Wouldn’t you like to get a contract with the government? You know, a good order from the Federal General Services Administration or the Department of Defense?
The feds have changed a rule in the hiring process that could make it a reality for small businesses.
The New Buy American Rule of the Biden Administration
The Buy American rule rule has changed. Under the Federal Purchase Guidelines, 55% of the components used to make a product were to be manufactured in the United States.
Now that has changed. Under the new standard, 75% of the components used to make a product must be manufactured in the United States.
How can you get a contract to sell your product this way? First, you need to register, because government agencies search a database of registered companies when they need to find a product.
In other words, you won’t find these contracts. They will find you. And they won’t find you unless you take the steps to register.
How to sign up for the Buy American Rule rule
Certification from an approved company comes through the Small Business Administration, as required by federal procurement regulations.
In fact, the SBA has a federal procurement division to help small businesses “access federal contracts, financing and business development.
To learn more about this division, start with the Federal Procurement Division of the Small Business Administration. From this page, you can choose the most appropriate tabs for the specific information you need for your small business.
The SBA’s Federal Procurement Division website is a source of information, such as specific information about the regulations you need to follow.
Ready to set foot in the door? There are only 5 steps, and they are relatively easy. Once you complete these steps, you will be able to obtain SBA certification that your company is approved in accordance with federal procurement regulations.
Every step involves your time, not your money. All you need to do to complete these steps is access the Internet. If you’d like a chance to get a federal contract, here are the steps:
- Get your proper ID and registration numbers.
- You will need a UEI (unique entity identifier) number. You can get this by registering for SAM (System for Award Management) at Sam.gov.
- You will need NAICS (US Industry Classification System) numbers. You will need to match your product with existing rankings and numbers. You can find them at Census.gov.
- Meet small business size standards. There are size standards that are unique to each NAICS code. In general, small businesses meet the size standard if they have 500 or fewer employees and annual revenues of less than $ 7.5 million.
- Register for SAM (System for Award Management). You will complete the registration by entering the products you make that meet the 75% requirement. Government agencies use the SAM database to find products.
- Maintain compliance with small business size standards. If something changes in your number of employees or income, you will need to exit the program.
- Meet cybersecurity requirements. Individual contracts have different requirements regarding the level of cyber security that the provider must have. It is called the Cybersecurity Maturity Model (CMMC) certification level.
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