Hubzone Certification Lets Small Business Owners Gain Access To Federal Contracts

Hubzone certification has been introduced in order to help the small business owners gain access to federal government contracts. To take advantage of this contract, the small business owners need to possess the 8a or 8m certification. This is managed and administered by the SBA or Small Business Administration.

Benefits of possessing hubzone certification

Some of the advantages of possessing a hubzone certification are as follows:

• Access to loans: A business person registered under SBA program gets to enjoy additional bonding and loan programs accessibility.

• Cost advantage: The major advantage of a hubzone certification is that the small business owners get some preferential treatment during placing bids for the federal government contracts. The hubzone registered firm gets an additional 10% as cost advantage to bid on the federal government contracts, in comparison the non-registered firms.

• Being a part of Fortune 500: If your business is registered as a SBA certified firm, you get to enjoy certain preferences. These SBA certified firms get selected by the larger companies, many of which are enlisted under the Fortune 500, for assisting them in completing the federal government contracts. The contract value of nearly $550,000 is the minimum amount that the larger firm bids for. So, as a smaller organization you get to have the opportunity of being a part of this huge project and gain potential experience.

Federal Goals as per budget

The fed government sets some goals related to budget to all the government branches. Each year, the goal increases by a certain percentage. With every increase nearly 50% more amount of dollars is added to the hubzone program of the SBA. The annual procurement of all firms certified under hubzone are estimated at around $8 million to $9 million.

Need to immediate application for hubzone certification

One of the major reasons for applying to get hubzone certified is the lengthy procedure taken by the SBA for granting the certificate. If you apply today and submit the initial application, it would take a minimum of 6 months to get approval from the SBA. Everyday hundreds of phone calls come from various firms and prospective clients for an expedited service. However, the SBA strictly works on "first come first serve" principle. So, however resourceful you might be, do not expect for an expedited service. Even if your firm is eligible for the SBA certification and might not need the federal contract right now, you should apply for the 8m certification.

Do not ever wait for the time where you have lost a potential contract and need some help in getting access to these federal contracts. Then you would have to wait for another 6 months and it would be a hard time to sustain the business. It is better to get equipped with the certification weapon and use it whenever you are in need. This SBA hubzone certification opportunity is also extended to the start ups with a single employee company. It would be a foolish act to let go of this opportunity.

Cost advantage: The major advantage of a hubzone certification is that the small business owners get some preferential treatment during placing bids for the federal government contracts. The hubzone registered firm gets an additional 10% as cost advantage to bid on the federal government contracts, in comparison the non-registered firms.