Veteran-Owned Business Expansion

Veteran-Owned Business Expansion is a program created to assist veteran small business owners in identifying when they are ready to expand and drive their business to the next level. Various approaches to growth will be identified and analyzed, including identifying new revenue streams; entering new market segments; expanding the customer base; growing the team; acquiring new technology/equipment; adding strategic partners; opening new or additional locations; and mergers and acquisitions.

Through this program, veteran business owners will work on putting together their path toward controlled-risk growth as they evaluate and develop their metrics, benchmarks, teams, financials, and strategies to reach the next level of growth. At the completion of the program, eligible participants may apply for a County of Riverside grant of $2,500.

Our six learning modules will focus on the biggest success drivers for growing your business:

Module 1: Intelligent Planning

Every business faces a series of challenges on its path to growth. This module covers a variety of successful approaches to growth and outlines the key elements of business planning that predict success.

Key topics covered include:

• Are you ready to grow?
• What does growth mean to you?
• What are the key drivers of growth in your business?
• How to build a strategic plan that matches your vision
• How to conduct market research to validate your vision
• How to establish KPIs to ensure you achieve your vision

Case Study and Application to Government Contracting

Federal, state, and local contracting organizations use codes to identify industries, products, and services. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes, Product and Service Codes (PSC), and United Nations Standard Product and Service Codes (UNSPSC) to name a few.

• What codes are applicable to your business?
• Do you know how to use your NAICS, PSC, and UNSPSC codes for research?
• Can you grow by doing business with Riverside County, state of California, or the federal government?
• What NAICS code(s) best represent your business?
• What PSC code(s) represent your business?
• What UNSPSC codes represents your business
• Conducting market research

Module 2: Financial Management

In this module, you will understand your numbers through your P&L and build your financial projections to support your growth plan. This class will teach you how to accurately project growth, model it, and stress test it to make sure capital will work effectively with your growth plan.

Key topics covered include:

• A discussion of ideas for improving your cash position
• Evaluating your expenses
• Optimizing your pricing
• Conducting reliable financial forecasting and more

Module 3: Understanding Customers

There is only one boss: CUSTOMERS! Growth in your business is all about attracting new customers and/or expanding what your existing customers are buying from you. Before tackling sales and marketing strategies and activities, it is key to understand your customers, both current and potential, to properly target your growth efforts.

Key topics covered include:

• Identifying your target audience
• Understanding their pain points and what they care about
• Honing your niche to drive future growth

Case Study and Application to Government Contracting

There are government entities all around you.

• Do you know who your government customers are?
• Who should be your customer in the government market?
• Who is the government?
• What is government contracting?
• Benefits of bovernment contracting
• Why small businesses are important to the government

Module 4: Sales and Marketing

All businesses engage in sales and marketing activities, but few tie all the elements together into a cohesive strategy that adequately addresses all the steps in the customer lifecycle.

Key topics covered include:

• Evaluating where you are today
• Identifying areas of opportunity and gaps within your customer lifecycle
• Developing a roadmap for sales & marketing that will better position your business for solid growth

Case Study and Application to Government Contracting

• Selling to the government is different from business-to-business (B2B) or business-to-consumer (B2C). Learn how business-to-government (B2G) buying and selling works.
• How to market to the government — Responding to Request for Information (RFI) and Sources Sought Notice (SSN), Capability Statements
• How to sell to the Government — Request for Proposal (RFP), Request for Quote (RFQ), Invitation to Bid (ITB)

Module 5: Optimizing Operations

Operations covers the entire infrastructure, equipment, processes and procedures that enable you to produce and deliver your product or service in a way that lets you run a successful business. These areas of your business often provide a competitive advantage and determine your profitability.

K ey topics covered include:

• How to assess and tighten up your operations
• How to become more efficient, more productive, and more careful with all your resources (money, time, staff)
• Key issues in managing people

Case Study and Application to Government Contracting

Many government program offices use a matrixed organization set-up. Learn about matrixed organizations and how to effectively engage.

• What is a matrixed organization?
• Understanding the program office

Module 6: Managing People

With growth comes optimizing and expanding your staff. Understanding human capital needs based on your growth plan is critical to achieving your goals.

Key topics covered include:

• Understanding your current team
• Identify missing talent
• Develop an organizational chart that supports your growth plan
• Understand staffing options to minimize expense and risk
• How to drive a high-performing team through strong culture, leadership, training and management

Case Study and Application to Government Contracting

Wage Determinations — A wage determination (WD) is a set of wages, fringe benefits, and work rules that the U.S. Department of Labor has ruled to be prevailing for a given labor category in a given locality.

• Review Federal Wage Determination for Riverside County