Federal Small Business Programs—A Primer for Government Contractors
Exit Strategies for GOVCONs with Set Aside Contracts: 2021 Insights and Lessons Learned from Business Owners and Advisors
Understanding and Avoiding Affiliation Under Small Business Contracting Programs
PODCAST: Williams Mullen GovCon Perspectives - Why Was My SWaM Certification Denied, and What Can I Do?
On August 22, 2025, the Small Business Administration (SBA) issued a proposed rule entitled “Small Business Size Standards: Monetary-Based Industry Size Standard,” which proposes to increase the size standard for 263...more
When a federal agency issues a small business set-aside contract, it uses North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes to determine the size standard that will apply to that contract. The agency must select the...more
On May 18, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (DDC) issued a decision with significant potential consequences for federal contractors and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). ...more
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) issued a final rule on Oct. 16, 2020, consolidating its Mentor-Protégé programs and making several potentially significant changes to other aspects of SBA's government contracting...more
The Small Business Administration (SBA) issued a proposed rule on December 4, 2018, to implement, among other things, certain provisions of the National Defense Authorization Acts (NDAA) of 2016 and 2017. The proposed rule,...more
December of 2018 brought many potential changes to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) regulations that impact small businesses. First, on December 4, 2018, the SBA issued a lengthy proposed rule implementing...more
Late last year, President Trump signed into law H.R. 6330, the Small Business Runway Extension Act of 2018 (the “Runway Extension Act”). As detailed in our client alert on the Runway Extension Act, this law extends the...more
The Small Business Runway Extension Act of 2018 extends the measurement period from three to at least five years for contractors under revenue-based size standards to determine small business eligibility. The Runway Act...more
On December 17, 2018, President Trump signed into law H.R. 6330, the Small Business Runway Extension Act of 2018 (the “Runway Act”). The Runway Act extends the measurement period for determining whether a contractor qualifies...more
President Trump signed a bill into law that changes the look-back period for determining small businesses' size status from three years to five. The change means that the size of a contractor will be measured by averaging the...more
The federal government sets aside a significant portion of its procurement dollars each year for purchasing goods and services from small businesses. Small business set-aside procurements and small business contract awards...more
The Small Business Administration (SBA) issued a long-awaited final rule establishing a new, expanded mentor-protégé program that will allow all types of small businesses to qualify as protégés, while retaining, but slightly...more
New Small Business Administration Rules Will Increase Eligibility for Large and Small Businesses to Bid Jointly on Set-Aside Contracts, but Not Without Greater Competition - The U.S. Small Business Administration’s...more