Govcon Giants

This next guest did not even want to start a business. After spending time serving our Nation, she returned to the United States, worked for a diverse group of both small and large businesses and then eventually helped manage and oversee the Air Force Mentor Protege Program. It was her last employer who successfully graduated from 8a that encouraged her to take the leap of faith and start her own business, but Krystal kept pushing it off saying she was not ready and wanting to continue on her course with the PhD. Fortunately for her, he sold his company and she was left deciding what to do with the next chapter in her life. That is when she started Prosperitus Solutions. They medical logistics staffing for them. The company has more than 35 years experience in business and contract management, business development and leadership. Their skill sets include medical services, information technology, logistics, finance, marketing and human resources. During the interview we discuss how she first got her pushed into the business world. The role that family played in her life, the Air Force Mentor Protege Program, and much more.

Today were having a conversation with Maria Martinez. A lot of you know her, she is the back engine of Scorecontracts and Govcon Giants and making things work. She actually recently landed her first consulting client and I thought it would be great to share in on that experience of what she went through, how she did it, what was in her mind, kind of, you know, some of the ideas behind her thought process behind what it took to do that. A lot of you out there may be facing some of the same experiences and I thought this would be a great way to reflect on her taking her first step towards her govcon journey and experimenting with the idea of taking on a consulting client. Let's not forget Maria was just a teacher before all this. Today she has nearly $200,000 in projects between the 2 clients, has started working on her first project and is bidding a 4th project. We here at Govcon Giants could not be more proud of superstar Maria for making the commitment to doing what it takes to succeed. Thanks for tuning in and we'll keep you posted as she aims for the $1 million dollar mark.

Corliss Udoema aka Mama U as many people call her holds a special place in my heart, Corliss is witty and humorous but the joke stops at the door of outside her office b/c when it comes to business she is as tough as they get. Her motto, "deliver excellence" and she expects that from all of her employees at Contract Solutions Inc. She is the Inc 5000 winner 2019 for the last consecutive 3 years, 2019 USDA SB Contractor of the year, 2017 Virginia State Small Business Person and has received 2 congressional awards. But more than her accolades she is a down to earth mother, grandmother, great grandmother, business owner and community leader.

Corliss has over 35 years of contracting, training, and business development experience in the private and government sectors. In her professional career prior to founding CSI, Corliss traveled the world doing procurement for the US government in place like Japan, Italy and Puerto Rico. Her experiences include Legislative and Executive Government Acquisition, Business Development, Planning, Project Management, Logistics, Procurement Assessment, ResourceDevelopment, Career Development and Contractor Business Facilitation.

This episode is heartfelt, will make you laugh, teach you life lessons and business best practices. I would like to give a warm welcome to our next Giant, Corliss Udoema.

Today we are bringing you a treat with another woman "Giant" that is kicking butt and taking names in the biz. Patricia Bonilla, President of Lunacon Construction Group is from my 2nd favorite country in the world behind the United States, the Dominican Republic. She founded "Lunacon" in 2007, now has 5 office locations including Puerto Rico and serves more than 300 customers worldwide.

She is tremendously special for what she has accomplished (Woman Contractor of the Year, State of Florida Minority-Owned Business Person of the Year, Government Contractor of the Year, Good to Great, ABC's in Excellence) and how she continues lead from giving back to her community.

Over the past decade, Lunacon has built an impressive resume of diverse company experiences, a long list of satisfied and repeat clients, and a bonding capacity of $15M single and $50 aggregate. Lunacon serves their clients with a commitment to excellence in every service that we deliver, and strives to be considered among the best construction contractors in the industry.

During the interview she discusses walking away from her job at a not so convenient time and the role of faith in her life and business.

Elliott Branch is truly a once in a lifetime individual who is absolutely brilliant.

He was the Director of Contracts for Naval Sea Systems command, which is the largest or next to largest single buying activity in federal government. And our team over here at Govon Giants just happen to catch him a cool 6 weeks out of retirement at the time of this interview so we got lucky to be the first ones to have him on our show.

During the interview we discuss 4 critical "to­-do's" for small businesses. 1.Special emphasis programs vs socio economic programs. 2.How the government buys inputs 3. Ross Perot firm EDS 4. Democratization of work and the acronym Noggis ­ a term that I will quiz you about if you ever meet me in person and reference this episode.

For show notes visit: www.govcongiants.com/podcast