Finding Your Niche

Small businesses often find themselves in a competitively advantageous position by finding a niche that is unoccupied by large competitors. Government customers have learned to turn to small businesses first for certain needs. Innovation happens at the fringes of established concepts. When a ‘once-size-fits-all’ solution DOESN’T fit, who can the customer turn to? Small businesses can tailor-fit their solutions to a customer’s problem. Because of the many advantages that small businesses bring, the federal government ‘sets-aside’ certain transactions for small businesses. For example, almost all federal government contracts less than $150,000 are set aside for small businesses. These opportunities can ensure that your small business is competing against other small businesses for dedicated funding.

Many federal government agencies have pools of funding that are reserved for small businesses. These eleven agencies participate in the Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) program:

• Department of Agriculture (USDA)

• Department of Commerce (DOC)

• Department of Defense (DOD)

• Department of Energy (DOE)

• Department of Education (ED)

• Health and Human Services (HHS)

• Department of Homeland Security (DHS)

• Department of Transportation (DOT)

• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

• National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

• National Science Foundation (NSF)