Most businesses that fail at government contracting do not fail because they were unqualified. They fail because they were given half a process.
Someone registers them in SAM.gov, congratulates them, and sends an invoice. Nine months later the business has a valid registration, no contract, and the settled conviction that government contracting is a waste of time.
The registration was never the problem. The problem is that nobody told them what to do on day two.
That gap is what GERC was built to close.
What actually happens after registration — and why most people never get there
Registration puts your name in a database. It does not do any of the things that produce a contract.
It does not tell a contracting officer what you can build. It does not put you in front of a prime contractor with subcontracting goals to hit. It does not answer the sources sought notice that determines whether an upcoming requirement gets set aside for small businesses like you. It does not tell you that the agency three miles away buys exactly what you sell, or what the last three awards went for, or when the incumbent’s contract expires.
Every one of those is a specific, learnable action. Together they are the difference between being registered and being in business with the government.
A GERC consultation is about that list. We tell you which steps apply to your business, in what order, and what each one requires — and then we do the ones you want done for you.
The sequence we run
We do not hand clients a generic checklist. But the work does follow a shape, and it is worth seeing it laid out, because most businesses have never been shown the whole thing at once. Our guide to how to start government contracting in California walks through the same sequence in detail.
1. Position the business correctly. NAICS code selection and size standard analysis. This sounds administrative and it is actually strategic — it determines which opportunities you can see, which set-asides you qualify for, and how buyers find you in market research.
2. Register everywhere you should be. UEI and entity validation, SAM.gov registration, Cal eProcure, and the county, city, district, and university vendor systems that apply to you. For defense work, DLA DIBBS and JCP registration.
3. Claim the certifications you qualify for. California SB and SB-PW, DVBE, 8(a), HUBZone, WOSB, MBE, WBE, and Caltrans DBE where it applies. Not all of them — the ones that match the market you are actually selling into. If you are not sure which apply to you, start with do you need to be certified to win government contracts.
4. Make you findable. A real capability narrative in SBA’s Small Business Search, a complete vendor profile, and a capability statement that answers the question a contracting officer is actually asking.
5. Find the work. Market research — who buys what you sell, what they paid, who holds the contract now, and when it comes up again.
6. Bid it properly. Proposal and RFP development, SF 330 and SOQ packages for engineering and design firms, and DoD proposals and bids for defense work.
7. Stay eligible. Renewals, recertifications, compliance and maintenance, and certified payroll and prevailing wage on public works. A lapsed SAM registration disqualifies you from award, and it usually lapses right before the bid you actually wanted.
Some clients want the whole sequence run for them. Others want two steps handled and the rest explained clearly enough that they can do it in house. Both are fine. What we will not do is complete step two and leave you to guess at the rest.
The research background is not decoration
GERC is a research and economics practice that works in government contracting, and that shapes how the work gets done.
Dr. Shirley Ayangbah, our founder, holds a PhD in International Economic and Financial Law and an MA in Economics. The team includes Dr. Yaling Ho, whose background is in international securities and financial law, and Zhaoxia Yi, who works in global business strategy and innovation. Alongside contracting services, the firm does feasibility studies, market research, and business development.
The practical effect is in step five. Deciding where to compete is a market research question — what the demand looks like, who the incumbents are, how pricing has moved, where an entrant has an opening. That is the analysis that keeps a business from spending its first year writing proposals it was never positioned to win.
Federal, state, local, and grants — because most businesses need more than one
A lot of consultants do federal registration and nothing else. For a California business, that is usually the wrong first move. State and local contracts have lower barriers, faster award cycles, and less competition — and they build the past performance record you need before federal work is realistic.
We work across all of it: federal, California state through Cal eProcure, county and municipal, special districts, and defense. And because the same organizations are often eligible for both, we also do grant writing, nonprofit formation and 501(c)(3), and business formation — including a nonprofit discount.
Who we work with
Businesses that are starting from zero and want the sequence run correctly rather than learned by trial and error.
Businesses that registered a year ago, heard nothing, and want to know what they skipped.
Businesses that are winning local work and are ready to move up to state or federal.
Engineering, design, and construction firms that need SF 330 and SOQ packages, certified payroll, or a Caltrans DBE reevaluation handled by someone who has done it before.
Defense-adjacent firms working toward NIST 800-171 and CMMC or pursuing SBIR and STTR funding.
Nonprofits that need both contract and grant revenue and do not want to run two separate advisors.
Where we work
GERC is based in San Bernardino and works with businesses across San Bernardino County and the Inland Empire, Riverside County, Orange County, and Los Angeles County — and nationwide for federal work.
Being local to the Inland Empire matters more than it sounds. California’s certification programs, Cal eProcure, the SB/DVBE Option, Caltrans DBE, and the buying patterns of the counties, cities, districts, and campuses in this region are their own body of knowledge. A national firm running a federal-only playbook will not tell you that the fastest path to your first contract may be a county twenty minutes away.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a government contracting consultant actually do? Positions your business correctly in NAICS and size standards, completes your federal, state, and local registrations, files the certifications you qualify for, builds the profile and capability statement buyers use to find you, researches where the work is, writes the proposals, and keeps your registrations and certifications current.
Do I need a consultant to register in SAM.gov? No. SAM.gov registration is free and you can do it yourself. Most people who hire help do it because entity validation stalled their registration, or because they want the registration to be part of a strategy rather than a standalone task.
Do you work with businesses outside San Bernardino? Yes. We serve Riverside, Orange, and Los Angeles counties and all of Southern California, and we work with clients nationwide on federal contracting.
Can you help with both contracts and grants? Yes. We do federal, state, and philanthropic grant writing alongside contracting work, plus nonprofit formation and 501(c)(3) support.
How do I start? Book a strategy consultation. We look at what you sell, what you qualify for, and where the demand is, and you leave with a sequence of steps rather than a general recommendation to get registered.
Get registered, get certified, and win government contracts and grants.
Book a strategy consultation or request a quote.
Global Economic Research Consulting
255 N. D Street, Suite #200-XXVII, San Bernardino, CA 92401
(909) 454-7076 · info@gercconsulting.com