If you’re thinking about 8(a) certification, documentation just became more important than ever. That is the practical takeaway from SBA’s proposed 8(a) rule change published on June 11, 2026. The proposed rule would remove the rebuttable presumption of social disadvantage for individually owned 8(a) applicants, meaning applicants would no longer qualify as socially disadvantaged simply […]
Made in America is no longer just a marketing claim. It is a compliance issue. For years, product suppliers and manufacturers have treated domestic sourcing language as a competitive advantage, especially when selling to federal buyers who prefer American-made products. That instinct is not wrong. Federal agencies do care about domestic supply chains, resilient manufacturing, […]
There is a quiet shift happening in federal contracting that small businesses should not ignore. The Simplified Acquisition Threshold has moved from $250,000 to $350,000, and while that may sound like a dry regulatory update, it changes the size of the “realistic first win” for many contractors. More work can now be bought using simplified […]
Most government contractors are looking in the same place. They search public portals. They check SAM.gov. They scan state procurement sites. They wait for opportunities to be posted, then rush to decide whether to bid. That is the “normal” way to do it. It is also one of the reasons so many contractors stay stuck […]
Teaming can be one of the smartest ways for a small business to grow in government contracting. A good teaming relationship can help you break into a new agency, strengthen your proposal, cover gaps in your past performance, add technical depth, and get experience on contracts that may be too large to chase alone. But […]
June 30, 2026 is not just another date on the procurement calendar. For defense contractors, it is the line where several long-standing compliance thresholds change at once. The FY 2026 NDAA authorizes roughly $900 billion in defense and national security spending, but buried inside that massive policy bill are procurement changes that may matter more […]
For a lot of small business government contractors, NAICS codes feel like one of those administrative details you set up once in SAM.gov and then forget about. That is a mistake. Your NAICS codes do more than describe what your company does. In federal contracting, they are tied directly to SBA size standards, which means […]
Most contractors are taught to watch SAM.gov, scan bid boards, set up alerts, and respond when something looks like a fit. That is not wrong. It is also not enough. By the time an opportunity shows up publicly, a lot has already happened. The requirement has been shaped. The acquisition strategy has been discussed. Market […]
For years, small business contractors have heard some version of the same advice: register in SAM.gov, build a capability statement, find opportunities, submit proposals, and wait. That advice is not wrong. It is just incomplete. The Department of Defense is continuing to push acquisition reform in a direction that favors speed, commercial capability, flexible buying […]
Small business contractors just got a very important piece of good news. On May 21, 2026, the House Committee on Small Business announced that it had reported nine bills favorably to the full House. One of those bills, H.R. 2804, the “Protecting Small Business Competitions Act of 2025,” would amend the Small Business Act to […]