One of the most unknown and underutilized government marketing strategies is registering as a subcontractor with major prime contractors, the “General Dynamics of the world”. Federal Contracts won by Large Federal Primes with a value over $750,000 require a subcontracting plan, meaning a percentage of the business must go to small business subcontractors. As a result, Large Federal Prime Contractors spend over $80 billion per year with small businesses.  

Small Business Prime Market Size

Most Small Businesses are chasing down the $120 billion per year in federal prime contracts. However, most small businesses are overlooking the other massive bucket which is subcontracting.

Federal Contracting Goals for WOSB Holders 

Primary Contract – 5% of all Federal Procurement will go to WOSB firms in this capacity.

Subcontracting – 5% of all Large Prime Contract dollars will be subcontracted to WOSB firms.

Meeting Primary Goal 2020

The SBA in recent years has done a good job of meeting the Primary Contract Goal with $27.2B in Federal Prime Contract dollars spent with WOSB firms, which is 4.85% narrowly missing the 5.00% goal by .15%.

Under Subcontracting Goal 2020

The SBA has been having less difficulty in meeting the subcontracting goal of 5.0%, which is coming in at 5.62% or $23.3B exceeding the target by .62%.

Here are some links to Large Federal Prime Contractors that industry experts such as Fedvital have had success adding firms to the subcontractor directory.

Therefore, WOSB firms should spend some time focusing on working with large firms. A great first step is to register with large businesses. I always recommend contacting firms such as fedvital.com that assist small businesses daily with hundreds of Subcontractor Registrations. They do not charge for an initial consultation.