It’s been a tough time for small businesses causing many to look for new ways to broaden their revenue streams.

Thomas Pollock, small business expert and author of Winning Government Business: The 6 Rules And 9 Absolutes for Small to Medium Businesses, has some hot tips on how small businesses can unite to bring in more lucrative contracts.

GIVEAWAY: For a chance to win a free copy of Thomas Pollock's book, which is full of insider tips to winning government business and bringing in new revenue for your small business simply enter the codeword ‘BUSINESS’ in the comments below.

Tom’s Tips

Many small businesses ignore very profitable Government business because they’re exactly that: small.

Government contracts are often large and complex. Government contracts are also lucrative and even small pieces of Government work can realise significant profits to a small business. $100,000+ purchases are considered in Government circles to be a pretty minor procurement.  

$100,000 to a small business can mean an entire year’s profit. Take a minute to think about how many businesses in Australia would consider spending $100,000 on something to be ‘minor’. There’s not too many.

So when a small business sees a piece of Government work as too big or complex, or they could only fulfil a portion of the work, they must consider what’s referred to as a collaborative bid. In some government departments, they’re known as cooperative bids.

Government knows that it’s difficult for one company to fulfil an entire contract, particularly the larger works. For this reason, they welcome submissions where several businesses have come together to satisfy the requirement for the work.

This can be powerful for small businesses. By forming partnerships with other businesses they can expand their capabilities, experience, and value-adds, and bid for Government business far more confidently.

With the right partners in place, small businesses can put their hands up for many more opportunities than they’d have been able to entertain on their own. With the right partners, they can compete against much bigger businesses and beat them.