Update smma/government_contracts.md
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You're absolutely right to call that out. Let's get brutally practical. Here's the **no-fluff, step-by-step guide** to turn your skills into **immediate income** without overpromising or oversimplifying.
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---
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### **1. The Reality Check**
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**Your Actual Advantages:**
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- You can **extract and clean data** (Grants.gov/SAM.gov) faster than 99% of contractors.
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- You **automate repetitive tasks** (proposals, invoices) that drain hours.
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- You **spot patterns** (who buys what, when) that most miss.
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**What Won’t Happen:**
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- Instant $10K months (without grinding).
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- Magic "set-and-forget" tools (someone has to run them).
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- Beating entrenched incumbents overnight.
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---
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### **2. The "Guaranteed First $1K" Plan**
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#### **Step 1: Pick One Pain Point (Example: "Finding Bid Opportunities")**
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- **Problem**: Small businesses waste 10+ hours/week manually checking SAM.gov.
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- **Your Fix**: A **DuckDB script** that:
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1. Pulls SAM.gov XML feeds daily.
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2. Filters for:
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- Their NAICS codes.
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- Set-asides (e.g., WOSB, SDVOSB).
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- Under $250K (low competition).
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3. Outputs a **clean CSV** with:
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- Bid title, due date, POC email.
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#### **Step 2: Build the MVP (1–2 Days)**
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```python
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# DuckDB script (runs in 10 lines)
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import duckdb
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conn = duckdb.connect()
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# Load SAM.gov data
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conn.execute("""
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CREATE TABLE bids AS
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SELECT title, due_date, naics, poc_email
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FROM read_xml('sam_gov_data.xml')
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WHERE naics IN ('541511', '541519') -- IT services
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AND set_aside = 'WOSB'
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AND award_ceiling < 250000
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""")
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# Export to CSV
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conn.execute("COPY bids TO 'wosb_it_bids.csv' (HEADER, DELIMITER ',')")
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```
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#### **Step 3: Sell It (3 Hours)**
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- **Where**:
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- LinkedIn (search "WOSB IT government contracting" → DM 20 people).
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- GovCon Facebook groups.
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- **Script**:
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> *"I automate SAM.gov searches for IT WOSBs. For $200, I’ll send you weekly bids that match your exact criteria. Here’s a free sample:"* [Attach CSV with 5 bids].
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#### **Step 4: Deliver (Ongoing)**
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- **Manual at first**: Run the script weekly → email CSV.
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- **Automate later**: Set up a **GitHub Action** to auto-email clients.
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---
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### **3. The "No-BS" Pricing Model**
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| Product | What You Deliver | Time/Cost to You | Price | Buyers |
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|-----------------------|-----------------------------------|------------------|--------|--------|
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| **SAM.gov CSV** | Weekly filtered bids | 1 hr/week | $200/mo | Small biz |
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| **Debrief Analysis** | GPT-4 summary of why a bid was lost | 0.5 hr/client | $150 | Recent losers |
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| **LaTeX Proposal** | Draft of Section L (tech approach) | 2 hrs/client | $500 | New bidders |
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**Key**: Charge **based on value** (e.g., $200 saves them 10 hours = $20/hr "cheap" for them).
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---
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### **4. The Hard Truths**
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1. **You’ll need 5–10 clients** to see real income ($1K–$3K/month).
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2. **Churn is real**: Some will quit after 1 month. Always be prospecting.
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3. **Maintenance required**: Scripts break when SAM.gov changes formats (budget 2 hrs/month).
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---
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### **5. What to Do Today**
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1. **Run the DuckDB script above** on SAM.gov data.
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- Get a **real CSV output** (even if only 5 rows).
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2. **Post it in r/govcon**:
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> *"I scraped this week’s IT WOSB bids under $250K. DM for the full list."*
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3. **Charge $50** for the full CSV.
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**Outcome**:
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- If 5 people pay → $250.
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- If 0 people pay → You learned quickly.
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---
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### **6. When You’re Ready to Scale**
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- **Productize**: Turn scripts into a **self-serve portal** (Streamlit/Shiny).
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- **Upsell**: Add GPT-4 analysis ("Bid/No-Bid recommendations").
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- **Outsource**: Hire a VA to handle client emails.
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---
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### **Final Advice**
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> *"Start small, charge fast, and iterate. Your first product will suck. Your tenth will print money."*
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Want to tweak this for a **specific niche** (e.g., cybersecurity, construction)? Tell me, and I’ll give you the **exact data fields and scripts** to use.
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---
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### **Market Landscape for GovCon Data/Tools (Demand & Competition)**
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Here’s a breakdown of existing services, their limitations, and where **you can carve out a niche** with your skills.
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---
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#### **1. Free Government Sources (Baseline Tools)**
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| Source | What It Offers | Limitations |
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|----------------------|------------------------------------|--------------------------------------|
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| **[SAM.gov](https://sam.gov)** | Live bids, historical awards. | Clunky UI, no analytics. |
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| **[USAspending.gov](https://usaspending.gov)** | Tracks $7T in spending. | Hard to extract actionable insights. |
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| **[Grants.gov](https://grants.gov)** | Grant opportunities. | XML data requires parsing skills. |
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**Who Uses These**:
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- **Newbies** (free but inefficient).
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- **Experts** (who know how to scrape/analyze the data).
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**Key Insight**:
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> *Most contractors **don’t know how to use these effectively**—they need cleaned, pre-filtered data.*
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---
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#### **2. Paid "Bid Matching" Services (Established Players)**
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| Service | Price (Annual) | Key Features | Weaknesses |
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|----------------------|----------------|--------------------------------------|-------------------------------------|
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| **[GovWin (Deltek)](https://www.deltek.com)** | $5K–$50K | Bid alerts, contract forecasts. | Overkill for small businesses. |
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| **[RFP360](https://www.rfp360.com)** | $3K–$20K | RFP tracking + collaboration. | Generic, not GovCon-specific. |
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| **[Fedmine](https://www.fedmine.com)** | $2K–$10K | Spending analytics. | Outdated UI, limited filtering. |
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**Who Uses These**:
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- **Mid-size/large contractors** (budgets for tools).
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- **Consultants** (resell insights to clients).
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**Key Insight**:
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> *These tools are **expensive and bloated**. Small businesses need **cheaper, niche-specific solutions**.*
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---
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#### **3. Boutique GovCon Data Sellers (Your Competition)**
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| Example | What They Sell | Price Model |
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|-----------------------|-------------------------------------|-------------------|
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| **Govly** | Custom bid leads (e.g., "IT under $250K"). | $100–$500/month |
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| **GovTribe** | Past award data + contact intel. | $200–$1K/month |
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| **Small Biz SEO** | "Hot opportunities" email lists. | $50–$200/month |
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**Who Uses These**:
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- **Small businesses** (budget $100–$500/month).
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- **Solo consultants** (who resell data).
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**Key Insight**:
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> *These services are **manual and shallow**—they don’t leverage AI/automation like you can.*
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---
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#### **4. Freemium Tools (Partial Solutions)**
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| Tool | Free Tier | Paid Upgrades |
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|-----------------------|------------------------------------|--------------------|
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| **FPDS.gov** | Historical contract data. | None (but hard to use). |
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| **USASpending API** | Raw spending data. | Requires coding skills. |
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| **SubNet (SBA)** | Subcontracting leads. | No analytics. |
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**Who Uses These**:
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- **Tech-savvy contractors** (who can build their own tools).
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- **Hobbyists** (not serious players).
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**Key Insight**:
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> *Most contractors **lack time/skills to use these APIs**—they’ll pay for pre-processed data.*
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---
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### **Market Demand: Where You Fit**
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#### **Gaps in the Market**
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1. **Affordable Automation**:
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- Existing tools cost **$5K+/year**. Your DuckDB scripts could undercut at **$200/month**.
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2. **Niche-Specific Intel**:
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- No one sells **"VA IT bids under $250K for WOSBs"** as a standalone product.
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3. **AI-Powered Insights**:
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- Most services just **dump data**. You can add **GPT-4 analysis** (e.g., "Bid/No-Bid recommendations").
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#### **Ideal Customer**
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- **Small GovCon firms** (<10 employees):
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- **Budget**: $100–$500/month.
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- **Pain Point**: "I waste hours on SAM.gov and still miss bids."
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- **Solo consultants**:
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- **Budget**: $50–$200 for one-off reports.
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- **Pain Point**: "I need to show clients I’m ‘data-driven’."
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---
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### **Action Plan: How to Compete**
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1. **Start Narrow**:
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- Example: *"I send weekly IT WOSB bids under $250K (with POC emails). $200/month."*
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2. **Differentiate with Tech**:
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- Offer **CSV/API access** (competitors only do PDFs/emails).
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3. **Upsell AI**:
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- *"Add GPT-4 ‘Bid/No-Bid’ analysis for +$100/month."*
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**Test Demand Fast**:
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- Post in **r/govcon**:
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> *"I scraped this week’s IT WOSB bids under $250K. First 5 DMs get the CSV free."*
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- If 10+ people reply → **validated demand**.
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---
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### **Final Reality Check**
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- **Competition exists but is inefficient**: Most tools are **overpriced or manual**.
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- **Your edge**:
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- **Faster** (automated scripts).
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- **Cheaper** (no sales team overhead).
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- **Smarter** (AI insights they lack).
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**Next Step**:
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1. **Scrape 10 bids** from SAM.gov using DuckDB.
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2. **Post them for free** in a Facebook group.
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3. **Ask**: *"Would you pay $200/month for this weekly?"*
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If yes → **launch**. If no → tweak the niche (e.g., cybersecurity, construction).
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---
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### **Data-Centric Government Contracting: Deliverables-First Roadmap**
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You’re right—let’s cut the fluff and focus on **concrete, data-driven deliverables** you can build *today* to monetize your skills. Here’s the **no-BS playbook**:
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