Figure 1. Life after the win. You won the contract! Time to celebrate, right? Wrong. Time to work. Here's what nobody tells you about post-award reality. Week 1: Contract Execution You get the award notification. You're excited! Then... nothing happens. The contract isn't executed yet. You can't start work. You're waiting for: Official contract documents Instructions for next steps Contact information for contract administrator This can take 3-10 days. Days 8-21: Contract Exe

Figure 1. A comparison of the two primary roles in government contracting. "Should I be the prime contractor or a subcontractor?" Wrong question. Better question: "For THIS opportunity, should I pursue as prime or as sub?" You're not permanently one or the other. You choose role based on each opportunity. Understanding the Roles Prime Contractor: You hold the contract directly with the government. You're responsible for: All contract deliverables All compliance Managing any s

"I'll just do government contracting on the side." Famous last words from business owners who burn out in 3 months. Government contracting isn't a side project. It's a business development strategy requiring significant time investment. The Time Reality Minimum weekly time commitment during active pursuit: Opportunity Search: 10-15 hours/week Monitoring federal, state, local portals. Tracking opportunities. Filtering relevant from irrelevant across hundreds of sites. O