Government means big business for small business owners

Lani Hay

In part two of our discussion with Lani Hay at the GSN: Government Security News headquarters in New York City, Hay spoke about the role of small business in providing security-related services to the government (read part one, about the future of biometrics, here).

“I focus on not only trying to be a good service provider for my clients, but also finding ways to help them achieve their objectives,” Hay tells GSN.

Hay is the president and CEO of Lanmark Technology, Inc. of Vienna, VA, a company that works primarily with the government in providing a full range of information technology services and telecommunication solutions.

“One of the reasons why I chose the government as a client,” Hay tells GSN, “was because they have so many goals that support woman-owned businesses, veteran-owned businesses, minority-owned businesses and small businesses in general. Also, this is an industry that is mandating that work go to a company like mine.

“I think diversity is the key to finding better solutions and the fact that they are mandating diversity,” Hay said, “I don’t think that it is a bad thing. What I have found is that if you give somebody the opportunity, they generally rise to the occasion.”

Hay also spoke about the nature of the relationship between small, privately-owned businesses and big government.

“I knew that I would always have a customer, the government is not getting any smaller, so even during this recession, my company hasn’t suffered,” she said.

Hay also spoke about the challenges of getting government contracts in the government’s highly competitive space.

“The biggest challenge being a small business is convincing clients that they can get the same or better quality work from us, as a small business, at a fraction of the cost and to not be scared about it,” Hay said. “We have costs low because we don’t have a bloated infrastructure.”

Hay, who has worked with the current administration to advise them on issues concerning small businesses, says, “The government can always do more.”

“I would recommend that the government, instead of having small business goals, has small business mandates. They have goals for contracting with woman, vets and small businesses, but I would rather have that be a mandate than a goal.”

She also had a few words for advice for small businesses looking to emulate Hay’s success.

“To get the contracts, you have to go out there and meet the end-user,” she told GSN. “Every government agency has a small business office, and that is where I started.

“The offices will introduce small businesses to the people that can use and need their services. But, most of the time, it literally means knocking on as many doors as you can, meeting as many people as you can, and in a matter of time, you’ll land a contract.

“It also helps to work with the Small Business Administration,” Hay adds. “They have worked with me over the years in helping to get my name out and they have been a really great advocate for my company.”