Overview
The contracting goal across the federal government is to award 5% of federal contracts to WOSB's or roughly $23 billion dollars. Below is the comparison between WOSB firms and WOSB firms that also have a GSA Schedule.
Comparison
| WOSB | WOSB + GSA | |
|---|---|---|
| Federal Sales | $22.9B | $6.4B |
| Number of Firms | 63,762 | 3,536 |
| Average | $359,148 | $1,809,995 |
Narrowing down the Candidate Pool
There are currently just over 63,000 WOSB firms which range across all industries. For obtaining the WOSB Certification there is not a requirement for a potential for success in completing federal contracts (2 years in business) as provided for in the 8(a) Disadvantaged Business Certification. This is nice for applicants because a firm can literally be formed one day, and before the business completes its first contract it can apply for the WOSB Certification and even begin doing federal work.
What federal buyers want when buying
Federal buyers want to fulfill their 5% congressional requirement without compromising the agencies mission. This also saves them the headaches of large amounts of monitoring required if a contractor is found to be less than competent. As a result they work to meet both of these goals. Generally a firm must have two years in business and have performed on at least five contracts on order to obtain a GSA Schedule so the WOSB + GSA Combination = Potential for Success.
Impact
WOSB + GSA Schedule sells 5x ($1.81MM vs $359K) more from their GSA Schedule than a WOSB firm with no Schedule. Showing the potential for success to Federal buyers is likely having a major impact for WOSB firms.
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