Agent of Wealth Episode 71 – Health is Wealth: How to Eat for Energy with Caryn O’Sullivan

The government spends billions of dollars each year on goods and services, and by tapping into this vast marketplace, small businesses can secure lucrative deals, gain steady income and heightened visibility. In this episode of The Agent of Wealth Podcast, host Marc Bautis and guest Richard C. Howard dive deep into the world of government contracts.

As a career military acquisitions officer, Howard oversaw $82B+ in DoD contracts, and has advised and trained over 400 companies as a consultant. He’s the CEO of DoD Contract – which guides, trains, and mentors small business owners and sales executives through the government sales process – and the host of DoD Contract Academy Podcast.

In this episode, you will learn:

The benefits of selling to the US government as a small business.
How small businesses can find opportunities to sell their products or services to the government.
How small businesses can stand out in the government procurement process.
How small businesses and startups can utilize the Small Business Innovation Research Program.
And more!

Resources:

Disclosure: The transcript below has been lightly edited for clarity and content. It is not a direct transcription of the full conversation, which can be listened to above.

Welcome back to The Agent of Wealth. This is your host, Marc Bautis. I’m joined by a guest for today’s episode, Richard C. Howard. Richard is a leading authority on US federal government contracts. As a career military acquisitions officer, he oversaw $82B+ in DoD contracts, and has advised and trained over 400 companies as a consultant. Richard is the CEO of DoD Contract, which guides, trains, and mentors small business owners and sales executives through the government sales process.

Richard is the host of the DoD Contract Academy Podcast, and speaks extensively on the nuance of federal contracting strategy. Richard, welcome to the show.

Thanks for having me on, Marc.

I don’t think people even realize that government contracts are out there. Can you start off by explaining this market size, and some of the benefits of selling to the government as a small business?

The Benefits of Selling to The US Government as a Small Business

The US government is the single biggest purchaser of goods and services in the world. When people think about government spending, most immediately think of big defense contractors. But in reality, the government buys just about anything you could think of – from defense and weapon-related spending, to tai chi instruction, to commodities, to food. Think about it like this: Every military base is basically a small town, or city in some cases. All of the infrastructure that goes into that town or city is paid for by the government. And they have a mandate to buy from small businesses.

So whether you’re in – cybersecurity, accounting, legal, you’re selling food, you have a franchise, you have a training business – the government is most likely buying in your area. It is very rare that I find an area where the government isn’t spending money, so the spending is vast.

The government has to buy from small businesses, yet less than half of 1% of US small businesses are actually participating in the government contracting process, despite the high spending levels.

Alright, so there’s a lot of opportunity here. How does a small business find the contracts?

How Small Businesses Can Find Opportunities to Sell to The Government

Because we’re talking about the government, there is a lot of regulation that exists to ensure there’s fairness and that the public can see what the government’s doing. So everything the government spends money on – with the exception of a couple classified contracting avenues – is public knowledge.

So, as a small business owner, you should ask, “Does the government buy what I sell?” To find your answer, go to a website like usaspending.gov and begin searching public records to find out what the government spends on.

Whatever you sell, it probably falls under something called a North American Industry Classification Code, or NAICS code. When you go into usaspending.gov, type in what you sell under NAICS – for example, accounting. The website will suggest different codes that you would fall under. You can click on that, and sort it by small business spending.

You can quickly see how much the government spends on small business contracts in your industry and area of focus.

Are these contracts location specific? Does it help if a business is located near a military base, for example, or does it not matter?

It depends on what you’re selling. By the way, government contracts certainly extend past the Department of Defense and military bases. There’s lots of different federal agencies that spend money.

Okay so once a business owner discovers how much the government is spending in their niche, what’s the next step?

Once you know that the government buys what you sell – if it’s local, they buy it in your state, or if not, you can work anywhere – the next step is to register your company. You can do that at sam.gov. That’s where all registering and most of the solicitations take place.

So when you go to sam.gov, you’ll find instructions on the screen for registering. Of course, you need to have a legal business in the United States, and come ready to register with your EIN number.

All in all, the process takes a couple weeks sometimes, but at the end of it you’ll get what they call a CAGE code and UEI number – these are federal identification numbers for your business. Once you have those, you can start bidding on contracts.

By bidding, do you mean writing proposals?

Yes.

How Small Businesses Can Stand Out in the Government Procurement Process

What can a small business do to separate themselves from the others trying to do the same thing?

Good question. This is really where most companies fail in selling to the government…

Once your business is registered through sam.gov, you will begin to see what’s called a request for proposal, or RFP. At that point, a business can begin writing a proposal. But, the government is very regulated in how they buy products and services.

For instance, if I saw an RFP come out that the government is looking to buy a $3 million landscaping contract for base X, I can’t just pick up the phone and talk to someone to get my questions about the contract answered. Now, if it’s a big contract, the government will answer most questions publicly through sam.gov. In those cases, you might get some answers that can inform your proposal.

But otherwise, you won’t be able to set up a meeting with a government worker. You won’t be able to develop a relationship…

So, before the RFP comes out, there’s something called the market research phase. Let’s say you’re a software developer, and the government is putting a command and control platform together, and you have a great user interface for that. Well, it’s during the market research phase that you can engage with the government if you really want to have a shot at landing the contract later on. Meaning, before the RFP comes out, we want to know who is doing the purchase, and we want to know the details of the opportunity ahead of time.

If you want to differentiate yourself from the rest of the herd, you want to look for things like a request for information or sources sought. When those come out, they’re squarely in the market research phase. At that point, you can set up a meeting with the government.

I recommend small businesses to respond to requests for information. They’ll answer questions like:

How long have you been in business?
Do you have past performance?
What do you think of the approach the government wants to take?

And, you’ll be able to suggest things. For instance, when you register your business, there are different certifications. Examples include:

Small business certification
Woman-owned small business certification
Disabled Veteran-owned small business certification

If you happen to have one of those certifications, you do have a leg up, because the government needs to set aside a specific percentage of contracts to those certified businesses.

But, back to the market research phase, you can actually recommend that the government lists the contract for a specific certified group. So, you’re helping the government write the solicitation, and you can give yourself a leg-up if you suggest a certification you have.

Okay, so you’re trying to influence the decision a little bit. Have you ever seen a case where a small business had a product or service that the government isn’t spending on, but they propose it to them?

Yeah, there are a couple of ways to do that. I would say if you take away one tip on selling to the government, it’s to get meetings and build relationships with the people that actually buy what you sell. There’s a lot of ways to do that, but mainly through research.

If your business sells a product or service that the government is not actively looking for, but you want to sell to the government, the government needs two things: A requirement, and funding.

The Small Business Innovation Research Program

If it’s an innovative solution of some kind, for example a patent, you can go after something called the Small Business Innovative Research Program, or SBIR. Any government agency that spends a certain amount of money in research and development has got to contribute to this program. So, the SBIR program spends about $4 billion a year on innovative research and development contracts with small businesses.

This is a way to basically propose your product or service to the government, because they have funding in the SBIR program. If the review panel thinks that what you have is innovative, and that it would achieve a government need, you can win one of those contracts.

Phase one of SBIR is kind of low dollar. Let’s say, for example, you’re creating a VR training system. In that case, phase one might just be a feasibility study. You might propose that the government uses a VR or augmented reality training system to help maintain or fix aircrafts, for instance. Well, that might resonate with the board. That first phase one event is probably going to be somewhere around $100,000-$150,000, which is small for government contracts.

But, what you’re really doing is:

You’re establishing past performance with the government, because now you have a contract.
They’re now going to help you find people in the government that would potentially sponsor you.

Now you can’t totally rely on the government SBIR office, you also need to put yourself out there to find a sponsor. If you find somebody willing to sponsor, but they don’t necessarily have to have money, they just sign a memorandum of understanding for you to go to phase two.

Phase two is to develop a prototype, or set up a demonstration. There could be a lot of different things that you’re recommending, but that’s the phase two piece.

The Small Business Innovative Research Program is really great for getting your feet wet. Even if you have a developed product but you’re modifying it for government use, that would also qualify for the program.

Going back to finding these opportunities, my father actually had a government contract through a larger corporation. He created a pellet that went into 50 caliber ammunition. He wouldn’t get the government contract himself, but General Dynamics or Olin would go through him to create this component of their contracts with the government. Are there opportunities like that out there?

Yes. That’s a really good point. There is a variety of ways the government can buy things from a small or large business owner. For example:

Contracts.
Subcontracting.
Sole source contracts.

As a business owner, you need to understand how the government is buying what you’re selling. That’s something that you can do pretty easily with the research tools the government offers.

Let’s say you own a company that is licensed to do HVAC. Over time, you’ve built a relationship with the government office that purchases contracts in construction. From that relationship, you learn that next year, Hanscom Air Force Base is going to be building an office building, and you have interest in installing the HVAC system. But, you aren’t able to take the full construction contract.

What I recommend you do is look through a website like usaspending.gov to see which construction companies have done that type of work with the government – illustrating past performance – and reach out to them about this upcoming opportunity. The fact that you’re bringing them this opportunity sweetened the pot for them to work with you, involving you in the project.

If you reach out to three companies like that, you’ll get at least one or two bites to form an agreement and go after a large contract together. That’s very helpful for a small business, because the big company can handle the proposal writing, and so on.

Artificial intelligence is all the rage right now. Do you see AI being used to uncover some of these opportunities, or to help small businesses in this process?

It’s interesting that you bring that up. Two of my recent episodes on the DoD Contract Academy Podcast were about AI in the government space.

One of them is called Govly, which uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to enable government contractors, OEMs, and distributors to accurately plan for government purchases years in advance

The other is called Rogue, which is an AI tool specifically designed to help businesses write proposals for government contracts. It kind of works like ChatGPT.

Business Financing and Government Contracts

What happens if a business needs financing to fulfill an order from the government?

First, it depends on the contract. If it’s a SBIR contract, where the business is developing something for the first time, then you can win the contract before you have to start development. But those are research and development contracts.

So let’s say you win a small services contract that involves employing 20 people. The small business will have to pay those individual employees before the government pays the small business. That’s because there’s about a 90 day turnaround time on invoicing to the government.

Now, there are certain financing houses set up specifically for government contractors. One thing to know is once you win that government contract, it’s one of the most secure contracts you’re going to have. So a lot of banks know they can count on the government paying the business.

That’s also one of the reasons companies go after government contracts – because it increases the value of your company.

Are Government Contracts Recession-Proof?

In addition to AI, the other thing that we’re constantly hearing about is this looming recession. At a high level, how is government spending compared to other industries?

Government spending is more stable. I always recommend that business owners – small or large – have one stream of income from commercial sales and another stream of income from government sector sales. The government is spending year over year, whether there’s a recession or not.

But I would say that the government experiences difficulties in different ways, and typically at different times.

Usually, if you have a three-year government contract, for example, you’ll receive that funding month over month. Now, there are times when the government shuts down, or when there is sequestration. The government can terminate a contract for convenience. But if they do, there are regulations to protect the companies that held the government contract.

That’s good. Well, we’re just about out of time. Richard, thank you for joining me today. You did a great job explaining how businesses can leverage government contracts as well as how to navigate the government procurement process. What’s the best way for our listeners to contact you or learn more about your advisory coaching services?

Your listeners can go to dodcontract.com to schedule a consultation. On the website, we also have courses available. And of course your listeners can check out my podcast, DoD Contract Academy, on whatever platform they like to listen on.

Great, we’ll link to those resources in the show notes. Thanks again, Richard. And thank you to everyone who tuned into today’s episode. Don’t forget to follow The Agent of Wealth on the platform you listen from and leave us a review on the show.

Schedule an Introductory Call

Did you know that only 9% of U.S. adults eat enough vegetables daily, and only 12% eat enough fruit? This data, according to the CDC, is shocking. But it’s why host Marc Bautis and John Williams brought Caryn O’Sullivan, a Clinical Nutrition expert and Integrative Clinical Health Coach, onto the show. O’Sullivan has spent the last 15 years helping people take charge of their health by digging deep to uncover the root of a variety of diagnoses and create balance through diet and lifestyle. Tune in as she reveals some of her top tips in this episode of The Agent of Wealth podcast.

In this episode, you will learn:

A brief overview of food and nutrition in the modern-day United States.
What integrative and functional nutrition is.
How to track progress and the benefit of keeping a food diary.
How to identify inflammation and other key indicators of disease.
And more!

This is the final installment in a six-part Agent of Wealth series, called “Health is Wealth.” Listen to the other episodes:

Resources:

Appetites for Life | Bautis Financial: (862) 205-5000

Welcome back to the Agent of Wealth, John, how are you?

Good. How are things with you, Marc?

Not bad. Today is the final episode of our Health is Wealth series, and we brought on a special guest; Caryn O’Sullivan. Caryn is a clinical nutritionist with a Master of Science in nutrition and integrative health from Maryland University of Integrative Health. She’s currently working toward her board certification as a nutrition specialist, which is the gold standard of professional certifications for advanced nutrition professionals. She also has 12 years of experience as a certified integrative nutrition health coach, and holds certifications in Chinese Dietary Therapy, Food Therapy and Food As Medicine. Caryn, welcome to the show.

Thank you very much. I’m excited to be here.

So, how did you get into nutrition? I know you have a master’s degree in it. Was it something that you started really getting into in school, or something you were passionate about early on?

Well, it definitely wasn’t in school. I actually first went to the University of Iowa for Journalism and Communications, with my heart set on getting into public relations. After I graduated, I moved to London, where I lived for a few years. I was around 23-years-old, living there, when my world got turned upside down.

I started experiencing a variety of health problems. I developed ringing in my ears and hearing loss — and nobody could determine what was wrong going. I went from doctor to doctor with no answers. So, long story short, I turned to alternative medicine. Acupuncture helped, but it was more so my acupuncturist, who suggested we take a look at my diet.

At the time, I was eating a standard American diet, focused on dairy, gluten, sugar and a lot of processed foods. To put it simply, I was not supporting my body in a nutritional way. So, I started making some dietary changes.

Over time, I felt so much better: both energy-wise and digestion-wise. Soon enough, I wanted to figure out why. So, I started reading about health and nutrition, which led me to become a certified health coach at the Institute of Integrative Nutrition. My journey has continued from there.

After I had two kids and got over the hump of being a mother to toddlers, I decided to dive in further. I wanted to learn more about the research and scientific side — clinical nutrition. Which is what I just recently completed my Master’s of Science in.

“My health — my poor health — is what led me to doing what I do now.”
Caryn O’Sullivan

Why is Diet Such a Problem in the United States?

I think it’s no secret that there’s nutrition issues in the United States, such as obesity. Why do you think people struggle with healthy eating so much? Is it due to a lack of knowledge, lack of money, or lack of time? What do you believe are some of the reasons why?

Well, I think the three things you just mentioned are true. People struggle with lack of time, lack of knowledge and even a lack of skill in the kitchen. We’ve become very disconnected from nature, so people haven’t had traditional knowledge of cooking or knowledge of food being passed down through generations.

Money is certainly an obstacle. Our food isn’t prioritized, so it has become very expensive. It’s actually harder to eat on a healthy diet because our government subsidies are going towards the cheaper, more processed foods.

A lot of people don’t have access to healthy foods, especially in inner cities where farm fresh fruits and vegetables are practically unattainable. So, I think there’s a lot of different factors that contribute to the obesity and diabetes epidemics happening in the United States, as well as poor health in general.

Where does someone start on a path to eating better?

The first thing that I look at is hydration. These days, a lot of what we drink — such as coffee and soda — is dehydrating. Proper hydration is a great place to start, since hydration is involved in every single process in the body. Then, if you have access to fresh fruits and vegetables, add more of them into your diet. This helps create more energy in your life and in your body.

What Exactly is Functional Nutrition?

Can you give us a little bit of insight into what integrative nutrition and functional nutrition is?

Integrative nutrition and functional nutrition looks more at the root of the problem. In our western world, we’re very much focused on symptoms, and covering up symptoms. There’s not a lot of focus on the root of the issue. For example, what is causing fatigue in a person? What is causing an energy imbalance? What is causing headaches?

As a clinical nutritionist, I’m digging deep into those questions. Why is this happening in the first place? Is it a dietary issue? Is it a lifestyle issue? Is it stress that could be causing the problem?

When we look at the body in a holistic view, we’re not only looking at diet, but we’re looking at exercise, relationships, how your career affects your life, how your eating habits are affecting your life, etc. And it’s not just what you’re eating, but how you’re eating as well. Are you sitting down when you eat? Are you chewing your food carefully? Are you stressed out when you eat? All these sorts of things come into play to help the body either create balance or imbalance. So, when we look at the body functionally, and integratively, and holistically, we are looking at the body as a whole, and how that body is interacting with the environment.

Do you discover these specifics through a consultation or interview?

Absolutely. My first consultation with somebody can last up to two hours. It includes a full intake form, health/medical history, family history, important events in their life, etc. I then put it all together and try to make connections. I also have my clients do a food diary so we can link what they’re eating with possible symptoms.

You mentioned that your loss of hearing is what introduced you to the world of functional nutrition. Hearing loss is a very distinct, noticeable symptom. Do your clients usually have a distinct issue like that? Or, do you also help people who are interested in learning more about nutrition and body connection?

Both. There are people who come to me with clear issues — whether that be acid reflux, digestive issues or thyroid issues. There are other people that say, for example, “I’m just really tired.” Or, “I’m fatigued and I cannot figure out what’s going on.” For some of these people, their blood work is coming back perfectly, so the root of the problem is not obvious. That’s when we start looking at the different systems in the body, how they are interacting, what stresses or triggers might be on the body, etc. I look at physical, emotional, mental and environmental stress

For example, fatigue. Fatigue can come from a variety of issues, such as food sensitivities/allergies, a slow thyroid, digestive issues and adrenal fatigue. That’s a lot of different systems in the body! To figure out where it’s coming from, we can look at environmental stress as an example. Here’s some questions we’d ask:

Are you drinking filtered water or tap water?
Do you have access to fresh air?
Are you getting outside a lot? Or, are you sitting in front of a computer a lot?
Are you using harmful chemicals to clean (or in makeup, skincare, etc.)?
Are you eating organic food?
Are you eating a high pesticide load?
Are you eating a lot of processed foods or sugars?

I’ve seen a case where a client’s diet was great, and she was drinking 80 ounces of water per day. But, we discovered that the water was fluoridated tap water — which was draining her thyroid. When we removed the tap water and replaced it with filtered water, we saw a lot of differences in how her body was functioning.

Can two people react differently to food? Can food cause issues in one person, even if it’s ‘healthy food’, and not in another?

Absolutely. Some people are intolerant or allergic to gluten, while others can consume bread and gluten totally unaffected. While tomato and citrus are healthy foods, and good for most people, those with acid reflux may have issues consuming them.

So, we always have to determine if the food fits the person and their condition. If we’re not sure, we take the food out of their diet for a little bit of time, then slowly add it back in to see if it causes a problem.

So to answer your question, absolutely. That’s why I believe in a personalized approach to nutrition — I view each person as an individual and do not apply any general rules.

Is it Bad to Consume Gluten?

On the topic of gluten, it’s fascinating to me that an entire category of food has been created around being gluten-free. But there’s a lot of competing thoughts on it — some people think of it as an allergy, and then there’s this idea of intolerance. Can you speak to gluten, and where it stands?

Well, it is a highly debated topic. You will see that some experts don’t believe gluten is as inflammatory as perceived, while others believe everyone should remove gluten from their diet. I say, again, we have to look at a personalized approach to nutrition.If a client of mine is having problems losing weight, has a lot of inflammation in the body, has a lot of gut issues or has thyroid issues, I would suggest removing gluten from their diet to see if their body heals.

Looking at traditional diets and bringing in some philosophies from Chinese dietary medicine and Ayurveda, wheat is not meant to be eaten all-year-round: it’s a seasonal food. When we eat wheat in the season that it’s harvested, the body is more capable of digesting it properly. Whereas, when we eat something all year, we overexpose our bodies, which increases the chances of having a negative reaction.

There is also a theory that the pesticides being sprayed on wheat is actually what some people are reacting to. So, there’s a lot of different ideas of what could be triggering the intolerance, allergies and sensitivities to gluten just in the last few decades.

The Benefit of Keeping a Food Diary

We have a lot of people that come to us, and they come to us, at Bautis Financial, and say they aren’t sure where they are spending their money. So we always suggest tracking expenses. Is a similar approach productive to do with eating?

Yes. Food journals and food logs are a great approach. It allows you to:

See what food you’re consuming.
Track how that food is reacting in your body.

An important thing to know for your listeners is that food sensitivities can take up to 72 hours to manifest in the body. So having a food log allows you to make connections and not forget what it was that you ate 72 hours ago.

That’s one of my jobs as a nutrition coach, to help clients interpret their food diaries.

So, you can see what patterns come up over time?

Definitely.

How to Identify Inflammation

You spoke about inflammation quite a few times. How does someone properly identify inflammation? Is there a way to measure it?

Well, they’re are labs that you can order that will measure inflammation. But if we look at symptom-wise, there are many ways that the body shows that it’s inflamed:

Headaches
Fatigue
Fever
Chills
Skin redness or rashes
Skin breakouts

The skin is a major detoxification organ in the body. If a body cannot naturally detox through liver and kidney function, the skin will start showing signs that indicate an over-spilling of toxins.

You can also show inflammation through gut pain, diarrhea or loose stool. There’s so many different ways that inflammation manifests itself, as it is the key underliner of most diseases.

Obviously you’ll know if you start feeling better, but are there other ways to measure improvements? How do you know, aside from feeling better, that you’re making progress?

Tracking Progress and Staying Patient

Well that’s why it’s good to have a full panel of blood work when you see a nutritionist initially. Then, three months or four months down the line, you can retest. The body responds pretty quickly to positive changes, and it has this great ability to heal itself when given the tools to do so.

Within three to four months, if we were to retest lab work, we usually see some significant changes. Then, maybe six months down the line you’d see even more.

That’s another point that is really important to note — a lot of diseases or imbalances occur over a long period of time. When you start on your health journey, you’re not going to reverse everything within a matter of six weeks or two months. You can certainly start to see progress, but just as it took a while for the body to become imbalanced, it’s going to take time to get the balance back and fully heal.

We live in a culture of immediate results. We want a pill for every answer. Because of that, people get impatient when results don’t come right away. It takes a while to establish a new habit, and it takes about six months for that new habit to become part of your life. So you have to be patient with yourself. You have to be full of grace. You have to trust that your body is working in the best way it can, when you give it the tools that it needs.

I can totally see how patience is a hard part of this process. When we are looking for results, sometimes our expectations about how quickly those results will come are unrealistic. That said, I see a lot of diets that seem to be magic bullets, if you may.

Answering the Question: How Do You Eat for Energy?

Ideally somebody would come to you for a full analysis, and you’d look at the unique things about them. Then, you’d take next steps based on those unique characteristics. But let’s just say that somebody doesn’t have the means or the time. Is there one type of diet, or one set of nutritional guidance that you suggest?

That’s a great question. As I said before, everybody is an individual, and what works for one person may not work for somebody else. Say, for instance, your neighbor lost 30 pounds going vegan. But when you tried to follow a vegan diet, you were so fatigued and tired that you couldn’t get off of the couch.

To answer your question, I’ll reference a financial-related quote from Bethenny Frankel, a reality TV star.

“Your diet is a bank account, and good food choices are good investments.”
Bethenny Frankel

So, let’s start there. Thinking of your body, you want to put in food that helps to build that account, and not deplete it, right? You want more in your bank account than you’re taking out. So, generally speaking, we want to make sure we’re putting in foods that help to build the body, and not drain the body.

The foods that drain the body are processed foods, sugar, dairy and — for some people — gluten. If you don’t have the means to see a nutritionist, simply cutting back on sugar and processed foods is the place to start. Then, try to replace that consumption with complex carbohydrates, like whole grains and vegetables.

If you have sugar cravings, add in fruits. Berries — such as strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries — are a good replacement.

Lastly, make sure that you’re consuming a high quality and good variety of proteins and fats. That is what will energize you, putting money in your bank.

Alright, we’re just about out of time. Caryn, I want to thank you for being on the show. You gave us some great information. How best can someone reach out to you or find more information about what you do?

You can visit my website www.appetitesforlife.com. There, I have a free download of a “Reclaim Your Energy” E-Book, which covers a lot of the things that we talked about, and even more. If listeners want to find out more about reclaiming their energy, how to eat nutrient-dense foods and how to overcome fatigue, download the E-Book. Hopefully it will help you on your path to getting started.

Awesome. Thanks again for being on the show, and thank you everyone for tuning in. We’ll talk to you soon.