Empowering Businesses: The Vendorship Approach to Government Contracting

Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for High Velocity Radio.

Stone Payton: [00:00:15] Welcome to the High Velocity Radio show, where we celebrate top performers producing better results in less time. Please join me in welcoming to the broadcast Founder and CEO with Vendorship Inc., Dr. Nazeera Dawood. How are you?

Dr. Nazeera Dawood: [00:00:31] I’m great and thank you so much for having me today. Stone, it’s so good to speak to you and your audience.

Stone Payton: [00:00:38] Yeah, it’s a delight to have you on the program. I got a ton of questions. I know we’re not going to get to them all, but, uh, maybe let’s start with mission. Purpose. Tell us a little bit about Vendor Ship Inc and what you’re trying to do for folks.

Dr. Nazeera Dawood: [00:00:51] Sure, definitely. So in order to talk about mentorship, I have to tell you a little bit, uh, about myself and why vendor ship was started. And, um, so I used to be a physician. I used to be an ob gyn in India delivering babies. And then after I came to us, I did my master’s in public health. And from there I moved to, uh, Emory University for a job. And then I got my dream job at the county government. Uh, it was at the health department. I loved my job. And, uh, after four years, I was promoted to being the chief of staff at the former chairman’s office at the board of commissioners. Okay, so during this time, uh, I would have a lot of interactions with community members, businesses, um, other partnerships with counties and states and in the federal level as well. What I noticed was small businesses or midsize businesses or even large businesses did not know how to do business with the government. And to give you a particular example, Stone, I was also responsible as my position at the Health Promotion Division Director at that time put out opportunities, um, for uh, contractors or firms to respond. So when I did put out such an RFP, there were two bidders. One, and this was a simple technology solution that we needed, and one person responded five minutes late. So the response was stunned. Their submission was nulled and the other person was did not qualify for some of the eligibility criteria.

Dr. Nazeera Dawood: [00:02:32] So that was rejected as well. So ultimately my division ended up with zero responses after spending so much time, staff time, putting the RFP out, several discussions, interdepartmental, and then I didn’t have the solution that I really wanted. So that really frustrated me because it was taxpayers money as well. And I said, I know of so many businesses that could have responded and provided this solution that we needed. And when all the, uh, procedures were was done, I asked around a few firms on why they didn’t respond to the possibilities right in their backyard. They said there were several responses. One was they said they don’t know. They think, uh, it’s a slow process. They don’t trust the government. Or they said there’s no profitability. So they were giving all these reasons which I thought was a myth, and I knew it was sometimes a piece of cake to do business with the government. So when I, uh, got promoted to the chairman’s office, I also learned the ins and outs of what happened and how those decisions get made in choosing a contractor. And that’s when, when I resigned from the government, uh, position that I was in, uh, I saw the need, uh, where businesses need to be educated, uh, needed hand-holding, coaching and guidance in doing business with the government. And that’s when mentorship was initiated in 2018. I hope that answered your question. Well, it.

Stone Payton: [00:04:06] Does very elegantly and succinctly, but but that’s a lot of information to take in. I love that you found a need. You decided to try to fill it, but it occurs to me that there was and maybe there still is, just a tremendous amount of opportunity being left on the table out there, isn’t there?

Dr. Nazeera Dawood: [00:04:26] And can you believe $600 billion industry and, uh, people usually have all these myths. So we, we, uh, we our team loves to educate and inform because we have to bust the myths out there. One such, such myth is that people think the contracts have already been decided, which is not true, and it’s a transparent, open process. Um, all you have to be is just be eligible, uh, to make sure that you’re able to provide that service that the government is asking. There’s no one that is that cannot work with the government. It’s just that they have to be in the playing field to play the game. Otherwise, they’re just going to be sitting on the fence and watching what’s happening out there. But a $600 billion industry combining federal, state, county, city and education and schools.

Stone Payton: [00:05:14] That is a sobering number. So how does a company know if they’re eligible or if they don’t know then they’re not eligible. And they better find out.

Dr. Nazeera Dawood: [00:05:24] Exactly. So to be eligible all you need to have is a company. You have to have a company in existence. Uh, you should have you should be compliant. That is paying your taxes. And you should have a service to offer that the government needs. That’s all it takes for, uh, doing business with the government. So when you asked about eligibility, if you have a company, if you have a service to provide, and that’s a service that government needs. You can get into the playing field to do the business.

Stone Payton: [00:05:57] So, uh, walk us through, if you can, at least at a high level. How do you find out what the government needs and wants? Because. Because I’m one of these people you’re talking about. You know, I’m probably susceptible to all these myths I don’t have the first clue about to find out what they want. And, you know, for all I know, they may need something in the media area, I don’t know.

Dr. Nazeera Dawood: [00:06:18] Oh, we see those marketing and media, uh, UI, UX opportunities available all the time. So, um, Stone, let me tell you. So think about it. 50 states, almost 20,000 cities, 5000 counties, right? 100,000 public schools, more than 5000 higher education centers. All these are independent government entities with opportunities available for any firms to respond. Right. Um, so the opportunities are existing. The opportunities that government puts out is technology, even services, janitorial, um, mowing. You know, lawn mowing needs, um, office supplies, media needs. They want managers to help them strategize training needs so services that you can imagine the city government, state government, county government everyone needs is that the firms business firms usually have. Uh, the thing is, you have to know where these opportunities are. You have to become probably a vendor depending on the opportunity, and then respond to this. So the process is a little bit complicated in the sense it’s not it’s not hard, but it there is a process to follow. And that’s what people get so uh, frustrated about because they just don’t know how much to try. And then they get frustrated. They go through these red flags and they leave and they say government is not for them. But if you see once the government contractor always a government contractor, right, because they see the benefits of doing business, getting paid for it, and they see the profitability as well. So people have to be aware that it is time consuming, sometimes paperwork. But then once it is done, uh, they’re they’ve laid the foundation. Well, then it’s much easier to get into to win the contracts.

Stone Payton: [00:08:16] So let’s talk about the work specifically with regard to what you and your team do. Do you educate? Do you actually actually help execute on some of this? What what does that look like?

Dr. Nazeera Dawood: [00:08:27] Definitely. So let’s don’t let’s take it this way right with you. Uh, let’s say we are working with you and you’re a media company, right? And there is city of, uh, let’s say Petersburg. Right? Petersburg is looking for a media, uh, campaign and someone to run their campaign on smoke free areas or smoke free parks. Um, now they want to work with you because you are a media company. And, I mean, they know they put the opportunity out. Hey, we need some media person or a media company or a business firm to come and help us design this campaign and put the marketing out. So now you are working with us because you are working with us. We’ve already helped you coach. You build the documentation on what are your capabilities. We have your company’s profile business profile completely right. So once we have that, what we do is we, um, we bring the opportunity to you to say, hey, Stone, in St Petersburg, there’s this opportunity, and then we review this together and you say, this is a perfect opportunity. Our team will write the response for you. So we do proposal responses.

Dr. Nazeera Dawood: [00:09:38] Not only did we identify the opportunity for you that is fitting and you’re eligible for it, but we also help you become a vendor. We do all the paperwork. We become your extended team because we don’t want you to get succumbed to all the supplemental, uh, the massive paperwork that is needed and get frustrated. So we let you focus on what you are good at, which is your niche area, which is campaign and marketing. Right. What we want to help you is identify the opportunity, right. The response, um, we give you the intelligence behind that entire RFP on why what what’s the estimated budget that they are looking for. And then we put the response because they are not a media company. Stone. So we would we would need that specific technical response from you. So we will put the entire proposal document and submit it, uh, for, for evaluation to the government. So that is we take up the 80% of the work. Uh, the 20% of the work is your niche area. So where you will be able to tell us, this is what I want to do for this proposal?

Stone Payton: [00:10:46] Well, I just love that. I love that we can stay in our lane, do this. You know, one thing that we feel like we do really well and then work. Work with best in class experts that understand the system, how to navigate the the obstacles. Well, now that you’ve been at this a while and helping people accomplish this, what’s the most rewarding? What’s the most fun about it for you?

Dr. Nazeera Dawood: [00:11:08] So a stone. Believe it. Because we become your extended team. It’s like we, our our teams have joined, aligned together, and we gelled together for the entire one year that we are working together. We also have clients who work with us for continue to work with us in their fourth year, and our retention rate is renewal. Retention rate is 75%. So you can see people have felt this comfortability that they don’t need to go and build their own five member, six member team of proposal writers, marketing, business development directors or anyone. They just see that us coming in as the extended team. What have we felt good at is when our client wins, we all celebrate as a team, so it’s a huge win. We pat each other and that’s a huge affirmation for each one of us, because we know we put a hard work in submitting that proposal for the client to succeed.

Stone Payton: [00:12:00] Well, your work’s getting noticed. I understand you were recently recognized by the Atlanta City Council. Tell us a little bit about that. Sure.

Dr. Nazeera Dawood: [00:12:09] Yes. Uh, so Council member Andrew Andrea Boone, um, sponsored, along with all the other council members, uh, to, uh, you know, appreciate, uh, women, minority business owner, uh, along with the mentorship team for all the good work that we are doing and also assisting not just the big firms or medium sized firms, but also assisting small firms, uh, to do business with the government. And apart from that, they also named uh, uh, March 7th as uh, my day like Doctor Nasir Dawood appreciation day.

Dr. Nazeera Dawood: [00:12:47] Oh, yeah. For empowering more women to come into business and, you know, get into the entrepreneurial world.

Stone Payton: [00:12:53] So outside the government contracting world, when you were, uh, marketing to people like me, how does the whole sales and marketing thing work for you? How do you get to get your new clients?

Dr. Nazeera Dawood: [00:13:06] Sure, several ways. We have multiple touch points. We do send out newsletters, we do attend events, uh, we do attend conferences. And, uh, all we have to say is, are you planning to expand and diversify your business, to expand your revenue? Right. And everyone wants to do that, especially, uh, the technology firms. If you see, there’s been like, uh, talks about recession in the past and business has been slow. So we tell them, like with government, there’s always a sustainability government is always looking for, um, uh, services, uh, from technology firms, especially after Covid, um, the digital transformation that is happening, you know, the cloud computing, uh, getting prepared, cybersecurity, if you notice, recent in our own counties in Georgia have been ransacked or ransomed. Um, so these are we just asked them, do you want to expand your revenue into a sustainable revenue generating model and diversify their business? And people get interested, and if they come when they know that we do 80% of the work, all they have to do is stay in their lane, provide their niche area expertise. They’re they’re open and welcome to listen to us. But our touchpoint is events, uh, meet people. Um, what I’m telling you now, like, I’m sure you have listeners who might be interested in government contracting. We, uh, word of mouth. We have a lot of testimonials. Clients who work in the past who continue to give us testimonials, and someone who’s worked with us always have a good thing. Have to say.

Stone Payton: [00:14:43] Doing great work is a marvelous sales tool, isn’t it?

Dr. Nazeera Dawood: [00:14:46] Yes.

Dr. Nazeera Dawood: [00:14:48] So we realized, yes.

Stone Payton: [00:14:49] So it strikes me, and this may or may not be the case that that once you get that first one, even if it’s a relatively small government contract, now you got a little bit of track record under you. In the next one comes a little easier. Is that accurate?

Dr. Nazeera Dawood: [00:15:04] Uh, so, um, here’s I can give you two scenarios. Many cases can be it can be any case. Right. Basically you want even a single SEO firm to do business with the government. Right. And how do they do it? So what we do is we coach them to build their paperwork and documentation and, and and the company profile well documented if they need any certifications like minority or women owned or even the federal level, it is called GSA. And I don’t want to throw so many acronyms there at a program. We assist them through that entire process. Right. And certification is not begin all, end all. It is I would call it as a brownie point, right? It adds it adds few points, but doesn’t mean if you don’t have a certification, you’re not going to be in a contract. All you have to because this is you’re the you’re opening the window to the reviewers who don’t know anything about you or your company, and they’re just reading your documentation to say whether you’re a fit company to work with them or not. So it has to be very strong. Why are you unique? Why are you selling this service? How can you respond to what the government is asking? So for that you have your information has to be very, um, readable or presentable and executable and your pricing, you know, so all these, all these makes a difference because those who are reviewing are not in your field. All they know is the story that you’re telling them why you started the company, what can you do for them, and how long you can take to do for them. It’s going to help them decide whether you are the best fit for them, but for that you have to continue to play the game.

Stone Payton: [00:16:44] I can see so many ways where your council would impact this process, or even make it a plausible dream for a company like ours. Everything from how to price it, how to articulate it, how to find out where the opportunities are. And, you know, maybe there may be certifications that would serve us well. And you’re tapped into that world, too. In fact, I don’t think I’m talking out of school. Before we came on air, you had to field a call from, uh, Greater Women’s Business Council, right? Like, so you’re you’re tapped into that certification world. So, you know, if it’s something to pursue or. Yeah.

Dr. Nazeera Dawood: [00:17:19] Definitely. And like I said, one of the examples I wanted to give was one company that just opened zero days old, but came with great capabilities within their team members. They worked with us within a within a year they were able to back two projects. So what you talked about track record, you have to start somewhere to set that track.

Dr. Nazeera Dawood: [00:17:41] Right.

Dr. Nazeera Dawood: [00:17:41] You can’t you can’t keep saying, I don’t have a track record, so I can’t be in business. So there are several strategies that you can follow to establish that track record. That’s when mentorship comes in to strategize with you, to build that strong foundation for many more years in the government sector.

Stone Payton: [00:17:56] Okay.

Stone Payton: [00:17:57] So let’s kind of go back to the work. And I’m particularly interested in the front end of the work. Someone listens to this conversation or meet you at one of these events and they at least want to explore is like, is the early step just sitting down with them and learning a little bit about what they’re trying to accomplish and the kind of work they might be capable of delivering? Well, walk us through kind of the front end of the engagement, if that’s the right word.

Dr. Nazeera Dawood: [00:18:20] So let’s say Stone, you are interested in learning more, right? Um, uh, what I would do is I would ask you to visit our website, which is w w w dot vendor ship dot net. That’s vendor ship, vendor ship dot net. And there are several pages with contact us. All you have to do is fill the form up. We will get the inquiry. Our team will reach out to you to schedule an intro call. Um, that intro call can be half an hour because we are exploring and discovering we’ve had we have had, uh, calls where we say, hey, your services. We don’t see anywhere government requiring your services. Right. So we would have that intro call with you to see what is it that you offer. We would tell you, hey, we’ve seen almost a thousand opportunities across us, uh, for what you need or for what government needs from you. If you if you plan to get into government sector. And then we would have that intro call and then provide you with the next steps.

Stone Payton: [00:19:18] I absolutely love it. All right. What’s the best way for people to connect with you? I think you may have just shared it. Tap into your work. Have that conversation. I just want to make sure that they have that we give them easy access to talk to you guys.

Dr. Nazeera Dawood: [00:19:32] Definitely. We do have a number, uh, (404) 982-4070. We have a great sales team members who will pick up the phone and talk to you and schedule that call. They can also email us at info. Info. Info at vendor ship dot net.

Stone Payton: [00:19:52] Well, Nazir, it has been an absolute delight having you on the show. You’re doing such important work. I appreciate you sharing your insight and your perspective. Thank you so much for joining us this afternoon.

Dr. Nazeera Dawood: [00:20:06] Thank you so much, Stone, for having us. If anyone is looking for that government contracting, our motto is remake Government contracting. Easy and don’t miss out your piece of the pie. So what I would say.

Speaker4: [00:20:17] Don’t I.

Stone Payton: [00:20:18] Love it? All right, until next time. This is Stone Payton for our guest today, Doctor Nazir Dawood with Vendor Ship Inc and everyone here at the Business RadioX family saying we’ll see you in the fast lane.