Cultivating The Leader Within - Minority Enterprise Executive Council

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How can DST help your organization We provide a full spectrum of professional services in: • Information Technology • Aviation Management • Logistics and Operations • Management Support • Scientific and Technology I am deeply honored to be recognized by MEA as a distinguished woman in business. Our company philosophy is ‘your success is our success, and our success is your success.’ Therefore, MEA’s recognition is an acknowledgement of DST’s resilient culture that results in cost effective value to our customer, true appreciation of every employee, and a commitment to being a positive and active participant in the community. Deborah Scott Thomas, President & CEO Data Solutions & Technology Incorporated www.dstincorporated.com 8 Minority Enterprise Advocate • March – April 2012
Feature Story Moving Your Business to the Next Level “Lions, and tigers, and bears! Oh, my!” By Doña Storey, American Express OPEN Advisor for Procurement Doña Storey Just as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz was determined, despite her fears, to follow the yellow brick road many small business owners are ready and anxious to follow their path to the “next level” of success in federal contracting. As the American Express OPEN Advisor for Procurement I see small companies move out of their comfort zone as a dependable subcontractor and get on a path to priming larger contract awards and obtaining greater business success. What needs to be understood by businesses of all sizes is that this path travels through the current and sometimes unfriendly regulatory environment of federal acquisition. Along this path there are many perceived and real dangers hiding in the shadows: I say “hiding in the shadows” because many businesses are either blissfully unaware (don’t know what they don’t know) or make the assumption (incorrectly) that these rules, regulations, or compliance issues don’t apply to them. In this article I am going to address that knowledge is power. This includes current federal subcontractors who need to understand that the “flow down” rule very much makes them at risk if they ignore these hidden dangers. The three elements of the current regulatory environment that are the focus of this article are affiliation, protests, and ethics. In order to present the most accurate and timely information on each of these topics I interviewed individuals who are true subject matter experts, a group of attorneys with the Kaufman & Canoles Government Contracts and Construction Practice Group chaired by Terry Murphy. I asked Terry and two of his partners, Chuck McPhillips and Pat O’Donnell, to help provide comments on the challenges you might encounter along your path to federal contracting success. Joint Ventures The decision to team or establish a Joint Venture (JV) can be part of your overall business development strategy or a specific bid/no bid decision. In either case if you are going to go down this road it is important to understand the affiliation rules that can impact your decision and your status as a potential prime contractor. Chuck McPhillips, the senior business lawyer in the Kaufman & Canoles Government Contracts Group, agrees that joint ventures are useful vehicles when the combined resources of two or more entities will serve to equip a contractor team with the ability to deliver the best value to the customer. Q: What are the concerns with joint ventures A: There are some important regulatory details restricting their use by small businesses. For example, business entities are considered to be “affiliates” of each other for purposes of SBA size determinations whenever one controls or has the power to control the other, or a third party controls or has the power to control both entities. Affiliation can be found in a number of circumstances, including contractor teams when an “ostensible subcontractor” is, in truth, the driving force behind the team’s proposal or performance of a government contract. When affiliation is found to exist, the revenues and employees of the affiliated entities are added together for purposes of determining compliance with the size standard applicable to the procurement based on its assigned NAICS code. Q: Are there any special considerations if two or more small businesses want to form a JV A: For small-business set-aside awards, the SBA allows two or more small businesses to form a joint venture, without disqualifying them as affiliates of each other, provided that each participant is small under the size standard applicable to the project and the procurement qualifies as “bundled” requirement or, if it does not qualify as a bundled requirement, the dollar value of the procurement meets certain minimum thresholds, depending on whether the NAICS code assigned to the contract is revenue-based or employee-based. Q: If you are successful and win a contract as a small business joint venture are there any other concerns A: If a joint venture is awarded a contract as a small business concern, it must incur at least 50% of the direct labor costs on services and supply contracts (other thresholds apply for construction contracts). Minority Enterprise Advocate • March – April 2012 9
Page 1 and 2: Moving Your Business to the Next Le
Page 3 and 4: WHAT MAKES US DIFFERENT As an award
Page 5 and 6: MEA Minority Enterprise Advocate Co
Page 7: In Memoriam CBCF Mourns the Passing
Page 11 and 12: Partners in the Promise “The Coca
Page 13 and 14: Business News Failure to Deliver on
Page 15 and 16: IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE SMALL BUSIN
Page 17 and 18: Assembling a superb team is paramou
Page 19 and 20: THE CENTECH GROUP, Inc. Our Managem
Page 21 and 22: Space and Defense (which named her
Page 23 and 24: WELLNESS INTERACTIVE, INC SPARKING
Page 25: International News National Asian B
Page 28 and 29: Financial News Do You Have Enough T
Page 30 and 31: Financial News Six Keys to More Suc
Page 32 and 33: Financial News Tax Planning for the
Page 34 and 35: DIVERSITY is one of our best invest
Page 36 and 37: Shumaker Report If You Do the Right
Page 38 and 39: During times of diminishing returns
Page 40 and 41: Government News Commission for Envi
Page 42 and 43: of Energy published new strategies
Page 44 and 45: Agriculture Secretary Vilsack Annou
Page 46 and 47: animal, marine, or forestry materia
Page 48: “A strong rural economy is key to
Page 51 and 52: Supplier Diversity Contacts ADP De
Page 53 and 54: Intel Corporation Rosalind Hudnell
Page 55 and 56: Alzheimer's IS THE SIXTH LEADING CA

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