Atlanta Public Schools—Roofing replacement — three campuses·~$1.5M–$2M·DBE encouraged·CLOSES JUL 15GDOT—Sidewalk & ADA ramp installation·~$400K–$650K·Small business set-aside·CLOSES JUN 30City of Alpharetta—Municipal facility interior renovation·~$250K–$400K·EBO/SBO eligible·CLOSES JUL 8U.S. GSA—Federal building HVAC modernization·~$1M–$1.4M·8(a) set-aside·CLOSES AUG 1MARTA—Station concrete repair & waterproofing·~$600K–$900K·DBE goal 18%·CLOSES JUL 22Fulton County—Parks restroom & shelter construction·~$300K–$500K·Local small business·CLOSES JUL 12Rolling Opportunities — Updated Weekly · Members Get The Links
Atlanta Public Schools—Roofing replacement — three campuses·~$1.5M–$2M·DBE encouraged·CLOSES JUL 15GDOT—Sidewalk & ADA ramp installation·~$400K–$650K·Small business set-aside·CLOSES JUN 30City of Alpharetta—Municipal facility interior renovation·~$250K–$400K·EBO/SBO eligible·CLOSES JUL 8U.S. GSA—Federal building HVAC modernization·~$1M–$1.4M·8(a) set-aside·CLOSES AUG 1MARTA—Station concrete repair & waterproofing·~$600K–$900K·DBE goal 18%·CLOSES JUL 22Fulton County—Parks restroom & shelter construction·~$300K–$500K·Local small business·CLOSES JUL 12Rolling Opportunities — Updated Weekly · Members Get The Links
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Where Contractors Go Broke

The quiet mistakes that end good businesses.

2 pieces in this section

Did you knowThe U.S. federal government spends over $200 billion a year on construction — and 25% of that is set-aside for qualifying businesses.Did you knowThe Prompt Payment Act requires federal agencies to pay contractors within 30 days. Interest accrues automatically after that.Did you knowEvery state issues its own DBE certification. Some honor reciprocity. Most don't.Did you knowSection 3 has been federal law since 1968. Most people who qualify have never heard of it.Did you knowInvoice factoring doesn't appear on a credit report. It's not a loan.Did you knowThe SBA runs a bond guarantee program for contractors who can't get bonded conventionally. Most applicants never apply.
Did you knowThe U.S. federal government spends over $200 billion a year on construction — and 25% of that is set-aside for qualifying businesses.Did you knowThe Prompt Payment Act requires federal agencies to pay contractors within 30 days. Interest accrues automatically after that.Did you knowEvery state issues its own DBE certification. Some honor reciprocity. Most don't.Did you knowSection 3 has been federal law since 1968. Most people who qualify have never heard of it.Did you knowInvoice factoring doesn't appear on a credit report. It's not a loan.Did you knowThe SBA runs a bond guarantee program for contractors who can't get bonded conventionally. Most applicants never apply.
12

The Lowest Bid Trap

A new contractor wins their first government bid. The award letter feels like a milestone. Sometimes it is. Sometimes it's a warning sign hiding in plain sight.

If a bid wins because it's significantly lower than all the others, the contractor may not have priced the work correctly. The agency picks the bid because the rules require them to. The contractor performs the work at a loss — sometimes a small one, sometimes catastrophic — and learns the lesson the expensive way.

The difference between a winning bid and a winning profitable bid lives in line items most new contractors don't know to include: overhead allocation, contingencies, compliance costs, retention timing.

Want to know the exact line items new contractors leave out — and the math for pricing public-sector work correctly? Members get the estimating framework.
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13

The Change Order Leak

On any construction project, the scope of work changes. New conditions get discovered. The owner changes their mind. A subcontractor surfaces a real problem. These changes cost money, and the contractor performs the additional work.

The question is whether the contractor gets paid for it.

A change order is the document that authorizes additional work outside the original contract scope and obligates the owner to pay for it. Without one, the contractor has done extra work for free. With one — properly documented, properly priced, properly signed — the contractor preserves their margin.

Most contractors who lose money on government work lose it through changes that never got documented as change orders.

Want the exact change-order workflow that keeps margins intact on public-sector work? Members get the documentation system.
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