Resource hub path: articles are part of the GovScout Resource Hub and should lead readers into tools, templates, and Marcus case-file review.
Author and editorial owner:Steven Harriman, founder of GovScout Pro.
No fluff. No generic advice. Written by a service-disabled veteran who built the tools he wished existed — and learned the hard way what it takes to win.
How to Find Contract Openings Before Everyone Else
Do not just search open bids. Study who won, who is excluded, which awards were protested, and where recompetes may create lawful openings for qualified small businesses.
How I Landed a DOE SCADA Contract as a One-Man SDVOSB (And What I Wish I Knew Earlier)
I spent two years chasing government contracts the wrong way. Then I changed my approach and it changed everything. Here is what client success in government contracting actually looks like when you stop writing proposals and start positioning.
VA Contracts Are the Most Underused Opportunity in Government Contracting
The VA is legally required to prioritize SDVOSBs under the Rule of Two. Most veteran-owned small businesses have never seriously pursued a VA contract. Here is why and exactly how to fix it.
How Small Businesses Can Win Federal Contracts (And Actually Get Paid)
Winning is only half the battle. The federal government is the largest buyer in the world — but it is also one of the slowest payers. Here is the exact playbook for landing your first federal award and making sure the money actually hits your account.
How to Become a Federal Prime Contractor (The Real Path Nobody Talks About)
Every piece of government contracting advice tells you to register on SAM.gov and start bidding. That is not the real path. The contractors winning prime contracts built their position over 18 months before they submitted their first proposal.
The Fastest Ways to Make Real Money with Federal Contracts
Most small businesses spend two years chasing contracts they will never win. The contractors generating real revenue found the fast lanes — contract vehicles, set-asides, and agency relationships that compress the timeline from zero to paid.
Federal Contract Opportunity Search: A Small Business Workflow
A practical workflow for turning SAM.gov filters, agency forecasts, sources sought notices, and award-history checks into a better bid, team, pass, or watch decision.
Veteran-Owned Government Contracting: Where Experience Helps and Where It Does Not
Veteran experience can sharpen mission understanding and execution discipline, but it does not replace VetCert, market research, pricing realism, or past performance. This refresh shows the honest workflow.
SAM.gov Search Tips for Small Business: What the Tutorials Don't Tell You
The official SAM.gov tutorial will teach you how to log in. It will not teach you how to find contracts you can actually win. Six techniques that separate the contractors getting awards from the ones downloading PDFs they will never bid on.
The Go/No-Go Decision in Government Contracting: Why Most Small Businesses Get It Wrong
Most small businesses decide to bid on a contract based on one thing: can we do the work? That is the wrong question. Marcus evaluates seven factors before recommending a bid — and the ones that kill deals are never the obvious ones.
Sources Sought Notices: A Small Business Response Workflow
A source-backed workflow for reading Sources Sought notices, checking lane fit and buyer history, and deciding whether to respond, team, watch, or pass before the solicitation arrives.
The 8(a) Sole-Source Secret Most Companies Never Use
You can get a $4.5 million federal contract with zero competition. No bidding. No proposals. Most 8(a) companies have had this authority for years and have never used it once.
Most contractors spend hours trying to understand a government document. Here is the exact framework a 20-year contracting officer uses to read any solicitation in 30 minutes and identify every compliance trap, evaluation weight, and incumbent signal.
The Trojan Sub Strategy — How to Become a Prime by First Being a Sub
Get on a winning team as a subcontractor. Learn the agency. Build past performance. Come back as prime next award. Here is the exact playbook for turning subcontracting into a pipeline for priming.
Awardable Pricing — The Number That Wins Isn't the Lowest One
Pricing too low makes you look unqualified. Pricing too high gets you eliminated. Awardable pricing is about finding the range where you win — and how to build a CLIN structure that tells the story your price needs to tell.
The VA Spent $28 Billion with SDVOSBs Last Year — Here's How to Get Your Share
The VA is legally mandated to use SDVOSB set-asides. Most of that money goes to the same 500 companies. Here is exactly how to break into that list — the agencies, the contract types, and the one move most SDVOSBs never make.
Why I Built GovScout Pro — A Service-Disabled Veteran's Honest Account
I spent 20 years executing government contracts for big companies. When I started my own SDVOSB, I had no idea how to win them. This is the honest story of what I found — and why I built Marcus.
