Now Is the Time for Female CEOs

Economic infrastructure is expected to usher in thousands of big projects wherein female owners can accelerate growth and gain market share.

The potential of female CEOs is expected to be fully realized in an era of shifting perspectives about America’s economic future. No matter where you are on your journey of opportunity, government contracting could be a path to business prosperity. In FY2020, over $600 billion in contracting was disbursed, including $7.8 billion attributed to U.S. Department of Transportation procurement.

The federal government is widely known as the largest purchaser of consumer goods in the world and, since the start of 2021, the government’s overall spending has reached $6.82 trillion, according to USAspending Data Lab. Adding to this vast spending is a trillion-dollar infrastructure investment covering diverse sectors such as transportation, water, climate, and energy. The prospect of legacy wealth for small, minority and women-led enterprises is unleashing.

Economic infrastructure is expected to usher in thousands of regionally significant projects presenting female owners with opportunities to accelerate growth and gain market share.

According to a report by the Performance.gov team (https://www.performance.gov/blog/women-owned-business-data/ ), women-owned businesses executed 344,000 contracts across the U.S. including nearly 22,000 professional, scientific and technical Service ( NAICS Code: 541990) contracts totaling over $7 billion.

The time for market entry and leveraging the leadership, creative energy and innovation is here, but how do we assure competitiveness?

  • Register or review https://sam.gov/content/home registration for accuracy/ completeness

  • Digitize business collateral (Business cards, capability statement, payment options)

  • Know government is transitioning from DUNS # to New Unique Entity Identifier - 4/2/2022

  • Safeguard against cyber breaches

  • Build new strategic relationships

  • Bid, Bid, Bid

  • Ensure comprehensive and up-to-date profile in Dynamic Small Business Search (DSBS)

  • Consider Strategic alliances with other small business enterprise (find on DSBS)

  • Identify Clients’ Pain Points

  • Develop or refresh Company’s Capability Statement

  • Attend pre-bid and agencies’ informational solicitation meetings (virtual or in-person)

  • Get involved with industry associations

Sources

U.S. Government Accountability Office, 6/22/2021, https://www.gao.gov/blog/snapshot-government-wide-contracting-fy-2020-infographic

2020 USAspending.gov, Data Lab Fiscal Data, https://datalab.usaspending.gov/americas-finance-guide/spending/

BYOBAdriana Clark