Advice Archives

Bidding SCA Contracts – Is It Worth It?

As we ebb and flow through the proposal season, there are numerous types of RFPs that will drop which you might consider bidding on.  Some might even have the Service Contract Act (SCA) clause 52.222-41 buried in the document.  If you decide an RFP with the SCA clause is worth the bid, there are some […]

Corporate Housekeeping

As we turn our attention to back to school sales, last summer vacays, finishing up our trashy beach novels and start shifting towards the fall, it’s a good time to take a minute and do some general housekeeping. Face it – it will be the holidays before you know it! GovCons, you are in the lull […]

Dancing with Disaster

I recently heard of the closing of a friend’s gastro brewpub, and it stirred more in me than I’d like to admit.  As an entrepreneur, business owner, and someone with insight into various client’s businesses- this cuts deep.  The idea that even with a great idea, great product, and great clientele that you can still […]

Accidental GovCon CEO

Editors Note: This page was updated 12/27/2022. What’s an accidental GovCon CEO?  Are you one? You may or may not know the type.  They’ve spun out of government or a large integrator and had a good consulting gig as a 1099.  They are well connected with their customer (they used to be colleagues) and they […]

Easy Tips for Competitive Data Gathering

As small business contractors, we know how tough it is to get daily operations up and running; let alone set up a proposal shop and to go after business.  Most often, it’s a one-person shop, hunting and gathering crumbs in the govcon jungle. This can obviously be very overwhelming and wasteful as time passes, but […]

Incurred Costs Submissions, Tis the Season

As we take more sinus meds and smell the pollen, it’s time to start talking about an annual rite of passage for most in the GovCon world. The annual incurred costs submission to DCAA.  While many might think a sinus infection sounds like more fun (and we tend to agree), now is the time to […]

How to Survive a DOL SCA Wage and Hour Audit

Editors Note: This was updated on 12/20/2022 Our Experience with SCA Audits On a late Friday afternoon in May, just before I am about to leave for a three-day holiday weekend, my phone rings at the corporate office in Maryland and it is the voice of a woman who is the last person I wanted […]

Orange

With apologies to the Crossfit disciples, I’ve been seeing orange lately. As anyone who enters their 40’s discovers, the body ain’t what it used to be!  You suddenly give a lot more thought to whether your core is strong enough. Such is life.  This past August, I decided to get off my ass and start […]

Tax Reform – WTH?

One frigid morning this week, I attended a seminar on the latest tax reform law and what it may mean to you as a business owner.  My initial key takeaways: No amount of coffee will help this make sense CPAs and Tax Planning folks are woefully undervalued – we should worship these people if they […]

2019 Resolutions – Get your Freaking Day Back

As we ease into the year, some have already given up on New Year’s Resolutions, some are waning, and some are still diligently plugging away at it.  Congrats to those of you still at it – keep going! There’s one resolution that I think many executives have, but few achieve consistently, and that is to […]