Registration, codes, capability statement, set-aside eligibility — the unglamorous paperwork that stands between a capable business and a federal buyer. Plus a live session every Friday — twice, at 10am and 6pm Mountain.
$999 to start, then $149/month · Cancel any time · Colorado Springs
This is not a generic government-contracting course run from somewhere it doesn't matter. Colorado Springs is a federal town, and that changes what's possible for a small business here.
None of this means contracts are easy or assured. It means the buyers are here, the volume is real, and proximity is an advantage most of the country doesn't have. What you do with that is the work.
They stop for reasons that have nothing to do with capability.
SAM.gov is not a friendly system. People start the process, hit a validation error on their entity name or address, and never come back. Registration is free — but abandoning it costs you the entire market.
NAICS and PSC codes determine which opportunities you're even visible for. Choose badly and you are invisible to the buyers who want exactly what you sell, while getting notifications for work you'd never bid.
A contracting officer gives it seconds. Most small-business capability statements are two pages of adjectives with no past performance, no differentiators, and no codes. It goes in the bin, and the business never learns why.
There are several, they have different requirements, and some take months to certify. Businesses that would qualify never apply because nobody told them the category existed.
It isn't rigged. It's a process with rules and a learning curve, and the first bid is almost never the one you win. The businesses that succeed treat it as a pipeline, not a lottery ticket.
Not a vague state of preparedness. A specific list you can check yourself against.
Entity validation, UEI assignment, CAGE code, points of contact, banking information, and the representations and certifications section that most people abandon halfway through. Registration is free and always will be — anyone charging you a fee to submit it is selling you something you can do yourself.
What we do: walk it with you, resolve the validation errors, and make sure your record is complete and active rather than half-finished.
We work out which codes actually match what you sell, check the small-business size standard for each one, and set your record up so the right opportunities reach you.
One page. Core competencies stated concretely, differentiators that are actually different, past performance, your codes, UEI and CAGE, and contact details a human can act on. We build it with you and you leave with the file.
We look at your ownership, your structure and your location, and tell you which categories you plausibly qualify for — and which you don't. Then we map what certification actually involves.
Where to look, how to read a solicitation, what a sources-sought notice is and why it matters more than most people realise, and how subcontracting to a prime can be a faster first step than bidding directly.
Certification takes time and paperwork. Knowing early which one fits is most of the advantage.
For businesses at least 51% owned and controlled by one or more service-disabled veterans. In a city with more than 52,000 veterans, this is the most commonly overlooked category locally — plenty of eligible owners simply never certify.
A nine-year SBA program for small businesses owned by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals. Substantial application, substantial access. Worth understanding properly before you decide whether to pursue it.
Women-Owned and Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Business. Applies to specific NAICS codes where women-owned businesses are underrepresented — so eligibility depends on what you sell, not only who owns it.
Historically Underutilized Business Zone. Depends on where your principal office sits and where your employees live. Colorado has designated zones, and the map changes — worth checking rather than assuming.
We assess eligibility. We don't certify you. Certification runs through the SBA and the relevant agency on their timeline. What we do is tell you honestly which categories fit, what the application requires, and whether it's worth your time.
Two hours, run twice on the same day so a work schedule doesn't cost you the week. This is the part a PDF guide can't match — federal contracting changes, opportunities are time-boxed, and the questions you have this month are different from last month's.
Working through SAM.gov, UEI and CAGE issues live, together — including the validation errors that stop people cold.
Reading real solicitations and sources-sought notices, deciding what's worth pursuing and what isn't, and why.
Statement reviews in the room. Bring yours, get it pulled apart, leave with a better one.
How subcontracting and teaming agreements work, and why your first federal revenue often comes through a prime rather than directly.
Whatever you're stuck on. Answered live, in front of everyone, because someone else is usually stuck on it too.
Stated as a closed list rather than a vague promise of help, so neither of us is guessing at month four.
Two numbers because there are two kinds of work. The readiness build happens once. The support continues.
The readiness build — SAM.gov registration driven to completion, NAICS and PSC codes selected, capability statement written and reviewed, set-aside eligibility assessed. Charged once.
Federal Friday live every week at 10am and 6pm, the Federal Opportunities channel, capability statement and record maintenance, and the three ongoing support areas above — contract review, pricing strategy and submission requirements.
Already doing the build? Federal Track can run alongside it, or you can add it after your six months of Premium in the room.
Premium membership is $49 and includes Federal Friday. So why pay $149? Because Premium gets you into the Friday room to listen and ask questions — that is education, and for some people it is enough. Federal Track is work done on your business: the $999 gets you actually registered, coded and credible on paper, and the $149 puts a federal specialist on your specific solicitations — reviewing the contract, working the pricing with you, and making sure the submission is compliant. If you only want to learn how it works, take Premium and you have lost nothing. If you want to be bidding, that is this.
No. Nobody can promise that, and you should walk away from anyone who does. What we do is get you registered, coded, credible on paper and eligible where you qualify — so you can compete. Whether you win depends on your capability, your pricing and your persistence.
The government buys an enormous range of goods and services — construction, IT, staffing, landscaping, catering, training, logistics, professional services. The question isn't usually whether they buy what you sell. It's whether you're findable and credible when they go looking.
Registration can move quickly once entity validation clears, though that step alone sometimes takes weeks and is outside anyone's control. Being genuinely competitive is a longer arc. Treat the first year as building a pipeline, not closing one.
No. Plenty of federal work is open to any qualified small business. Set-asides narrow the field in your favour where you qualify, which is why it's worth knowing early — but they aren't a prerequisite.
Yes, entirely, and it always will be. Be sceptical of anyone charging a fee to submit it for you. The $999 covers the guidance, the code selection, the capability statement and the set-aside assessment — not for filling in a free form.
The readiness build, once: your SAM.gov registration worked through to an active record, your NAICS and PSC codes chosen against the size standards, your one-page capability statement written and reviewed, and an honest assessment of which set-aside categories you qualify for. It's front-loaded work, so it's a front-loaded fee.
Federal Friday live twice a week, the Federal Opportunities channel, maintenance of your capability statement and SAM record, and the three support areas: contract review, pricing strategy and submission requirements. Federal registrations go stale — an expired SAM record makes you invisible, and that's the quiet failure most businesses don't notice until they've missed a bid.
No. We review it, price it with you and check it against the submission requirements — but the narrative is yours and you submit it. That isn't us being unhelpful: every federal proposal carries certifications the offeror signs, and the accuracy of what's in your bid has to stay with the person accountable for delivering it.
Up to a point. Above certain thresholds federal contracts require certified cost or pricing data and an accounting system that can survive an audit — that's specialist work we don't do. We'll tell you plainly when your bid has reached that scale and what kind of professional you need next.
Yes. Your SAM.gov record, your codes and your capability statement are yours, in your accounts, under your control. Cancelling ends the support and the Friday sessions. Nothing gets switched off or taken back.
If you don't have an entity, an EIN and a bank account yet, start with the build — SAM.gov registration requires all three. If you already have those, you can start here.
Federal contracting is national and the room is online, so location doesn't limit you. Sessions run at 10am and 6pm Mountain, which covers most US time zones comfortably. Being here is an advantage for meeting contracting officers in person — but it isn't a requirement for any of the work.
Bring what your business does. We'll tell you honestly whether the federal market is a realistic route for you — including if the answer is no.
Book a federal readiness consultationGuarantee terms. Both guarantees are described in full on this site and are set out in the client agreement you review before any payment is made. The Delivery Guarantee is limited to the amounts stated. The Milestone Guarantee is limited to the program fee paid and requires the participation conditions listed. Eligibility for the Milestone Guarantee is determined during the consultation.
No income representations. Formwork Consulting makes no representation, promise, or guarantee regarding earnings, revenue, or profit. Individual results depend on factors outside our control, including your market, your effort, your pricing, and general economic conditions.
Not professional advice. Formwork Consulting is not a law firm, accounting firm, or tax advisor. We do not provide legal, tax, accounting, bookkeeping, or investment advice, and we do not select your business entity type. Government filing fees and third-party subscriptions are your responsibility and are paid directly by you.
Third-party outcomes. We do not control and cannot guarantee Google Business Profile verification, payment processor approval, financing approval, or government filing timelines.
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