As Sponsored Content, this article provides perspectives from contributing experts to help readers stay informed about current trends and opportunities. This Sponsored Content is written by Jason Whetsell, a public sector procurement expert with more than 20 years in product management and organizational design.
Small government contractors are facing a double hit: fading set-aside protections and new contract vehicle mandates. Together, these shifts threaten their foothold in federal contracting and create a new window of opportunity for well-resourced players to enter the market.
Well‑resourced firms can leapfrog competitors if they mobilize now.
Small business edge is fading
Small firms once had an edge, with sole source awards, limited competitions and set‑asides. Today, that edge is eroding.
- The Rule of Two — requiring work to be set aside for small firms when at least two can deliver at a fair price — is under review in the “Revolutionary FAR Overhaul.” If narrowed or eliminated, small firms lose one of their most consistent paths to awards.
- The Small Business Administration’s (SBA) 8(a) program, a nine‑year track with set‑aside and sole source opportunities, is also under legal and policy scrutiny. No one knows how long it will last.
The government won’t abandon small business entirely. But buying culture is shifting — cost savings and measurable results now matter more than small business preferences.
Big companies can be small too
In federal terms, “small business” can still be relatively big. The SBA maintains a table of size standards that vary by industry. Small is either:
- $8–$47 million in average annual revenue across 5 years, or
- 100–1,500 employees.
That means many well‑resourced firms still qualify as small — and can pursue federal growth.
Contract vehicles are the new ticket in
For two decades, agencies have nudged buyers toward government‑wide contract vehicles. Now, they’re making it mandatory. A recent Office of Management and Budget (OMB) memo — and GSA’s growing control of federal contracting — means the shift is rolling out fast.
Think of a contract vehicle like an amusement park fast pass. It’s an unfunded contract that gets you into the pool of approved vendors. Once you’re in, you compete for specific work with less red tape and faster timelines.
The mandate is already in effect at some agencies, with more adopting each month. By 2026, it will likely apply across government.
Many small firms can’t absorb the cost and effort to get on these vehicles, especially alongside other regulatory hits and contract cuts. For firms eyeing federal growth, vehicles aren’t optional — they’re the entry ticket.
How to get a contract vehicle
The fastest path to securing a federal contract vehicle is the GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS), which stays open for applications year‑round.
Approval isn’t quick. It takes 6 to 18 months depending on how prepared you are. Delay, and you risk missing the window as more agencies shift to vehicles. The steps involved are outlined in GSA’s MAS Roadmap. It’s deliberately compliance-heavy, and not a skill worth building internally. For this reason, most firms hire compliance specialists to get the paperwork right and accelerate the process. But good paperwork isn’t the same as strategic clarity.
When pursuing a contract vehicle, or any federal opportunity for that matter, it helps to have an experienced guide to navigate inconsistent contracting officer processes and personalities, handle negotiations with tact and protect leadership time from being consumed by process.
Why most firms give up
Compliance specialists get you in the door with contract vehicles, but they don’t build federal momentum.
The federal market isn’t like commercial or state and local. What feels natural there gets lost in translation as you attempt to adapt your sales and marketing functions to the federal ecosystem.
Many firms dip a toe into federal and discover just how quickly the system drains capacity. Processes become a black box of paperwork, delays and shifting rules. Company energy gets pulled into compliance tasks instead of building the business.
Executives often say: We’d love to work with federal agencies, but the path is so complicated we can’t tell what leads to results. The recent pace of change only makes it harder. No single person or team can digest every regulatory update, shifting requirement and new procurement approach.
Without someone to simplify complexity into clear choices, companies chase the wrong vehicles, miss key signals and burn capacity. Too often, generic experts add noise instead of clarity. That’s why many give up — not because the market lacks potential, but because the system itself overwhelms without the right help.
What to do now
The buy-in for federal contracting is going up. Most companies will default to waiting — and that delay will cost them access. If you can afford the higher entry costs, act now.
Engage compliance-focused GSA Schedule partners but remember that’s only one piece. Pair them with a trusted guide who can cut through complexity and protect leadership bandwidth.
Invest early in a vehicle and the right guidance. Those who move now won’t just avoid being shut out — they’ll leapfrog incumbents as the system resets.
Photo by Alex Proimos from Sydney, Australia, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, from Wikimedia Commons
