Six Tips for WOSBs

1. Take our tutorial on selling to the Air Force. Read our "Getting Started" pages and take our tutorial entitled "How to Sell to the Air Force" in our Small Business Learning Center, which will walk you through the process of preparing your company to do business with the Air Force, finding Air Force contacts, and identifying specific opportunities. Please note that any business wishing to do business with the federal government must be registered in the Central Contractor Registration (CCR). If your company is not registered, make this your very first step.
   
   
2. Utilize local resources. In addition to contacting Air Force Small Business Specialists, get in touch with other local contacts, like your SBA Procurement Center Representative and a representative from the Women's Business Center near you. If a Procurement Technical Assistance Center is located near you, be sure to take advantage of the resources it offers as well.
   
   
3. Join women's organizations and network. Explore the women's business organizations listed on our "Useful Websites" page, join relevant organizations, and make the most of the networking opportunities these organizations offer.
   
   
4. Attend events. The Air Force Small Business Office will sometimes hold local outreach events designed to help small businesses identify and pursue Air Force opportunities. Find out if such an event is scheduled near you by exploring our calendar of events. Our calendar also features non-Air Force events that target WOSBs. Also, explore the websites listed on our "Useful Websites" page to identify other events designed for women-owned small businesses.
   
   
5. Stay informed. Explore our WOSB "News" section on this site and the websites listed on our "Useful Websites" page to keep up on the latest news and regulations affecting WOSBs. Also, bookmark the websites of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship and the U.S. House of Representatives Small Business Committee. Check the sites often for information on new small business legislation. Visit the Air Force's FARSite to stay up to date on changes to the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR). Also visit the U.S. Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy website as well as the site titled "Where in Federal Contracting".
   
   
6. Take advantage of all applicable preference programs. Research other programs, including those for small disadvantaged businesses, 8(a) companies, HUBZone firms, veteran-owned small businesses, service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses, and Native American-owned small businesses, to find out if you qualify for any of them in addition to the Women-Owned Small Business Program. If you qualify for and participate in the 8(a), HUBZone, or Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Program, you can take advantage of the restricted competition allowed by each of their set-aside programs. Also, be sure to learn more about the Air Force's Mentor-Protégé Program to determine whether that program would be a good fit for your company.