How My First Government Contract Helped Me WIN MORE

My first break in government contracting was a subcontract just shy of $100,000. I worked under several prime contractors for an Air Force agency.?

Back then, I did a bit of everything they needed, including research, data analysis, training, and development.?

I even started out with an unpaid intern! Over time, I began hiring paid talent to build up our capacity. My first subcontract turned out to be an amazing opportunity for me because of my unique position.?

Being Visible to Stand Out?

Since the agency interacted with different military services and federal agencies, people often mistook me for a government employee.?

Little did they know! And my willingness to say “yes” to absolutely everything really paid off. It didn’t matter if it was attending a conference, an event, or a retirement party, I was there.

All of this hard work got me noticed, especially because I often focused on diversity and inclusion. For example, when I represented the Air Force agency at events, attendees from military branches and federal agencies were impressed and assumed I was one of their own. When they realized I was a contractor, it opened up more doors.?

In fact, one of my first paid federal speaking engagements was with the Army Reserve in New Orleans. They saw me present and hired me for a cool event. The fee was around $10,000.?

Soon after, I met someone during Women’s Observance Month looking for a speaker. He was surprised by my affordable rates. Then, at another event for the Army National Guard, a woman told me, “Dr. Parks, you’re going to hear from me.” And true to her word, her organization became one of my largest clients, eventually awarding me a contract worth up to $4 million - all because of that exposure.

These experiences taught me the value of visibility and saying “Yes.” I didn't need to bid for those opportunities. They happened because I was out there, making connections. ?

However, things did change. I later had to submit a proposal to a federal employee who wanted me to provide diversity and inclusion training. This led to a subcontract worth over $100,000 to train new DoD supervisors.

Building a Track Record?

Each project built on the last, provided a track record of past performance that was invaluable.?

One of the prime contractors even completed detailed performance evaluations on my firm, which helped a lot. My track record was important when applying for more contracts and the Alliant 2 Governmentwide Acquisition Contract (GWAC).

Everything back then, set me up to compete for multimillion-dollar contracts as well as continue with simpler acquisitions. Hopefully, you find my experience inspiring. If you’re looking for more actionable advice (and of course, more motivation), then subscribe to my YouTube channel now.?

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I’m the author of the newly released book “The GovCon Winners Way: How To Win Government Contracts Faster Than Trying to Do It Alone!” At 28, I was awarded my first 5-figure federal government contract. I own and operate multiple government contracting businesses and have over $50 million in federal government contract awards. Today, I’ve helped my students win over $3M in Federal Government Contracts in less than 6 months, and I’ll help you, too!?

#EverythingIsPossible