Meet the Entrepreneurs: Selling to the Government

100 PODS Franchises Learn How to Sell to the Government

Owners of one of the nation’s leading storage units started the company in 1998 in Clearwater by delivering storage containers to local residence homes. As an alternative to expensive van lines, the PODS® packing and moving services rapidly gained traction across the country. The company’s unparalleled success drew on the owners’ business backgrounds but when the economy caused home prices to drop, PODS owners knew they needed to learn how to diversify their market through large businesses, universities, military, and other government entities.  In  a quest to navigate a new market, PODS’ national sales director  Brice Mitchell came to the Small Business Development Center’s Procurement Technical Assistance Center in 2010 to learn exactly how to enter, compete and win in the world of government contracting.

Boosting Electronic Security Surveillance for the RNC, Disney and State

Initially serving residential areas and small businesses, Integrated Security Consultants (ISC) quickly became one of the region’s fastest growing security companies after entering the world of government contracting with assistance from the Small Business Development Center’s Procurement Technical Assistance Center.  Now they’ve proved security services for three Super Bowls, Disney,  BMW dealerships, and City of Tampa’s wireless camera system for the Republican National Convention.

Filling the Gap in the Consulting Side of Engineering

After long meetings around the kitchen table in the early 2000’s young engineers Julius Davis and Jorge Rivera, P.E. LEED®AP, designed VoltAir Consulting Engineers, LLC, to provide lighting, power distribution, plumbing and fire protection, and analysis and design for HVAC. Their humble beginnings started with an initial contract of $40,000 and expanded to an estimated $1.2 million. As a result, in six years, VoltAir grew from a two man operation to a professional firm of 11 engineers, plus consultants.  Recognizing that the competition was strong, they set out to differentiate their company advanced government procurement strategies.

Our Nation’s Security Inspires Small Business

Without prior business ownership experience, Giovanni Suarez, a 10 year U.S. Air Force veteran, pursued his passion and expertise in IT security to start National Information Assurance Corporation (NIACORP).  In just seven years, he grew his business from a one-man operation to a company averaging $2 million each year. Like many long-term Small Business Development Center (SBDC) clients, Suarez is an expert in his area, but wanted to dive into a variety of SBDC no-cost training services. He worked with SBDC consultants to review initial concepts and map future growth. He soon entered the SBDC’s Technical Procurement Assistance Center Program (PTAC) to guide him through the federal contracting registration and certification processes.

Now, certified as an 8(a) small disadvantaged business and a service-disabled, veteran-owned business, NIACORP provides information assurance engineering, certification and accreditation support to the Department of Defense, intelligence community, Department of Homeland Security, as well as state and local municipalities. NIACORP also helps businesses obtain facilities clearances so they are able to conduct business with the government in situations where they’d need a security clearance under the National Industrial Security Program (NIAP).

Selling to the Government made easy:

No-cost, One-on-one consulting:  

• Request consulting

Workshops and events:

• Basic Government Contracting 101 (monthly)
• Women/Minority & Veteran Certification (monthly)
• Government Contracting Series (2x a year)
• Annual Government Conference (1x a year)