Most businesses realize the need for a DUNS number when doing business with the government. It is necessary to register a business in SAM.GOV and to get paid on government contracts. But most do not know that it is possible to have more than one DUNS number and in many cases it is necessary.
The most common misunderstanding that many of our clients come to us with is not knowing which employees count towards the 35% Hubzone residency requirement and how the principal office is determined. Many think that as long as 35% of the employees in their principal office reside in a Hubzone, they will qualify. This is not true.
Myth #1 – “Only Big Companies Win Contracts”
Fact – Preferential treatment is actually given to small, minority, woman, handicapped and service disabled owned business. Small businesses get awarded close to 25% of all federal contracts.
In FY 2017: 8(a) firms were awarded $27,167 billion in federal contracts. Of that amount, these 8(a) firms were awarded $7.971 billion through 8(a) set-asides, $8.445 billion through sole-source contracts and $6.110 billion either through open competition or with another small business set-aside such as small business set-asides and Hubzone set-aside or sole source contracts.
Hiring a reputable consultant to assist in the preparation of your 8(a), Hubzone or VetBiz Application can be very important. Here’s a recent fact: Most self prepared 8(a) Applications are rejected outright or sent back multiple times for deficiencies or inconsistencies. In fact “Only 2 out every 10 self prepared 8(a) Applications are approved by the SBA“.
The federal government is the largest buyer in the world, but how do you know what agency will buy what you sell?
What do government agencies buy and where to locate opportunities?
If you would like a Hubzone Program eligibility analysis, please take our online hubzone eligibility questionnaire.
You are also welcome to review the basic eligibility requirements below.
Generally, to be approved into the Hubzone Program you must meet these basic eligibility requirements:
Eligibility Criteria 1:
Your business concern’s principal office must be located in a qualified SBA designated Hubzone. Search the SBA’s Mapping system and verify if your principal office is located in a qualified SBA designated Hubzone.
Don’t think the 8(a) Program or HUBZone Program can be a valuable tool for your business just look below at the following 8(a) and HUBZone contract information pulled from the Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS) for just the period of 10/1/2016 through 09/30/2018.
For companies needing assistance with their Hubzone Application, we offer 3 different templates that can help you to provide the information that the SBA requires.
