Orange County has one of the more accessible county procurement systems in Southern California, and a supplier base often better suited to it than businesses realise. GERC helps firms here register, certify and bid — and does the work with them.
Guidance is not the same as implementation
A great deal of free advice exists for businesses that want to sell to government. Workshops, guides, counselling sessions, webinars. What is scarce is somebody who will actually complete the registration, prepare the certification application, write the capability statement and submit the proposal.
That is what GERC does. We are a hands-on implementation firm, not a general business consultancy. You can get told what to do in a lot of places; we do it with you.
What makes Orange County distinctive
- The County Procurement Office operates preference policies for Local Small Business Enterprises and Disabled Veteran Business Enterprises, alongside its vendor registration and public bids portal. These preferences are meaningful and comparatively straightforward to qualify for.
- A dense aerospace, defence and medical device supply chain. Firms here are frequently eligible for federal research funding and defence subcontracting they have never pursued.
- Sanitation, water and transportation districts that buy substantially and are routinely overlooked by businesses focused on cities and counties.
- A large professional and technical services sector. Agencies buy a great deal of professional services, and service firms often assume government contracting is only for construction and product suppliers.
Services most used in this market
- SAM.gov registration — particularly for the aerospace and defence supply chain
- California SB, Micro and DVBE certification, which supports both state and county preference eligibility
- Capability statements for approaching primes in the defence and aerospace cluster
- Proposal and RFP responses
- Business formation and nonprofit formation with 501(c)(3)
- Feasibility studies and market research for firms weighing whether to enter the public market at all
The sequence we take clients through
- Register — SAM.gov for federal work, Cal eProcure for California, plus the local agency portals that matter in your market
- Certify — California SB, Micro, SB-PW and DVBE, federal socio-economic programmes, and the local certifications that carry preference where you bid
- Position — a capability statement a contracting officer can act on, and codes chosen for the work you want
- Pursue — proposals and RFP responses, and grant applications where funding rather than contracting is the route
- Maintain — renewals and ongoing compliance, because eligibility lapses quietly
How we work with you
Most of what we do is delivered remotely, by phone and video, because registrations, applications and proposals are built from documents rather than site visits. Where an in-person meeting genuinely helps — a kickoff, a proposal review, a board presentation — we travel from our San Bernardino office.
Common questions
What is LSBE and do we qualify?
Local Small Business Enterprise is a county preference classification with its own criteria, separate from state certification. Tell us your size and where you are based and we will tell you whether it is worth applying.
We are a professional services firm, not a contractor. Is this for us?
Yes. Public agencies buy consulting, engineering, staffing, IT, training and professional services continuously. The assumption that government contracting means construction costs service firms a great deal of accessible work.
Do you meet in person?
When it helps. We are about an hour away in San Bernardino and travel for kickoffs, proposal reviews and board presentations. Most of the work runs remotely.
Schedule a Consultation
- Call (909) 454-7076 — the fastest route. Monday to Friday.
- Book a consultation — pick a time that suits you.
- Email us about Orange County — opens a message already titled, so it reaches the right person.
If you only want to know whether you need this at all, ask. There is no charge for that conversation.
GERC is a woman-led advisory firm led by Dr. Shirley Ayangbah, a PhD legal economist with more than 14 years of experience. Registered in SAM.gov under CAGE code 11SD2, certified as a California Small Business (Micro) and for Public Works. NAICS 541611, 541618 and 541690.