[ad_1]
For a small business, working with various parts of the government has much to recommend it. There is plenty of work to be had, and new rules mean you’re likely to get paid faster than big corporates.
The new Procurement Bill, currently winding its way through government, should make it easier for smaller businesses to win bids from government departments thanks to decreased red tape and lower upfront costs.
“Government pay their bills for small businesses within five days of invoicing,” says training provider Carol Deveney, who runs consultancy See Changes, working with the government in the UK and Canada and training others to do it too.
“They also have targets to spend £1 in every £3 with SMEs every year – a target they never hit so they are always keen to have more small businesses,” she adds.
However, many small business owners find the idea of bidding for government work daunting.
Afsaneh Parvizi-Wayne, founder of organic period care group Freda, says that the government tendering process is still biased towards large companies.
“Many startups simply don’t have the structure which is compliant with the requests,” she says. “I no longer even bother to look.”
So, are SME’s that shun government work missing out on heartache, or simply missing out?
Getting started
Emma Mills-Sheffield, who has run major bid teams for private and public sector organisation before becoming a self-employed business consultant at Mindsetup, acknowledges that government work can feel “out of reach”.
“In theory it’s supposed to be easier for SMEs, but the processes are cumbersome, the language used can be archaic and it often feels like you’re not dealing with a real person either,” she says.
“It’s a big-time commitment for what may be little, or no work guaranteed from it.”
However, there are steps you can take to make it easier, and the process does get quicker over time, she adds.
Here are some top tips.
Get signed up
Sign up your business with relevant government and public sector procurement websites. These publish opportunities regularly and you’ll get a notification when something aligns to the criteria you’ve set,” Mills-Sheffield says.
[ad_2]
Source link