The 8(a) Certification for businesses owned by US Citizens |
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| escrito por Richard Delgado | |
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Many small businesses are at a distinct disadvantage when competing against larger companies for government contracts. Larger companies tend to be well established, may have extensive experience as government contractors and likely have financial resources that smaller companies do not have. The Federal, Maryland State, and Montgomery County governments have programs in place to assist small and minority businesses obtain contracts for services and products. Each year the federal government sets aside millions of contract dollars for qualified small businesses to bid and receive contracts relating to the many federal agencies. The designation of SBA 8(a) is a coveted program certification. Many federal contracts are "set aside" for 8(a) firms, meaning that only certified businesses may apply or be considered. The 8(a) program is a business development program that provides a wide range of support including developmental analysis, management counseling and technical assistance to help grow your business through the acquisition of federal prime contracts. Eligible firms can be awarded federal government contracts on a sole-source basis (up to $3 million for goods and services and $5 million for manufacturing). The eligibility requirements for participation in the 8(a) are as follows:
To become SBA 8(a) certified, a business owner must take the time to apply for and receive certification. The first step is to perform an assessment to determine if your business is eligible for 8(a) certification before submitting an application. The following link: http://training.sba.gov:8000/assessment takes you to a site where you can perform a preliminary assessment of your eligibility. Once you have determined that 8(a) certification is right for your business, you can go to: http://www.sba.gov/idc/groups/public/documents/sba_homepage/form_tr1010.pdf to access the 8(a) certification application. One of the benefits of 8(a) certification is participation in the Mentor-Protégé program. The mentor-protégé program is designed to encourage approved mentors to provide various forms of assistance to eligible 8(a) program participants. This assistance may include technical and/or management assistance, financial assistance, subcontracts, or assistance in performing government contracts. Additional information on eligibility requirements and the application process for the 8(a) certification can be obtained at the following website: http://www.sba.gov/aboutsba/sbaprograms/8abd/ Richard Delgado es consultor de empresas con más de 30 años de experiencia en operaciones y CEO de Rich Operations Solutions, LLC Contáctelo en Esta dirección de correo electrónico está protegida contra los robots de spam, necesitas tener Javascript activado para poder verla (habla español) |
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