Thinking about a New Year’s resolution for your business? Ever considered selling your products or services to the federal government?

The opportunities are vast and varied. As the U.S. Small Business Administration notes, the U.S. government is the world’s largest customer. It buys all types of products and services. Moreover, it’s required by law to provide opportunities for small businesses.

The two main categories of government contractors are prime contractors and subcontractors.

As a prime contractor, your company prepares proposals, submits required materials to the procuring government agency and manages the contract on your side. A subcontractor is a supporting member of your team, usually to meet a narrow need. The subcontractor often provides key contributions to your proposal.

Many government contracts involve teams rather than a single prime contractor. These teams often are structured as joint ventures and serve as the prime contractor. Government contracting personnel deal with the designated contact person for the team, not with individual team members.

A team might  be optional. Or the government solicitation could require a team.

To be a small business prime contractor or subcontractor, your business must be legally qualified as a small business in accordance with the criteria found on the SBA website at www.sba.gov and System for Award Management at www.SAM.gov. You also must register your business as a government contractor with SAM. Once qualified and verified, you can search for prime and subcontracting opportunities.

Completing the requirements — including the so called “ORCA” form on SAM — can be tedious. But it’s not difficult. You can complete the paperwork yourself, although many companies offer assistance at a significant cost.

What types of businesses sell products and services to the government? Do you fit into any of the categories?

Part of filling out the ORCA form includes identifying your North American Industry Classification System codes and ensuring you meet the small business size and revenue restrictions for each category. Don’t worry. The numbers are high.

You’ll notice there are a number of special categories for small businesses. Each of these categories has certain contracting opportunities set aside just for them.

Here are some of the main small business or other set aside categories:

Small business: This is the simplest category for which you can qualify. As long as you meet the size and revenue limits for a given NAICS code, you’re probably in.

Woman-owned small business (WOSB): The federal government strives to award at least 5 percent of federal contracting dollars to women-owned small businesses each year. There are additional qualification and verification criteria for this category. In some cases, you may self-certify. But in other cases, there’s a qualification process with associated paperwork. Within the WOSB category there’s a sub-category referred to as economically disadvantaged WOSB. There are additional criteria to obtain the EDWOSB qualification.

Service-disabled veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB): The federal government aims to award at least 3 percent of federal contracting dollars to SDVOSBs each year. Beginning in 2024, all SDVOSB set-aside contracts will require your status be vetted through the SBA and U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs.

Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) Zone program participants. If you own a qualified business in an SBA-designated HUBZone, you can take advantage of programs to encourage business opportunities and job growth. The HUBZone program fuels small business growth in historically underutilized business zones with a goal of awarding at least 3 percent of federal contract dollars to HUBZone-certified companies each year.

Minority owned business: There’s no special set aside at the federal level for minority owned businesses. But most states, including Colorado, and many cities offer programs.

The best place to learn more about small business categories and contracting opportunities is the SBA website. In addition, Small Business Development Centers, including the center at the Business Incubator Center in Grand Junction, and federal Procurement Technical Assistance Centers offer help. For more information, log on to https://grandjunctionsbdc.org and https:coloradoptac.org.