Special Guest Expert - Amy Reese: Video automatically transcribed by Sonix

Special Guest Expert - Amy Reese: this mp4 video file was automatically transcribed by Sonix with the best speech-to-text algorithms. This transcript may contain errors.

Brigitta Hoeferle:
Here's the big question. How is it that most entrepreneurs hustle and are always busy and struggle to take just one step forward, only to fall two steps back? They're dedicated, determined and driven, but only if you finally break through and win. This show uncovers those quantum leap patterns of highly successful people so you can simply model what they do and apply to your future success. That's the question. And the answers are right here. My name is Brigitta Hoeferle and this is the Success Patterns Show. That is right. Happy Tuesday, everyone. I'm so excited and honored to be here yet again with you on this Tuesday for the Success Patterns Show where we put the do in learn, do teach. My name is Brigitta Hoeferle. I am the CEO of the Center of NLP and the founder of the Success Pattern Movement. And honestly, this show was designed with your success in mind. So I sure hope that you have something to write with and something to write on because you are going to want to take notes. We have as every Tuesday an incredible guest expert and she is going to bring you nuggets. Why do I say that? I know her personally. I have learned a lot from her. I've gone through her certification process. But before I bring her on, it is it is all the success is all about the quality and our attitude, the quality of our communication, the attitude towards the word success, whatever that means to you, because it's an interesting thing, the success thing. It shapes its meaning within each individual success seeker and it doesn't have any limitations to personal life or business life. It is modeled. Success is modeled in patterns, strategies and behavior. And if you I'm pretty sure a lot of you guys know Anthony Robbins or Tony Robbins, and he's known for saying that success leaves clues. And I say success comes in patterns. And within this show, we are decoding these patterns that led to the success of our guest experts so you can then encode it and then apply it in your own life so you can have success starting right now. As humans, we are hard wired for hands on applications by a living teachers.

Brigitta Hoeferle:
We're not theoreticians because they just kind of talk a good game. Here are grandmasters at work and we're going to give you tips on how to model success. So pay close attention. We have a great show today. We are going to give you some insights in why the federal and corporate marketplace is under tapped. And this person, our guest expert today, is helping businesses scale and grow. She's an a multiple award winning business growth strategist. She's the CEO of a r C business solution. She's a certified woman owned business, and she's operating a consulting firm that helps businesses grow by securing contracts with the federal government and major corporations. Hello, this is you. You better get something to write right now. A r C helps businesses obtain relevant certifications that will enable them to win, and her company provides these resources and instructions that are needed. So you can embark on the on starting on these certifications and gather those certifications and have those certifications so you can then grow. Now, she didn't just, you know, fall onto this earth out of nowhere. She has had incredible success over 20 years as a corporate executive working with leaders of major corporations and government agencies. And now she is leveraging her resources and expertise in strategic sales, collaborations and relationships, and she's developing them so you benefit from them. So without further ado, we have incredible show. As I already said, Please, please, please help me welcome Miss Amy Reese of RC Business Solutions. Amy, it's so great to have you here. Thank you for.

Amy Reese:
Coming. So good to be here. Wonderful.

Brigitta Hoeferle:
Oh, my goodness. So, Amy, there's so many questions and I want to start out with the first question that kind of already was in the introduction. You help businesses get get certifications, what kind of certifications.

Amy Reese:
You name it. So we help them. We started originally, it's crazy to say it's been seven years since we first launched, but we originally started with your basic certifications and our target were women. So our main certification service that we provide is the woman on small business certification. We provide the technical assistance to for our clients, of course, as administered through the SBA. We also do minority or NHB certifications for those who want to compete in the corporate marketplace. Hub zone. We just became a technical assistance partner for a certification. We have a lot of veteran clients, so maybe about four years ago we we rolled out our veteran veteran certification that's in partnership with the VA, which is now going to be under the SBA. And also we do hub zone as well. So and also DB certification. So really any of the certifications that can help a small business owner take their business to the next level. It all depends on what marketplace they want to compete in. It depends on their product or service. And that point, we're able to kind of guide them on what certifications are best for them.

Brigitta Hoeferle:
Yeah, so amazing. And you have said many letters put together that a lot of people are probably going to go, you know, you know, when you when you play a funny sound for a dog and a dog goes, Huh. Sba Hub zone w w OSP. What? What does all of that mean?

Amy Reese:
Okay, bad habit of mind. Okay, so the w OSB is the woman owned small business certification. The m B is the minority business enterprise certification. That's if you're interested in competing and winning contracts and opportunities. And with major corporations, there is the hub zone, which is the historically underutilized business certification as primarily if your business is a brick and mortar and you operate in an underutilized or hub zone, the v o SB or the veteran owned small business certification, the SD bos v SB, which is the service disabled, there's the economically disadvantaged women own small businesses. The ed OSB. Oh gosh, the DBE, which is the disadvantaged business enterprise. And again, all of these are the eight A and the eight A is literally just that. That's a business development certification. I call it the granddaddy of them all. That's through the SBA, which is the Small Business Administration, which is it's a government agency that our taxpayer dollars prop that up. And so if you're a small business and you're not familiar with the SBA, you should be there are a lot of resources and tools that they put out there. But so we handle a lot of them. And again, it just really depends on what you're selling and who you want to sell it to. And that's how we help you determine the best certification that suits your growth strategy.

Brigitta Hoeferle:
Amazing. Why? So I am a woman owned small business. I know many women that are business owners that have asked me. So, Brigitta, why would you want to be a woman, own small business? Or some of them go, Oh, I didn't even know that was a thing. Why is it a good thing? Why is it an incredible great idea to have any of these certifications that you just talked about?

Amy Reese:
Well, okay, So let me let me roll it back a little bit. So why? Because if you are truly running a woman owned, if you are a woman or if you are a minority or if you are a veteran, then there are opportunities that set aside contracting opportunities that are set aside just for business owners that identify as those categories. And so the reason why those those programs were put in place many years ago by our government is because they knew that that was that was a population of business owners, a demographic that was generally underserved, overlooked when it comes to opportunities to win contracts, primarily in the federal space. You know, these companies, a lot of small businesses, they their lives are changed. The owners and the employees of those companies are changed when they win these multimillion dollar contracts. And so the federal government recognized, though, that there was inequity in those spaces because most of most of the contracts were going to the traditional, you know, male, you know, non-minority male company. Right. And so that would be the the majority of those contracts. And so the federal government understands that. In addition to that, you know, when you think about how much money the federal government spends, it literally is the world's largest purchaser of goods and services. There is no entity on the face of the earth that buys more than our federal government. And they have a duty to make sure that they provide equal access. And so one of the ways that they do that is by putting in place. Again, many years ago, they put in place a law or law that says that a certain percentage of their spend, which is on average about $1.1 trillion, that's what the T. So 23% of that money that spent in the federal marketplace is supposed to go to small businesses. Well, that's about $254 Billion, but less than.

Brigitta Hoeferle:
Was a B.

Amy Reese:
With a B, right. So but less than 1% compete in the marketplace because they don't understand it. They think it's a it is it's overwhelming. It is a little bit confusing. And a lot of business owners are intimidated by it. So, you know, the reason why we we are here is to help small businesses be able to understand that there is tremendous opportunity in the space and there are set asides just for those types of companies. But if you don't have those certifications, you can't leverage that access and it's a game changer if you use it the right way.

Brigitta Hoeferle:
So you're saying if if a if a woman owned or a minority owned or veteran owned, truly veteran owned woman, known minority owned business does not have that certification. They can't play they cannot bid in that same in that same market. Right. So you're you're giving the disadvantaged I'm going to just say it as it is. You're giving the disadvantage an advantage.

Amy Reese:
Absolutely. Yeah. I mean and absolutely if if the disadvantage utilizes what's been put into place. Right. So, you know, even the current administration in December, this past December, he he signed an additional executive order to to for even more greater set aside for disadvantage in minority businesses. Listen But still less than 1% compete in the marketplace. And so, again, a lot of it has to do with readiness, understanding and, you know, making sure that you're really, really able and showing up well in the space. So there's a lot to it other other than just, you know, getting certified, right. I mean, so we do that, but there's a lot to this process. And so really we're hard is to be able to teach small businesses or small business owners how to really show up in this space so they can show it well, so they can build up their capabilities. We practice what we preach. So the same strategies that we have used that I use when I was 20 something years in corporate and was a part of, you know, multimillion dollar sales teams where we created strategic and cultivated those strategic partnerships with multi million dollar organizations. I do it with my company. That's how we were able to grow. It feels like a dream sometimes. How quickly? But I use a lot of those, the same skill set. So I'm literally just I practice what I preach and what I tell small business owners is exactly what I have done and what I still do in order to continue to scale my own company.

Brigitta Hoeferle:
Yeah, So you, you, you literally practice what you preach. And like I said earlier, we're we're they're not theoreticians here at work. We're grand masters. And you have you have identified a market and it sounds like not just logically but out of passion there's a there's a certain passion. And, you know, Amy, you and I, we know each other per se. Marlene. We've met many, many years ago and our past continue to cross because you also help our company. So where does that passion, where does that drive? Where does that hunger come from?

Amy Reese:
Ooh, girl, that's a loaded question. Don't get me started today. You know, we only have 30 minutes for Gina. No wonder you had to ask me that. Listen, I am a firm believer. You know, I. I was let here. Let's just put it that way. Through a series of events, you know, more than seven years ago, back before I even left corporate America, I felt like I was starting to be dealt with in terms of my my next path in life. Right. And so about a year before I left corporate America, I had started kind of wrestling with, you know, my own legacy and what I wanted to continue to do. And although I really love what I did, I love the company that I work for, I made them a whole lot of money. I did very well. And I said that even before I left, probably two or three years before I left, that I'm going to retire doing that because that's how much I loved it. But, you know, I was led in a different direction. And I believe that I'm here for for a reason. And really, when I first started, I really was not going to be working with small businesses. Ask Business Solutions was not originally originally going to be doing this. It was my goal was to continue to work with large corporations. I have a really deep role of Rolodex of high level individuals that the company that I work for before I've developed some really deep relationships. And my goal was to continue to do that on a consulting basis and continue to consult with those people and to do it under my own entity as opposed to the company that I was working with. And God just said, No, we're going to put you over here and utilize your skill set to impact the small business space. And I can't you know, when I when I was first led in that direction, it became more and more clear what I was supposed to be doing. I thought, what in the world like that is not even something. But I absolutely love it because what I've learned since I've been in this space is that, you know, people don't know what they don't know.

Amy Reese:
And you could be a great electrician or you could be a great, you know, landscaper or I.T. person. But what you may not know is you don't you may not know sales strategy. You don't know how to how to uncover the corporate structure so that you can, you know, make the right connections with these companies. You don't know how to craft maybe an effective email for great. There is a lot to owning a business than just the product itself. To really scale your company, you've got to have a particular skill set. And most most small business owners don't have that. And I was very blessed to be able to spend 20 something years cultivating and honing those skill sets that that I've been able to personally use with my own entity. But now I can transfer that information to my to our clients, which is what I really love, because I love to see like the deer in the headlights, you know, the light bulb going off so people can really understand that if I did it, you can do it too.

Brigitta Hoeferle:
Oh, you know what? And that's the that is the true and most fundamental explanation of expert modeling. If if one person can do it, anyone can.

Amy Reese:
That's right.

Brigitta Hoeferle:
Yeah. Many years ago, I received a T-shirt from you, and I still love wearing it, although it's starting literally to fall apart. I know.

Amy Reese:
Yeah. The sound of the. I have another one, though. I have. I have this one now. I need to get you one.

Brigitta Hoeferle:
What does it say? Lead. Lead women.

Amy Reese:
I lead a lead. A certified woman on business.

Brigitta Hoeferle:
Okay, I want that. So? So share with everyone else. So the other t shirt that I was referring to is scatter the 1% chatter.

Amy Reese:
Yeah, the chatter.

Brigitta Hoeferle:
Of course. Yeah. Chatter. I'm scattered, but we chatter. Why shatter the 1%? Tell us more about that.

Amy Reese:
Yeah well and we're still shattering the 1% seven years later because. Okay what did that mean Which is really profound to me. So less than I mentioned that less than 1% of small business owners compete in the federal marketplace. Less so just kind of wrap your head around that.

Brigitta Hoeferle:
Again.

Amy Reese:
Less than 1%, right? So if I just said that the government spends $1.1 trillion and that's just the government, we know major corporations have supplier diversity initiatives. They spend tens of hundreds of millions of dollars, too, in their vendor programs. Right. But just for the sake of this conversation, we're talking federal government. So they spend federal government, our taxpayer dollars $1.1 trillion or more every year. 23% by law has to be set aside for small businesses who want to want to do business with the federal government through one of its many agencies. Right. So that is about $254 billion a year, billion that is set aside just for small businesses. So if you think about that, and then to hear that less than 1% compete in this space and the reason why that number, that percentage hasn't really moved is because we keep launching businesses, right? So we keep launching businesses, which is great. But really, if you think about it, the majority of those small businesses that launched, they don't survive because they don't scale. Right. And so I think that when a small business, when you launch with intention, like for I'll give you an example, I have a client, I have a couple of clients, but this is one in particular. We became they became our client in March of 2020. It was around that time, it was around COVID. They had just launched their company at the end of December, end of 2019. So brand new 2020 was their first was their first year. We completed their certification, they did their veteran certification and the woman owned certification. And last year in 2021, they grossed really their first year out of the gate, 864,000 in revenue in one year. And that was one contract, one contract, one just.

Brigitta Hoeferle:
Out of one contract.

Amy Reese:
One contract. And so, you know, the thing that I want people to understand, but that company launched with, they knew that the only marketplace they wanted to compete in was the federal space. That was how that was why they launched. And so instead of competing in the general marketplace where everyone else competes, right, where 99% of other other businesses compete, what I tell people is if you're intentional about your growth strategy and you're willing to do the work because this is not a part of the end of the rainbow, I always tell I don't I hate it when people think that they can just get certified and just show up and don't do anything else. Their strategy to this. But if you're intentional with your strategy from the very beginning, it's a game changer if you do it the right way. So, you know, so so the shout of the 1% is my goal when we launched seven years ago was to say more than 1% competes in the federal space. We want to shatter that 1%. We want it to be 10%. We want it to be 20%. We want as many businesses as willing to to compete and to stretch themselves in a different marketplace outside of what they're used to. And that can be whether the federal space or the corporate space. But that's the reason why you kind of want to be intentional. Who do you want to what are you selling and who do you want to sell to? Right. Because I personally believe because of my background, I'm not a one to Z person. I don't I don't do well in the general marketplace. I, I didn't I didn't really work in the in the general marketplace for 20 something years. My clients were always other other businesses. So it was B to B or B to G, We did we had I had relationships with with city government and state government that we cultivated. And so I know what that looks like. I know what it looks like to go after the big stuff as opposed to going after the little stuff. And I'm going to tell you something. You work just as hard going after the onesie twosies as you do, being more intentional in going after the larger opportunities.

Brigitta Hoeferle:
So so the message that you're sending here is leverage by being certified, leverage your time, Leverage, Leverage your resources by being certified.

Amy Reese:
Yes, being certified and then knowing how to utilize the certification, utilizing the strategies in our workshops and some of our other resources so that you can really know what you're doing. Right. Because it's one thing to get certified and to to be in the marketplace, but you've got to know how you're showing up. You've got to be intentional about how you're showing up so that these procurement officers that's awarding the contracts, they know that they don't think you're just playing around. Are you running a side hustle or you're not taking it seriously? So there's a lot to this. But yes, being intentional about which marketplace you want to compete in leveraging those certifications, they're there for a reason. And also doing the work. I'm a big proponent. You know, faith without works is dead. You got to work. And I think a lot of people, you know, sometimes, you know, we just kind of we wanted to just fall in our lap and that's not how it works, preaching that work. So. Yeah, yeah.

Brigitta Hoeferle:
Yeah, yeah. What's the a lot of people get into business not knowing what's what what business really is. And they're like, Oh, I'll just write a grant. Tell us more about tell us more about writing a grant versus truly being certified and then using that certification to bid for contracts.

Amy Reese:
Right? So grant writing is totally different from bidding for contracts, right? A grant writer is is someone who actually when when you decide that you want to compete for a particular contract, it's depending on the contract because there are some contracts, $250,000 or less. There is no bidding. They just have to find you. So that's that. But let's just go. Let's talk about the multimillion dollar contracts. Right. So you come across a contract, your capabilities, you've built up your capabilities, you've done some taming already. So you're ready now to compete on your own and be a prime, Right? So now you need to you need to answer the request for proposal, which is what's put out there. When they're when the government says we're looking for, I don't know, a million widgets or we we need this class talk for the next two years or we need this software. And so whatever it is that you are selling or they're buying, right? So once that is put out there, then you're going to answer the bid. And a grant writer is the one who actually writes the they write the proposal. So as a grant writer, they're really not writing a grant. Now, there are grant writers on the nonprofit side, so whether you are nonprofit or whether you're a for profit, it's all the federal space, right? But it's a grant primarily when you're nonprofit, although there are some grants that that for profits can qualify for as well. But but usually it's a language thing. So so 99% of the time, if it's a grant you a nonprofit seeking a grant, that means that they'll pay you up front and then you deliver whatever it is that they want. If it's a contract that you're going after, that means you are for profit. And it is you do the work first and then the government pays you. So it's the same system. It's just different lingo. And writing a grant or writing a proposal is very different. And it can be and it can. It is not one of those things that's not for the faint at heart. Right? You've got to you've got to really know what you're doing.

Amy Reese:
But that is really not a part of my initial strategy. When we talk about starting from the foundation, I teach the strategy of teaming because because there is so much power and there is so much opportunity in teaming. And it allows you to be able to build up your capabilities, get familiar with it, so that then you can go and fly solo if you want to. So it's a lot to the space, but definitely go for the teaming opportunities or the joint ventures or the subcontracting opportunities and be there for show up. Well, there first, get some contract, work through that first and then you'll be able to you're better prepared to actually go after those larger solo prime contracts and the tens of millions of dollars.

Brigitta Hoeferle:
There's so much information that you give in such short time. If you would think of all of the habits and rituals and strategies that you have, what would you? And we might want to go like way to the beginning of the beginning of your career. What would you say is one of the rituals or habits or strategies that has kind of led you along the way?

Amy Reese:
Oh, I mean, I say it all the time just being intentional. Like I you know, you know, when you say you're going to do something, do it right. And doing it is an action word. It is not a hope and of wishing and thinking, right? It is. It is literally, you've got to do something every single day. So whatever that looks like. I mentor a lot of women through different organizations. And it really there is no secret sauce. Raghida It is work and you've got to be intentional and you've got to, you've got it and you've got to believe that what you're and believe in what you're doing, which is one reason why, you know, when people ask me, Oh, well, what kind of stuff does the federal government or the corporations, you know, would they need? And because I'll just launch a business around that, I don't think that that's a good idea. And I'm going to tell you something. Procurement officers don't like the idea of people launching just just to offer something that they use. Now, look, I know that there are people who will tell you otherwise. And I'm not, though, because I believe that if you are really going to be putting your heart and soul into something and you really want to be working at it and you you want to you're going to want to, which means it needs to be something that you love to do. That has to be a part of like what you're made of. I this is I'm here because this is how I was made. I was made to I've been a teacher, really, without even knowing since I.

Brigitta Hoeferle:
Was probably.

Amy Reese:
A little girl bossing my sisters around. You know what I mean? So I didn't you know, it's funny how how things kind of we just kind of become who we were created to be if we're intentional about it. But yeah, no secret sauce. Work hard, have a strategy and work every single day. That's what I've been doing. I haven't stopped.

Brigitta Hoeferle:
There's and what I said earlier, there's a there's a very specific purpose within you. And when you are so purpose driven and when you're leading your company with that kind of purpose, it shows. You cannot not see it and you cannot not feel it right. It just kind of just oozes. And that's what Aimee Rees and RC stands for. Now, Amy, I know that you came and brought a gift for our listeners. What did you bring?

Amy Reese:
So, yeah, we have a complimentary consultation. Go ahead and reach out to us. You can go on w w w dot rc answers. That's ask.com and scroll down schedule. A 30 minute consultation is complimentary and I'll be more than happy to to talk to you about what you do, what product or service you offer, which is the right marketplace. And I will tell I will tell you the truth, if it's not something that I feel like is leveraged an either or, maybe it's more advantageous in one marketplace over the other, then I'll tell you. But yeah, that's that's what I offer and it's always my pleasure to do that. So definitely you can go on the website and schedule with me and I'll be more than happy to help you kind of work through your strategy and kind of have a high level overview or blueprint, I guess, of what your what your roadmap should look like.

Brigitta Hoeferle:
A rc answers dot com a RC answers dot com. Guys go there, get your 30 minutes. You're going to love it. I mean, you got a taste of Amy Rice right here and we can go on and on and on because we have literally just scratched the surface. So Amy you're going to come back on the show? Of course. I cannot stress enough. You guys go and get your your RC answers dot com 30 minute consultation booked. Get it done. Get with Amy. Find her. Amy, we we have your Facebook right here. Get in touch with with ask business solutions on Facebook. So Facebook dot com slash a r C business solutions and also on LinkedIn RC business solutions. That's where folks can also find you find her connect with her, build a relationship with Amy. And this is not just for our Atlanta people. This is throughout the United States.

Amy Reese:
Oh, for sure. Yeah. We've literally got clients from New York to New Mexico, so it doesn't matter where you're located.

Brigitta Hoeferle:
Yeah. Fantastic. Amy, thanks for being on. And guys, tune in again. Get with Amy. Tune in again next week, same time, same place here at the Success Patterns Show. Thanks. Amy Ciao, everyone. Hi. Thank you for tuning in to the Success Patterns show at www.TheSuccessPatternsshow.com My name is Brigitta Hoeferle.

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