Get All Access for $5/mo

How to Learn the Government-Contracting Ropes -- Free

By Carol Tice Edited by Dan Bova

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

The federal government tends to come up short on handing out contract work to small businesses. Make it a woman-owned small business, and that goes double.

If you're interested in government contracting, know that you can break in and learn how contracting works. There's an opportunity later this week to learn how to crack the government-contracting game -- and it's free.On Thursday, there's a one-hour Webinar being put on by Women Impacting Public Policy and American Express OPEN. Give Me 5 is designed to help more women owners get into contracting, but I don't think they're going to check your genitalia on the call, so feel free to get the learnings no matter your gender.

Many small business owners overlook the government-contracting opportunity. They feel intimidated, they know there's a paperwork mountain to climb, and it just doesn't happen.

But this is a giant pot of revenue that's worth checking out. The federal government hands out contracts for $500 billion in goods and services annually. Last year, small businesses supplied nearly $100 billion of that. Disadvantaged and woman-owned businesses got $33 billion of that pie.

Under Obama, efforts are increasing to get more contracts into the hands of small business owners. The government has a goal of giving 23 percent of its spending to small businesses, with another 5 percent to woman-owned businesses, and keeps falling short. Programs like Give Me 5 may help more small businesses owners win at the contracting game.

Click here to get more details on the Webinar.

What's your experience with government contracting? Leave a comment and tell us if you've done it -- or if not, what's keeping your business from becoming a government contractor.

Carol Tice

Owner of Make a Living Writing

Longtime Seattle business writer Carol Tice has written for Entrepreneur, Forbes, Delta Sky and many more. She writes the award-winning Make a Living Writing blog. Her new ebook for Oberlo is Crowdfunding for Entrepreneurs.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Business Solutions

Empower Your Programmers with Visual Studio — $40 Through June 10

This Father's Day deal features a program designed to help teams code faster and easier.

Business Solutions

Help Dad with Complex Problems with Microsoft Visio — Just $20

This Father's Day, you can get Microsoft's leading visualization tool for $230 off.

Business Ideas

63 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2024

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2024.

Business News

7 AI Secrets Every Entrepreneur Must Know: AI Quiz and Breaking News from OpenAI You Can't Miss

Check out these 7 critical questions from our unique quiz that uncovers the AI secrets every entrepreneur must know!

Leadership

How to Close the Trust Gap Between You and Your Team — 5 Strategies for Leaders

Trust is tanking in your workplace. Here's how to fix it and become the boss your team needs to succeed.

Leadership

Want to Get The Most Out of AI? Start Treating AI Like Your Human Employees

The latest AI agents are capable of fantastic growth and evolution — if we learn to coach them past their mistakes