Before becoming 8(a) Certified, it is a good idea to do some basic 8(a) market research. If you have already decided to invest in your small business by acquiring the 8(a) Certification, it still isn’t too late to do your research, however, there are several benefits to taking this step early in your firm’s process.

1.  It gives you the ability to see how large the market is in your NAICS Code in your area.
2.  It gives your firm the ability to assess how well your peers are doing.
3.  Allows you to see which firms are graduating in the near future to identify potential JV candidates, as well as contracts that will need to be filled in the future.

In order to perform your 8(a) market research, there are three government sites that are an unending wealth of information that you should make yourself familiar with.

1.  SBA DSBS https://web.sba.gov/pro-net/search/dsp_search-help.cfm?goto=Keywords

You will use this search to identify the firms in your state(s) that are active 8(a), those firm’s DUNS numbers, as well as the number of years of eligibility they have left in the program. Unfortunately, DSBS does not do a very good job at identifying these firm’s primary NAICS codes.

2.  Sam.gov

Next, we take the list and search for firms using sam.gov. This gives us the ability to lookup the primary NAICS codes for the firms that are 8(a) in our state.

3.  USASpending.gov

Next, we can enter the firm’s DUNS number into https://www.usaspending.gov/ and determine the sales for the firm by year, month or quarter. I ran this information for the State of South Carolina and was able to develop the following table. Looking at this information would then let me know if there was enough opportunity in my State/Industry to make it worthwhile to move forward with an 8(a) application, or if there were potential contracts to be fulfilled in the near future.

 

If you have any questions about properly utilizing your 8(a) Certification, or on getting qualified for the 8(a) Certification, I always recommend contacting an industry expert such as ez8a or Advance 8a. Neither charge for an initial consultation.