Research, research, research before making a bid; that means months, maybe even a year. The SBA also offers the All Small Mentor-Protege program to match small businesses that are new to government contracting with a mentor that can help them through the entire process. Take notes during this process so you can formalize your approach. This will help you understand your timeline and what to expect from the process. But once through those pearly gates, you have a customer who pays on time and quickly, often with multi-year contracts, and tells you what will be needed next year so you can plan ahead. Sometime between and —when the federal contracts starting flowing in for the thenyear-old project management firm The ELOCEN Group—founder Necole Parker sold her home and set up shop in her parents’ basement in Prince George’s County, Maryland.