COVID-19 Impact on Family & Business |
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Happy Summer to all our clients, customers, partners, and potential partners! I hope you, your business, and your families are doing well during this COVID-19 pandemic.
Can you believe it is time for kids to return to school already? As you continue to re-open and figure out the best approach to enable your kids to learn, safety should be your main priority. Safety for your family, your employees, those in your community, and yourself. Someone on our floor was tested positive for COVID-19 the ending of July and that reminded me that safety should still be our number one priority. As a small business owner and a parent, if I become sick with COVID-19, that would impact my business and my family. If my kids go out to school and get infected with COVID-19 and bring it home to us, that would impact my family and my business. You see, as business owners, our families and businesses are intertwined and they impact each other. We have to be vigilant, smart about our decisions, and safe, to be able to re-open and continue serving our clients.
In Montgomery County our school system has decided to open school virtually. Great decision, especially seeing what is going on across the U.S. with schools re-opening and putting our youngest citizens in unsafe environments. I know whether you will have your kids at home or at school, you still have to manage your clients and the work you do for your businesses. Juggling kids in school, clients, and work are already a lot for small business owners, and having to ensure families, employees, and ourselves are safe, is another added stress to business owners during this pandemic. But I know you can do it. Breathe, create your plan of attack, breathe again, then execute... You got this...
If you need advice on re-opening your business or non-profit, please feel free to reach out to me. Stay safe...
Varetta Huggins
Your Government Contracting Expert
President & CEO, V-Project Management Consulting, LLC
Leadership Council Member, National Small Business Association
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Small Business Financial News |
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Grants for Small Businesses |
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For ALL Small Businesses, Independent Contractors & Non-Profits (U.S. Based ONLY) - up to $10K (based on number of Employees) from CARES Act.
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For ALL Small Businesses & Non-Profits (U.S. Based ONLY) - used to cover payroll, lease, insurance, and utilities for businesses with employees (based on number of Employees). A grant if used based on requirements. Apply through your bank or financial institution.
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For MC Businesses ONLY that has incurred “Reopening Reimbursable Expenditures".
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Loans for Small Businesses |
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For ALL Small Businesses, Independent Contractors & Non-Profits (U.S. Based ONLY) - up to $2 MIL from CARES Act
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SBA will pay 6 months of principal, interest, and any associated fees that borrowers owe for all current and new 7(a), 504, and Microloans.
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Small businesses who currently have a business relationship with an SBA Express Lender can access up to $25,000 quickly.
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DUNS Numbers Phased Out of FedGov |
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Currently, to do business with the U.S. Federal Government (FedGov), businesses have to register for a Data Universal Numbering System (D-U-N-S) Number, administered by Dun & Bradstreet (D&B). This is a unique entity identifier to identify each physical location of a business.
In 2019, the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) announced that the D&B provided DUNS numbers, required for all business doing contracting with the Federal Government, would be phased out by December 2020 as the official identifier to do business with the federal government. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the December 2020 date has been pushed to a future date.
A Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) is a unique number assigned to all entities (public and private companies, individuals, institutions, or organizations) who register to do business with the federal government. A new UEI will be generated in the System for Award Management (SAM.gov), as the official identifier for doing business with the government.
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FITARA Passing Grades for ALL Agencies |
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It only took 10 tries but hooray, all 24 Federal Agencies have received passing grades on version 10.0 of the Federal IT Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA) scorecard (pictured above) released on August 3, 2020. FITARA law ensures Federal Agency CIOs are accountable for ALL IT acquisition, management, operations, and decommissioning. Without FITARA, Federal Agencies will continue their duplication of effort, waste, and spending of tax payer dollars on IT. Thanks to Rep. Gerald E. Connolly (Chairman) and the Subcommittee on Government Operations for all their efforts throughout the years to provide IT oversight over all federal agencies.
Chairman Connolly stresses the importance of FITARA duing the COVID-19 pandemic:
“With the coronavirus resurging as states pursue reopening, the stakes for effectively implementing FITARA are higher than ever. When executed well, government IT modernization can ensure the efficient delivery of critical services, improve the government’s knowledge and decision-making, and save lives. When executed poorly, it can lead to outright failures in serving the American people when they need the government the most. Simply put, the fate of the world’s largest economy rises and falls with the ability of government IT systems to deliver in an emergency.”
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V-GovCon Membership Platform Pre-Launch |
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We are proud to announce the pre-launch of our V-GovCon Membership platform to our current Aqua and Tribe Members in July 2020. Our Aqua and Tribe Members have access to training materials, events, live learnings, surveys, Accounting services, and much more using our Membership platform.
We will be launching our platform to our FREE Members by the ending of August 2020. Please sign up below if you want to be notified about our official launch for FREE members.
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Updating Your LinkedIn Profile For GovCon |
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Government clients are required to do a thorough search of anyone they are considering to do business with. This includes extensively checking their business and personal LinkedIn profiles.
As a Government Contractor, learn how to update your LinkedIn profile for potential Government Clients.
This Live Learning is for V-GovCon Aqua and Tribe members ONLY.
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LIVE LEARNING: Update Your LinkedIn Profile For GovCon
August 11, 2020 | 4:00 PM EDT - 5:00 PM EDT
For V-GovCon Aqua and Tribe Members ONLY
Via Zoom Conference
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Virtual V-GovCon BootCamp Fall 2020 |
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Seats are now open for our upcoming Virtual V-GovCon BootCamp Fall 2020. We will combine 2.5 days into 7 hours and focus on you applying to become U.S. Federal Government Contractor. We will also cover topics such as the U.S. Federal Government Budget, Socio-economic Status for WOSB, EDWOSB, and HUBZone Certifications, DUNS Number updates, and the Federal Bid/Proposal Process. What do you gain? A LIVE coach walking you through the complicated U.S. Federal Government Contractor application, a list of Federal clients who buy what you sell, a list of Current Procurement opportunities matching your primary NAICS code, understanding on how to respond to Federal Bids, and submission of your application to become a Government Contractor.
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Virtual V-GovCon BootCamp Fall 2020
September 24, 2020 | 3:00 PM EDT - 6:00 PM EDT
September 25, 2020 | 3:00 PM EDT - 7:00 PM EDT
Via Zoom Conference
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Virtual V-GovCon 8(a) BootCamp 2020 |
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Seats are now open for our upcoming Virtual V-GovCon 8(a) BootCamp 2020. We will combine 7 hours of Live Intensive Coaching and work with you and other Government Contractors as you compile the required documents and apply to become SBA 8(a) certified. What do you gain? A LIVE coach walking you through the complicated SBA 8(a) application.
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Virtual V-GovCon 8(a) BootCamp 2020
December 4, 2020 | 4:00 PM EST - 7:00 PM EST
December 5, 2020 | 12:00 PM EST - 4:00 PM EST
Via Zoom Conference
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Virtual V-GovCon BootCamp Summer 2020 |
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Our latest Virtual V-GovCon BootCamp was held for our newest V-GovCon Aqua Members who signed up from our June Virtual Small Business Expo. In 7 hours across 2 days, we provided comprehensive details on the benefits of doing business with the Federal Government; we successfully coached every attendee to ensure they completed the registration to become a Government Contractor by the end of the event; and we reviewed upcoming procurement opportunities and grant opportunities with the attendees.
Congratulations to our newest V-GovCon BootCamp Graduates! You Did It and Now You are Government Contractors awaiting your CAGE Code! We are proud of you!
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Virtual V-GovCon BootCamp Summer 2020
July 13, 2020 | 3:00 PM EDT - 6:00 PM EDT
July 14, 2020 | 3:00 PM EDT - 7:00 PM EDT
For V-GovCon Aqua Members ONLY
Via Zoom Conference
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Post V-GovCon BootCamp Summer 2020 Q&A |
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One week after the BootCamp ended, we held a Live Learning as a Questions and Answers session for our BootCamp attendees. For an hour, we continued to support recent BootCamp graduates as we discussed their future goals and answered immediate questions. It was met with overwhelming praise and proved to be successful in providing additional comfort for the graduates in being sure of their future as Government Contractors. |
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LIVE LEARNING: Post V-GovCon BootCamp Summer 2020 Q&A
July 20, 2020 | 3:00 PM EDT - 4:00 PM EDT
For V-GovCon Aqua Members ONLY
Via Zoom Conference
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Creating Your GovCon Capability Statement |
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At the end of July, in celebration of new members joining our V-GovCon Tribe, we held a Live Learning in which Varetta gave the necessary guidance and best practices for creating a Capability Statement for Government Contractors.
Varetta explained that their Capability Statement is their "business resume" when they are marketing their goods and services to Federal Government clients.
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LIVE LEARNING: Creating Your GovCon Capability Statement
July 28, 2020 | 3:00 PM EDT - 4:00 PM EDT
For V-GovCon Tribe Members ONLY
Via Zoom Conference
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