Selling to the Government

6. Is there anything else that you need besides a GSA number to legally qualify as a small business before you attempt to do business with Uncle Sam? You bet! You need to have a DUNS number, which you get from Dun & Bradstreet. D&B assigns a DUNs number to any company that wants a credit rating from D&B. Companies and government agencies subscribe to the DUNs service to be able to determine if another company is in good financial shape.

After getting your DUNs number, you'll need to register at the Central Contractor Registration site (CCR). You have to register with this site if you want to do business with the federal government. In order to register, you must have a DUNs number.

7. Can your business qualify as a "disadvantaged business"? There are a number of classifications for contract preference that may apply to your business. For instance, some bids are "set aside" for qualified minority businesses. To find out if you qualify, visit this page on the SBA's site that answers questions about the minority business program.

To determine your eligibility for other disadvantage-business categories, here are the classifications:

• Being a registered minority firm in the 8(a) program
  
• Small Disadvantaged Business
  
• Woman-owned business
  
• Veteran or Disabled Veteran
  
• Hub Zone
  
• Native American/Alaskan

8. Is it possible that you're already doing business with the federal government? If what you sell costs under $2,500, you may already be doing business with Uncle Sam and just not know it. Orders under $2,500 fall under the "micropurchase threshold" and don't require any government contract or paperwork so federal departments can make purchases under this dollar amount without the normal amount of red tape.

If you want to see if you're already doing business with the government, run this simple test. Check last year's purchase receipts and see if any of the credit cards used for ordering began with any of these numbers: 4486, 4716, or 5568. These prefixes are used on federal credit cards (called SmartPay cards) exclusively.

While there are many nuances, rules and regulations you must learn in order to do business successfully with the government, if you're persistent, you'll find this to be a very rewarding -- and surprisingly loyal -- market.

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