RHetoric

Last night I watched the State of the Union address and thought about how our firm has been impacted by the events of the past year.  Without going on any political tangents, I have to say that I am pleasantly surprised at how we fared this past year, and am optimistic that this year is shaping up to be a great one.

Our business has definitely benefited from the spending in Washington, mostly because our clients either sell to the government, or their markets are heavily influenced by government spending.  This is exemplified by two clients, Onvia and GCI. Both these businesses have positioned themselves to benefit from the stimulus bill (ARRA).  For Onvia, itlaunched recovery.org, a web site tracking the distribution of stimulus dollars.  For GCI, it applied for and won a grant/loan to build terrestrial broadband in rural Alaska.

So on this day I can report that the State of Our Business is strong and we are very optimistic for things to come.  We have new projects in the pipeline and are looking to bring on two new employees.

I am still have my fingers crossed that the recovery continues in its current path, while keeping an eye toward growth and success in 2010.

If you do business with the government, and 2009 was decent for your business, get ready for a blockbuster 2010.  Because of the delayed effect of the stimulus, 2010 will introduce us to the businesses that will lead the government market into the coming decade.

That is because most of the stimulus money has not even found its way through the labyrinth of red tape that exists between the passage of the Recovery Act early this year, and the actual awarding of contracts to prime and subcontractors in cities and towns across America.

We know this because our client, Onvia, is tracking this stuff closely - more closely than even the federal government itself.  When the administration proclaimed the stimulus had created or saved hundreds of thousands of jobs already, the analysts at Onvia were wondering how that could be possible given that much of the stimulus had not left Washington - and the money that had was still a long way from reaching the contractors that actually crate or save the jobs.

Democrats and Republicans in Congress have really gone after the administration on this point.  It makes for tantalizing news stories - but the good news for businesses in the government space is that 2010 is where it’s at.

So now is the time to get ready.  Get your competitive messaging down, make your brand more relevant to the times, enhance your web site with simple video and social media tools, get your customer testimonials in place, start talking to reporters and bloggers about your offering, and equip your salesforce with good research tools.

If you wait until January or February you will be playing catch-up in a furiously competitive - and potentially lucrative - market.