSA Schedule | GSA Schedule Sales Advantage | |||
| EDWOSB Totals / Average | 10,235,720,046 | 4,266 | 2,399,372 | 1,654,601,729 | 945 | 1,750,901 | 6,411,396,359 | 945 | 6,784,546 | 2.8 | |||
| WOSB Totals / Average | 15,915,184,286 | 14,468 | 1,360,416 | 3,767,315,971 | 2,510 | 1,500,923 | 3,767,315,971 | 2,510 | 4,257,372 | 3.1 | |||
Insight 6: Building a Contracting Officer Hot List
How to Build a Hot List – You can look at awarded contracts in sam.gov that would be a good match for your company. This allows you to see the name and contact information of the person who oversaw the contract award.
Once you go through the data, we recommend that you narrow your focus to three agencies. The federal government is too large to attempt to market everywhere. We have found that this focused effort will yield stronger sales results because you will build relationships and learn what your government niche.
Once you win a contract, it is advisable that you bring your focus down to this single agency. Master working with this agency before you broaden your horizon in working with other agencies.
WOSB firms have around $100 million per year in Sole-source contracts. Obtaining these contracts is possible by building relationships with your “Hot List” but just know your “Hot List” can help you win contracts by keeping you abreast of future procurments.
Insight 7: Set-aside Contracts for WOSB Firms
Set-aside Contracts Explained - Federal Set-aside Contracts are contacts that limit who can bid on and participate in the awarded contract. This means to be an eligible bidder you must possess the certification SDVOSB, 8(a), HUBZone or ED/WOSB that the contract is Set-aside. Therefore, once you receive your WOSB Certification you will be eligible for WOSB Set-aside contracts.
Opportunity Dollar Value - ED/WOSB Set-aside contacts has been nearly $1 billion dollars per year. What is important to know is that Contracting Officers have leeway in deciding if a procurement should be Set-aside.
Expressing Interest – The time to express interest in a procurement is shortly after the RFI (Request for Information) drops. If the RFI is a good match for your firm’s capabilities, then ask the contracting officer if they can Set-aside the RFQ (Request for Quotation) for your special designation. If other WOSB firms request the same during the RFI process, then there is a good chance the contracting officer will move the procurement to a Set-aside status.
Insight 8: “Excellent” Past Performance is the Key to Your Future
Once you win a Federal Contract it is time to perform on your contract. Having a strong performance rating is important for getting your next contract. You will be graded on quality, cost control, timeliness of performance, as well as business relations. The scale generally used by the government is Excellent (5), Good (4), Acceptable (3), Poor (2) and Unacceptable (1). Obtaining an “Excellent” rating makes winning your next contract that much easier, and fosters building a relationship with that agency.
We have had conversations with contracting officers, and the summation of those discussion is that all things being equal a firm with an “Excellent” rating can charge approximately 7% more and still be awarded the contract over a firm with a “Good” rating. Any rating below “Good” and it will be difficult for the firm to achieve future work without making remedies to reduce the governments risk of working with that firm.
Insight 9: GWACs, IDIQ, and BPAs are ”Federal Goldmines”
Now that your firm has obtained good past performance it maybe time to look at contacts that will help you broaden your agency portfolio as well as increase sales. At this point it is time to focus on GWACs (Government-wide Acquisition Contracts), IDIQs (Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity Contracts), BPAs (Blanket Purchase Agreements). These contracting vehicles provide your firm access to large buckets of money that have a finite number of vendors.
Many of these multi-agency contracts have reserved places for SBA Certification holders such as WOSB. Therefore, obtaining a position on one of these contracts often gives the WOSB firm access to a bucket of federal funds within the larger bucket, or a bucket of millions of dollars they share with 10 firms or less.
We are experts at helping clients obtain positions on these contracts and complete hundreds of varying GWAC, IDIQ, and BPAs contracts annually.
2024 Major OpportunitiesInsight 10: Using Joint Venture to Expanding your Capabilities
A relatively small number of EDWOSB and WOSB firms form Joint Venture Partnerships with other Federal Contractors. However, in certain contracting situations these arrangements can be very successful ventures. Below is a table showing the sales and number of firms by WOSB type.
| WOSB Industry Group | Total WOSB Federal Sales | Number of WOSB Firms | Average WOSB Sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| EDWOSB Totals / Averages | 1,077,138,337 | 369 | 2,919,074 |
| WOSB Totals / Averages | 761,037,937 | 274 | 2,777,510 |
