So, you have your GSA Schedule—what’s next? Getting your foot in the door may be difficult at the start, and certain requirements are needed to maintain your GSA Schedule. It's crucial to not only market actively but to market well. We know what you may be thinking, how is a small business supposed to have all the resources to sell to a whole new marketplace? Luckily, there are lots of free tools at your disposal that can give your small business every advantage possible. You just need to know what they are and how to use them, which we’ll cover in this blog.
Register Your Business as Small
To become a GSA Schedule contractor, you have already registered your business in SAM.gov, but have you registered as a small business and researched to see if you qualify for one of the socioeconomic small business set-asides?
Your primary NAICS Code or North American Industry Classification System Code is used to determine whether you are a small business in the eyes of the government. You can also use it to conduct market research and find relevant opportunities.
To start, confirm your business size is small under your new NAICS code. Using the SBA Size Standards Tool, you can find out where you fall size-wise within your NAICS. The deciding factors can either be based on your average revenue or based on the number of employees, and they vary throughout different NAICS. The same amount of revenue under might categorize as small under one, but medium under another.
Then, figure out any socioeconomic certifications. Certifications are not to be underestimated. The government has set-aside contracts for those who qualify as Small Disadvantaged, Women-Owned, Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned, and/or Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZone) Small businesses. If you qualify for one of these, you’ll have access to additional contracts set-aside and contracting assistance programs.
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