In my past I have had the privilege of working for, with and over some amazing people. We were fortunate to have executed some challenging government contracts. I was approached by Trident Proposals to provide some insight into my experience early on. Kathy and I exchanged a few emails then had a few calls that eventually lead to the video interview. She felt that many veteran owned small business could benefit from some of my lessons learned. I was more than happy to pass along some of my lessons learned and hopefully they help.
I’m not going to lie, it was a long interview, about 35 plus minutes. So, I will recap a few of the high points.
Play to your strengths
This was something I was adamant about, it was already a complex project, don’t make it any harder by working on the fringes. Concentrate on what you are good at and do it better.
Value added
You have to be able to provide value, not just in the government contract world, but anything you pursue. If you can provide that, the rarest of commodities, you will find yourself in a good position. One of the reasons why I enjoy the new emphasis on blog articles is the continued value added concepts.
Don’t be afraid to say “no”
This was probably the hardest thing to be comfortable with, but we turned down at least half a dozen contracts to the ones we elected to take on. Some were right on the boarder of our skill set, but others were way out. I see so many mistakes being made by folks who are so anxious to clamp on the government spigot they will put themselves in a dangerous position.
Leave better than when you started
We made a lot of mistakes on the road, some were rookie mistakes, but that is exactly what we were in the beginning. Even with those mistakes I take pride in knowing that our mindset was to leave the customer/client better than we found them. That hallmark allowed us to focus on the product/services completely.
So, if you are interested in listening to me ramble and provide some business tips then you will enjoy for sure. I want to thank Kathy and the folks at Trident Proposals for taking the time to interview me, it was one of the best interviews I have done and really enjoyed the opportunity.
How a Navy SEAL started in government contracts
