How federal contracting
actually works
The stuff we wish someone had told us when we started bidding on federal contracts. NAICS codes, certifications, RFPs, pricing, the lot.
Start with these
Government Contracting 101: A Real Beginner's Guide
If you've never sold to the government before, start here. We cover NAICS codes, SAM.gov, set-asides, and contract types in plain English, without the acronym soup.
Read articleHow Small Businesses Actually Find Government Contracts
Most people open SAM.gov, get overwhelmed, and quit. Here's what works instead, including the daily search habits we use ourselves.
Read articleSet-Aside Programs and Why They Exist
The government carves out billions for small, veteran-owned, women-owned, and disadvantaged businesses. Here's who qualifies for what.
Read articleAll Guides· 30
Government Contracting 101: A Real Beginner's Guide
If you've never sold to the government before, start here. We cover NAICS codes, SAM.gov, set-asides, and contract types in plain English, without the acronym soup.
Read articleHow Small Businesses Actually Find Government Contracts
Most people open SAM.gov, get overwhelmed, and quit. Here's what works instead, including the daily search habits we use ourselves.
Read articleNAICS Codes, Explained Without the Headache
What a NAICS code actually is, how to find the right ones for your business, and which codes the government spends the most money under.
Read articleGetting Registered on SAM.gov (Without Losing a Week)
SAM.gov registration is the gatekeeper for everything else. Here's the order to do it in, what trips most people up, and how to fix the common errors.
Read articleThe NAICS Codes Where Small Businesses Actually Win
Not every NAICS code is worth chasing. These are the ones where small firms win the most contracts, with the friendliest size standards.
Read articleFFP, T&M, IDIQ: What These Contract Types Mean for You
Fixed-price means you eat any overrun. Cost-plus means you don't. We break down what each contract type costs you in risk and what it pays in margin.
Read articleWhich Certifications Are Worth Actually Filing For
There are seven main certifications. Some take a weekend to apply for, some take a year. Here's which ones move the needle and the order to chase them.
Read articleWhy Subcontracting First Is Usually Smarter
Bidding as a prime when you have no past performance is a long shot. Subcontracting under one is how most firms get their first federal revenue.
Read articleA 90-Day Plan to Land Your First Federal Contract
Week-by-week, what to actually do. Drawn from the firms we've watched go from zero to their first award in three months.
Read articleMicro-Purchases: The Sneaky-Easy Way In
Anything under $10K can skip the whole RFP grind. Most beginners never hear about this, even though it's how a lot of veteran-owned firms got their first contract.
Read articleSet-Aside Programs and Why They Exist
The government carves out billions for small, veteran-owned, women-owned, and disadvantaged businesses. Here's who qualifies for what.
Read articleSDVOSB Contracts: What Veteran-Owned Firms Should Know
If you're SDVOSB-verified, agencies can hand you contracts up to $5M without a competition. We walk through who buys the most and how to get certified.
Read articleGetting WOSB Certified (and Why It's Worth It)
Women-owned firms have their own slice of federal contracting. Here's how to qualify, what the paperwork actually looks like, and where to find WOSB-only contracts.
Read articleThe 8(a) Sole-Source Path: Fastest Route to Federal Revenue
If you qualify for 8(a), the government can award you up to $4.5M without anyone else bidding. The catch: you only have nine years to use the program.
Read articleHUBZone: When Your Address Is Your Edge
If your office and most of your employees live in a HUBZone tract, you qualify for a category of contracts almost nobody else can touch.
Read articleThe Dollar Thresholds That Trigger Set-Asides
When two or more small businesses can do the work, the contract has to be set aside for small businesses. We cover the exact dollar limits and how to use them.
Read article10 Things That Actually Make a Federal Proposal Win
Most proposals lose not because they're bad, but because they miss a single requirement. Here's what experienced bidders pay attention to.
Read articleThe Compliance Matrix: Boring But Decisive
Skip the compliance matrix and your proposal gets thrown out in the first pass, no matter how good the technical writing is. Here's how to build one.
Read articleResponding to Your First Federal RFP
Reading the RFP, building the outline, pricing it, packaging it, getting it submitted on time. A walkthrough for people doing this for the first time.
Read articlePast Performance: How to Build It From Zero
Past performance can be a third of your evaluation score. If you don't have it yet, here's how firms in your shoes have built it.
Read articlePricing a Federal Bid Without Going Broke
The cheapest bid usually loses (or wins and bleeds money). We cover what reasonable pricing looks like and how to defend it.
Read articleSources Sought: The Highest-Leverage Thing Most Firms Skip
Responding to a Sources Sought notice takes maybe four hours and can shape the eventual RFP in your favor. Most small businesses never bother.
Read articleTeaming Up Without Getting Screwed
Prime/sub partnerships open up contracts you can't win alone, but the agreement matters. We cover the clauses that actually protect you.
Read articleWhat a Realistic Win Rate Looks Like
If you're winning one in ten, you're doing fine. Here's why most firms lose and the bid/no-bid habits that improve your numbers.
Read articleWriting a Capability Statement That Gets Read
Six sections, one page, no fluff. We cover what to include, the common mistakes, and how to make sure yours actually gets opened.
Read articleCapability Statement Examples (the Good and the Embarrassing)
Side-by-side comparisons of capability statements that work and ones that don't, with notes on what makes the difference.
Read articleIs a GSA Schedule Actually Worth the Hassle?
Getting on a GSA Schedule takes six to twelve months and costs real money. We do the math on when it's worth it and when it isn't.
Read articleIDIQ Contracts and Why Primes Love Them
Indefinite-quantity vehicles can give you years of steady task orders, but getting on one is a different game than winning a single RFP. Here's how the math works.
Read articleWhere Federal Money Is Actually Going in 2026
Which agencies grew their budgets, which NAICS codes saw the biggest jumps, and where small-business contracting is genuinely accelerating.
Read articleSAM.gov Search Tips That Save Hours
SAM.gov's native search is rough. These are the specific tricks we use to cut a 90-minute daily review down to about ten minutes.
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