I hope everyone had a productive week! This week has been extremely busy for me, and it rolled right into Saturday, so we will not have our community call today. Instead, let's meet tomorrow, Sunday, September 13, around 3:00 PM PT. Our team will send the meeting link later today, so please keep an eye out for it. Tomorrow I want to change our conversation up a little. We talk a lot about government contracting — finding opportunities, submitting bids, building relationships and positioning ourselves for contracts. But I also want to talk about something equally important: BUILDING A SOLID BUSINESS. Government contracting can take time. While you're waiting for contracts to kick in, what is happening with the rest of your business? What are you selling commercially? Who are your customers? Do you have recurring revenue? Are you marketing? Are you building systems? Are you developing relationships? Maybe you're still working a 9-to-5 while building your business and pursuing government contracts on the side. That counts too. There is no rule saying your journey has to look like someone else's. And let's talk about the NUMBERS. This week gave me a reminder that I want to share with every business owner in this community: Even when you have a bookkeeper and a CPA, you still need to understand your own numbers. As entrepreneurs, we can become so busy building, selling, servicing customers, pursuing opportunities and managing day-to-day operations that we don't spend enough time looking underneath the revenue. Last year our company crossed seven figures in sales, which was a HUGE milestone and something I am incredibly grateful for. But here's the other side of growth: Revenue is only one number. As I'm going back through our numbers, I'm reminded how important it is to understand: Cost of goods sold. Gross profit. Margins. Operating expenses. Inventory. Cash flow. Debt. And ultimately — what the business is actually keeping. You can have a bookkeeper. You can have a CPA.

Good morning, everyone! I was thinking about yesterday's government contracting call and one point I really want our community to understand. We briefly discussed the FAR — Federal Acquisition Regulation. Yes, if you're pursuing federal contracts, you should understand what the FAR is. You should learn the rules, understand the clauses that apply to your opportunity, and continue educating yourself. But here's something equally important: Understanding the FAR does NOT replace understanding the solicitation in front of you. Every opportunity can be different. One solicitation may require a simple quote. Another may require a technical proposal. One may require past performance. Another may not. One may allow subcontractors. Another may have specific limitations on subcontracting. One may require a manufacturer authorization letter. Another may require product literature, certifications, key personnel, a site visit, bonding, insurance, or very specific delivery requirements. And sometimes an amendment changes something you thought you already understood. That's why I tell our community: Don't just learn government contracting. Learn the opportunity you're bidding. When an opportunity comes across my desk, I want to know: What exactly are they buying? What are the specifications? Can my company perform it? What documents do they require? How do they want the bid submitted? When is it due—and at what exact time? Are there amendments? Are there special clauses or requirements I need to understand? Do I need a supplier, subcontractor, or teaming partner? Can I price it competitively and still make money? Those answers can change every single time you bid. The FAR provides the framework. The solicitation gives you the instructions for that particular opportunity. So yes—learn the FAR. Read it. Research the clauses you don't understand. Ask questions. Use the resources available to you. But don't get so caught up trying to memorize every regulation that you become afraid to bid.

Yesterday's free Community Call turned into such a great conversation around something that doesn't get talked about enough in government contracting: How do you actually approach manufacturers, suppliers and potential teaming partners? We talked about why there isn't one script that works for every situation. You have to research who you're approaching, understand the company, learn their history in the government space, know what you're asking for, and sometimes adjust your approach based on what you learn. We discussed building relationships with manufacturers and suppliers before you need them, keeping track of companies that could become future partners, using your past performance strategically, and learning from both your wins and your losses. We also had @Shanaé Murraine one of our new community members who previously worked on the government side, join the free call. I asked her to share her perspective, and it added another great layer to the conversation. One of my biggest messages yesterday was: Government contracting isn't learned from one place. You research. You make calls. You build relationships. You join communities. You listen. You learn from other people's experiences. You learn from your own experiences. And then you take a little from here and a little from there and develop strategies that work for your business. I'm posting the full free Community Call replay here this morning for anyone who missed it. We then continued this conversation during our paid Member Program Call, where we went deeper into these strategies and had another great discussion. Both replays will be added to the paid Government Contracting Program library so members can return to them as they build their own supplier and teaming relationships. Don't just watch the replay and move on. 😊 Think about the products or services you want to offer the government and ask yourself: “Who should I start building relationships with NOW—before I need them for an opportunity?”