Is Your Capabilities Statement Sending The Right Message?

Here is a quick tutorial on how to prepare a Capabilities Statement.

A Capability Statement is a written summary highlighting your company’s overall experience, expertise, resources and specific services or products you provide. The Statement should tell your reader who you are, what you do and why a client should choose you. It should be customized for your target market in much the same way you would your resume. The Statement is a factual presentation of your company and should be one to two pages in length. Your capabilities statement should include: Your logo Address, name of primary contact, phone & fax numbers, and e-mail address NAICS codes Cage code ---- (Commercial and Government Entity code is a five-character ID number used extensively within the federal government. If you don’t have one, it is automatically assigned when you do your SAM.gov registration.) D&B number Certifications (Both certifications such as 8(a) or DBE, but also industry specific certifications such as ISO 9000 or other quality assurance certifications) Provide a business summary – It should be a paragraph that tells your reader who you are & what you do. Capabilities: Areas of expertise – type of work you can do for your client. Use short sentences or bullet statements. This should not be a long narrative about your capabilities or areas of expertise. Facilities and Equipment: -- List all facilities, equipment and resources used to manufacture the products or provide the service(s). Include unique qualifications, techniques and approaches used to perform work, including any state-of-the-art equipment or capabilities that are part of your business. Expertise: --- A brief summary of your expertise, as well as that of your key personnel/staff, highlighting their education and technical experience as it relates to your business. Customers: --- Provide a list of at least three or four of your key customers, past or present. Company names are sufficient. The Capabilities Statement should be on your business stationary and titled Capability Statement. Keep it simple, but tell the reader what makes you special and why they should choose to do business with you. This can be used as a stand-alone document to market your business, or attached to any pertinent literature you may already have. This along with a simple cover letter can introduce your company to any government agency or large business. Once you have your capabilities statement, you are ready to get out there and begin to develop relationships.

How Could the Passage of CA's AB 53 Impact Your Business?

Insurance companies first report is due by July 1, 2013.

Passed in the fall of 2012, AB 53, authored by former Assembly Member Jose Solorio of Orange County, requires CA insurance companies to report on their efforts to purchase goods and services from minority-owned, women-owned, and service disabled veteran-owned business enterprises. The bill mandates that every insurance company collecting over $100 million in premiums in California must report on its outreach efforts to diverse businesses and also designate a person as the point of contact for diverse suppliers that are interested in becoming a supplier to that insurance company. There are just over 200 insurance firms doing business in CA that are required to comply. As also mandated by the bill, the state insurance commissioner is required to establish and maintain a link on the Department of Insurance (DOI) website that provides public access to the contents of each insurer's report on their diversity procurement efforts. The first report from the insurance companies is due July 1, 2013 and the data will be posted on July 31, 2013 at http://www.insurance.ca.gov/. Although insurance companies purchase a myriad of products and services, it is expected that a large portion of the potential spend will be in the area of repairs (both auto and home), advertising and marketing, and computer services.

SBA Finalizes Rule Adopting Changes to Contracting Program for Women-Owned Small Business

Women-owned businesses will have greater access to federal contracts.

A press released issued by the U. S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced that an interim final rule has been published in the Federal Register and is effective immediately. The rule will amend regulations to the SBA's Women-Owned Small Business Federal Contract Program allowing for greater access to federal contracting opportunities for women-owned businesses as a result of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012 (NDAA) signed in January 2013. The interim rule removes the anticipated award price of the contract thresholds for women-owned small businesses (WOSB) and economically disadvantaged women-owned small business (EDWOSB) to allow them greater access to federal contracting opportunities without limitations to the size of the contract. The rule can be accessed at: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2013-05-07/html/2013-10841.htm. As a result of this rule change, contracting officers will be able to set aside specific contracts for certified WOSBs and EDWOSBs at any dollar level which will help the federal agencies achieve the existing statutory goal of 5% of federal contracting dollars being awarded to WOSBs. SBA is currently working on the changes to the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR). Prior to the rule change, the anticipated award price of the contract for women-owned and economically disadvantaged women-owned small businesses could not exceed $6.5 million for manufacturing contracts and $4 million for all other contracts. Any firm that wishes to participate in the WOSB program must meet the eligibility requirements and either self-certify or obtain third party certification. There are four approved third-party certifies that perform eligibility exams: El Paso Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, National Women Business Owners Corporation, U. S. Women's Chamber of Commerce, and the Women's Business Enterprise National Council. Additional information and links about approved third-party certifiers are available at www.sba.gov/wosb. To qualify as a WOSB, a firm must be at least 51% owned and controlled by one or more women, and primarily managed by one or more women. The women must be U. S. citizens and the firm must be considered small according to SBA size standards. To be deemed "economically disadvantaged," a firm's owners must meet specific financial requirements set forth in the program regulations. The WOSB Program identifies 83 four-digit North American Industry Classifications Systems (NAICS) codes where WOSBs are underrepresented or substantially underrepresented. Contracting officers may set aside contracts in these industries if the contract can be awarded at a fair and reasonable price and the contracting officer has a reasonable expectation that two or more WOSBs or EDWOSBs will submit offers for the contract.