Veteran Owned Business Expansion

Veteran Owned Business Expansion is a program developed by the Orange County Inland Empire Small Business Development Center 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: new revenue streams, entering new market segments / expanding customer base, expanding the team, acquiring new technology / equipment, adding strategic partners, new /additional locations, and mergers and acquisitions. Through this program, Veteran business owners will work on putting together their path towards 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 can apply for a County of Riverside grant of $2,500.

Our 6 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 they key elements of business planning that predict success. Key topic covered include: Are you ready to grow? What does growth mean to you? What are the key drivers of growth in your business? How do you build a Strategic Plan that matches your vision? How do you conduct market research to validate your vision? How do you establish KPI’s to ensure you achieve your vision?

Case Study and Application to Government Contracting

Federal, State, and local contracting uses codes to identify industries, products, and services. What code do you follow? Do you know how to use your 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 represent your business
• Conducting Market Research (How to research federal agencies and procurements- SAM, How to research State of California procurements- Cal e-Procure, How to research Riverside County procurements- Public Purchase)

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. We’ll discuss ideas for improving your cash position, evaluating your expenses, optimizing your pricing, conducting reliable financial forecasting and more.

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

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. In this module, we will focus on identifying your target audience, understanding their pain points and what they care about, and 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 customer is? Who should be your customer in the government market?

• Who is the Government?
• What is Government Contracting?
• Benefits of Government Contracting
• Why small businesses are important to the Government

Module 4: Sales & Marketing

All businesses engage in sales & marketing activities, but few tie all the elements together into a cohesive strategy that adequately addresses all the steps in the Customer Lifecycle. From collecting leads to converting customers to creating fans, we’ll use a simple but powerful framework to evaluate where you are today, identify your areas of opportunity and gaps within your Customer Lifecycle, and develop 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 not the same as 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 RFI and SSN, Capability Statements
• How to sell to the Government – RFP, RFQ, 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 competitive advantage and determine your profitability. This module will help you assess and tighten up your operations, giving you opportunities to become more efficient, more productive, and more careful with all your resources (money, time, staff). We will also cover 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 with

• 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. This module will help you understand your current team, identify missing talent, develop an organizational chart that supports your growth plan, understand staffing options to minimize expense and risk, and drive a high-performing team through strong culture, leadership, training and management.

Case Study and Application to Government Contracting

Understand how organizational staffing affects service delivery

• Service Contracts
• Staffing Plans (Full Time Equivalent (FTE), Tracking employee experience and education and certifications)