Why Female Entrepreneurs Should Leverage Government Contracts

Are government contracts worth the effort they take to pursue? Or do the certification process and compliance requirements take too much work? Many small businesses, especially those owned by women, don’t know how to take advantage of the opportunity and lose out on the potential perks.After working for years in the financial industry, Jean Kristensen joined her family’s security business. In an effort to really help them scale and grow, she started to pursue government contracts and explore different certification programs for working with the government. Through her experience, an idea was born: There was no company or program helping business owners leverage their certifications and understand the process to getting and ultimately managing government relationships. Now Jean runs a consulting firm, Jean Kristensen Associates, that helps women-owned businesses pursue and manage government contracts to boost sales and grow their businesses.Follow along as Jean shares the ups and downs of entrepreneurship and how bidding for government contracts can grow your revenues in ways you haven’t expected before.In This Episode The characteristics of a true entrepreneur How to figure out how your business fits into the government marketplace Affordable business resources for female entrepreneurs How government contracts can transform a business Common mistakes new entrepreneurs make Quotes in This Episode“Entrepreneurship is not for everyone… Above and beyond having the vision for setting your own goals, you have to be extremely disciplined. Because the buck really does stop with you.” —Jean Kristensen“Doing business with the government is like jumping into the ocean.” —Jean Kristensen“The government has different goals they’re trying to obtain with women-owned businesses… and certification makes you visible [to them].” —Jean Kristensen“One of the biggest mistakes that I made early on… is the belief that you know it all, even if you’ve done it already.” —Jean Kristensen“You need to find ways to constantly reinvent yourself… It’s my responsibility to grow so the business can grow.” —Jean KristensenResources The Small Business Administration Women’s Business Enterprise National Council jeankristensenassociates.com Call Jean Kristensen Associates at 917-397-7242 for a free 30-minute consultation