D&G Insights: The Road Ahead for Small Federal Contractors
D&G Solutions CEO, Leah Sanders was a featured panelist at the Washington Business Journal 's #FEDBIZForum on February 16, 2023. Other panelists included Jamie Morvis of Lockheed Martin and John Song of Baird . Participants also heard from Rick Wagner of 微软 Federal.
The panel discussion provided insight into what we can expect for the #govcon industry in the coming years, what challenges lie ahead, and how #businesses are tackling these challenges. Sanders started off by bringing in the #smallbusiness perspective. One challenge that Sanders identified was contract consolidation. Providing opportunities for small businesses to onramp to full and open work is a continued challenge and one that requires extensive strategic planning on the part of small businesses. Without the opportunities in place to transition to full and open work, many small businesses get left behind.
“In the last 10 years, there was a 50% drop in small businesses,” said Sanders. It is no coincidence that this statistic coincides with how difficult it is for small businesses to manage and control #growth .?Managing the rate and scale of small business growth is a challenge that all small businesses face. The way to successfully manage such growth is to strategically plan for 5 even 10 years down the road, which can be difficult to do when there are many uncertainties. This requires small businesses to make decisions such as whether to chase the opportunities and money, or to focus in on one specific area of work. These are decisions that small businesses must constantly make and plan for which will be a continued challenge in 2023.
Sanders reminded listeners that small businesses must operate at a tactical level. “What D&G is primarily focused on now is managing small business growth. Fortunately, there are a lot of policies being pushed right now that are small business friendly,” said Sanders. However, the small business community still must rally together and figure out what resources are available and how best to use those resources.
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When asked about how D&G would approach a downturn in the market, Sanders pointed out that small businesses are always thinking about how to maximize and make the most of the limited resources and capital they have. While larger companies may turn to personnel management and downsizing office space as ways to prepare for a downturn in the market, for Sanders these are challenges that small businesses think about regardless of whether a downturn is coming.
Future plans for D&G include looking at all of the options available to us. D&G is working on prepositioning ourselves to add value not only to the customer, which helps for getting full and open work, but also for potential sale. Sanders noted that a common problem small businesses face, especially with set asides is that it becomes very easy to become unfocused and to be everything to everyone. This approach, however, is not helpful when going to market or when competing. Planning is essential and is a primary focus for D&G. It is important to D&G that the company and employees are not negatively or adversely affected.
However, it is not all bleak for small businesses, Sanders reminded listeners. Some of the small business numbers are reassuring. Many policies are being put forward that will support small businesses. It is true that access to opportunities and awards have been shrinking, but there are a lot of great tools for small businesses to use to circumvent and overcome these challenges. One example is the use of JV’s. D&G entered into a JV last year with TekSynap . This has been a useful tool for D&G as we continue to manage growth and seek out opportunities. “It all goes back to a little bit of luck, and a lot of strategic planning,” said Sanders. By using all the tools available to them and prioritizing #strategicplanning , small businesses can continue to grow and even thrive.?
Great read!