If you run a small business, you are likely trying to make sense out of much of the advice concerning being better prepared to take advantage of President Obama’s stimulus package contracts. While the larger economy is in recession, government spending is on the rise. The Obama administration is injecting massive amounts of funding into the economy via Federal agencies, and much of the strategy rests on an ability to reach small businesses to help generate economic recovery. The question is: In a time of great uncertainty in the marketplace, how can business owners take advantage of government spending in order to improve a company’s bottomline in the short run?
Certainly, GSA Schedules will play an increasingly important role in dispersing stimulus dollars. That is, GSA Schedules will be leveraged by government procurement officials when contracting with commercial companies to get these funds into circulation fast and efficiently. As pointed out by Mary Davie, assistant commissioner of GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service, following Obama’s signing of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act: “If [agencies] can use existing [GSA] contracts… it’s going to help [agencies] on the time frame immediately,” Davie said. “It will help [agencies] with the firm fixed-price aspect, and it will help [agencies] with competition. Agencies should look first to existing contracts.” Such strong advocacy exposes the core advantages enjoyed by federal agency officials in utilizing GSA Schedules for their purchasing activities. Securing a GSA Schedule assures that federal procurement officials understand that your company is ready to get to work now at a stated, fixed price in a manner considered by federal agencies to have been competitive. Therefore, GSA Schedule contracts have numerous advantages for federal agencies that are integral to the task with which they have been charged—namely, dispersing these funds. As for businesses looking to take advantage of stimulus funding, GSA Schedules are fast becoming the de facto standard for federal purchasing agents. If it makes sense for them, it is likely to make more and more sense for your business.
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