Hey Guys just wondering if anyone has had any experience with winning government contracts and your thoughts on government contracting Im registered with SAM and have been working on some bids Myself
Kind of a niche to itself. Low bidder wins and you need to pay prevailing wage so make sure you dot your I's and cross your T's.
And then WAIT to get paid. You become there bank.
Use to do it. Stop several years ago. Took much to long to get paid.
Agree with Hitech, being in DC area we do ALOT of Govt contract work. You will get your money......................when they feel like sending it to you!!
I did it for over 30 years in the DC and Richmond markets, both federal and state government projects. It can be very lucrative if you have very good contacts on the customer's end. What I often found is that we'd win a job based upon recycled specs from another project that weren't nearly accurate. Sure, you go through the dog and pony show doing the pre-bid conferences, then addendum after addendum, but somehow something always comes up that wasn't included/expected. THEN it becomes a finger pointing game between you and some contracts clerk. She can't answer your questions and refers you to some dude halfway across the country for clarifications. Talking to him is like talking to Comcast on a Sunday afternoon.
Was it a terrible experience? No, most projects went fairly well. Some led to great sole-source ongoing contracts. Would I do it again? Probably not, but only because every Tom, Dick and Harry in the United States bids on these jobs. Often, they will sell them at a loss just to get their foot in the door, thinking they'll get the more lucrative maintenance contracts. Those don't always happen, and anyone who would base a bid on that gamble is a fool. Still, they do it and they will work you to death trying to compete.