The new woman-owned small business preference program, as proposed, presents limitless opportunities for aggressive companies. Fedmarket.com has started a special newsletter series devoted to women-owned business issues. Once a final determination is made by Congress, Fedmarket will be available to help its customers fully understand the nuances of the new program. We will also be adding specific classes for woman-owned businesses.
Women-owned businesses now receive approximately $10 billion annually in federal contracts. The new woman-owned small business preference program, as proposed, could add another $10 billion to this annual amount. The first companies certified under the new program will have a decided advantage. We anticipate that certified companies will quickly win opportunities due to the federal government's desire to show its commitment to women-owned businesses after a six-year delay in implementing the program.
The new program will probably be called the 8(m) program (the moniker reflects the section number of the authorizing legislation). The 8(m) program will allow contracting officers to make sole source awards to certified woman-owned small businesses with the same limitations as the other small business preference programs.
As usual, the government has made the new 8(m) program complicated in that the program applies only to two specific industry groups and the eligibility requirements for woman-owned small businesses are different for the two industry groups. To make matters worse, the industry groups will not be known until the Small Business Administration (SBA) completes a study to determine the industries in which woman-owned small businesses are "underrepresented" and "substantially underrepresented" in federal procurement arenas. Hopefully, the study will be completed in the very near future.
The SBA reports that it hopes to implement the 8(m) program by the end of 2006. The primary holdup is allegedly the study that we discussed above. Woman-owned businesses should begin gathering data now in an effort to be fully prepared when the 8(m) program is initiated. The results of the Rand study will determine your eligibility for the program. As aforementioned, those in the forefront of the certification process will reap great financial rewards. At the very least, analyze the current 8(a) program application (available at the SBA's web site) in anticipation of what might be required under the 8(m) program.
For more information on the 8(m) program and its development, read our Special Report.
Stay Tuned To Fedmarket.Com - Watch for our Women-Owned 8(m) Certification eLab.
Fedmarket.com will soon be offering a workshop (eLab) designed to assist woman-owned small businesses in completing and understanding the 8(m) certification process. We will outline the information you need to gather and assist you in the completion of the application.
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If you need more information on any of our products or services, call or write as follows: (888) 661-4094 ext 8 for sales@fedmarket.com.
