Small business administration has been very active these days. They have been issuing rulings left and right and coming down like a ton of bricks on long-established business practices. By the way, GTSI is back to working for the government but they cannot continue subbing to small businesses the way they were doing it.

One of the most notable rulings this fall has been on the small woman-owned businesses.

SBA issued on October 7, 2010 its final rule to implement federal procurement programs for women-owned small businesses ("WOSBs") and Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Businesses ("EDWOSB") (Women-Owned Small Business Federal Contract Program, 75 Fed. Reg. 62258). The Rule identifies 83 industries in which WOSBs are underrepresented in the federal contract marketplace, 38 of which the SBA has deemed WOSBs to be "substantially underrepresented" (no surprise to anyone, I am sure). According to the SBA, the Rule seeks to give more opportunities for WOSBs working in these industries.

So, how do you know if you are eligible? To qualify for the WOSB Program, you must be a small business and not less than 51% unconditionally and directly owned and controlled by one or more women who are U.S. Citizens. The same requirements apply to the EDWOSB, except that the regulations add that, to qualify as an EDWOSB, the woman owner must be "economically disadvantaged."

To determine whether a woman is economically disadvantaged for purposes of the EDWOSB Program, the SBA will check her income, personal net worth, and the fair market value of her total assets. A woman will be found economically disadvantaged if her adjusted gross yearly income, averaged over the three years preceding the certification, is less than $350,000, her personal net worth is less than $750,000, and the fair market value of all of her assets is less than $6 million. What's even better for you, ladies, is that for the 38 industries in which the SBA has determined that women are "substantially underrepresented," the rule waives the economic disadvantage requirement.

For both the WOSB Program and the EDWOSB Program, the woman must control the management and daily business operations of the company, hold the highest officer position in the company, and manage the company on a full-time basis during the normal working hours just like other companies in the same or similar line of business. Further, the rule specifies that, with certain exceptions the woman who holds the highest officer position may not engage in outside employment.

In the preamble to the Rule, the SBA noted that although the Rule is considered final, it is not effective immediately, since there are additional measures that the SBA must take to fully implement the program. The Rule goes in effect on February 4, 2011, and the SBA estimates that federal agencies will be able to start setting aside contracts for WOSBs in the first quarter of 2011.

Hope you can take advantage of this program if you are a small business - and if you are a large business, stand by for another requirement in putting together your teaming and subcontracting plans.

P.S. As always, if you need proposal consulting support, please, contact Alex Brown at service@ostglobalsolutions.com or at 301-384-3350.

P.P.S. Feel free to forward this message to your colleagues. If you would like to sign up to receive this newsletter in the future, go to http://www.ostglobalsolutions.com/news/current-offer-BD.htm.

About the Author: Olessia Smotrova-Taylor is president/CEO of OST Global Solutions, Inc., a Metro Washington, DC consulting and training company that helps businesses grow by winning government and commercial contracts. She is a practicing capture and proposal manager who won more than $16 Billion in new business. She has 15 years of experience in proposal and capture management, marketing, and communications. Her self-study course, Executive Summary Secrets, sells worldwide. She is also an instructor in the upcoming on-site Capture & Proposal Management Courses that show how to position to win before an RFP issuance and how to write less and win more. Prior to starting her own consulting company, she won business for Raytheon and Lockheed Martin, and wrote for the Financial Times of London.

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