For Patrice Manuel, joining the SBA’s 8(a) Business Development Program supercharged her company’s growth.
The nine-year program offers business counseling, specialized training and other assistance to the entrepreneurs who operate small disadvantaged businesses, allowing them to scale up their operations.
Manuel’s management consulting firm, P/Strada, won $17 million in federal contracts when it was going through the 8(a) program. Clients include the Defense Department, Homeland Security, the Environmental Protection Agency and others.
“It took us from being in the hundreds of thousands to being in the millions,” said Manuel, who graduated from the program in 2012 and now mentors other 8(a) companies.
Qualifying Factors
To qualify for the 8(a) program, a company must be majority-owned and controlled by people who are both socially and economically disadvantaged.
African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans, Asian Pacific Americans and Subcontinent Asian Americans are all presumed to be socially disadvantaged, but others can qualify if they demonstrate they’ve experienced substantial and chronic social disadvantage that has held them back in business.
A person is considered economically disadvantaged if they have limited access to credit and capital needed to compete in the business world. Their assets can’t exceed $4 million, their net worth must be under $250,000, and their personal income, averaged over three years, can’t
be more than $250,000.
A company’s disadvantaged status is only one of the factors the SBA considers when admitting it to the 8(a) program. A full list
of 8(a) requirements can be found at www.sba.gov/content/8a-requirements-overview.
An Opportunity, Not a Guarantee
Some people make the mistake of thinking 8(a) certification means a company will automatically win a lot of federal contracts, but that’s just not the case, Manuel said.
Rather, 8(a) helps small businesses acquire the skills and techniques that allow them to land those projects.
In P/Strada’s case, that meant installing a solid customer relationship management (CRM) system and developing a system for reporting to the government. The company also received coaching from an SBA adviser and advice from the local Procurement Technical Assistance Center.
Manuel recommends 8(a) to other small companies—but only the ones who are truly serious about competing for federal work. While 8(a) is a trusted “seal of approval,” small businesses still have to seek out contract opportunities and perform when they win.
“It opens the door, but you still have to work it,” Manuel said. “You can’t just open the door and think it’s going to come to you. You have to work for it.”
