The SBA has been busy rewriting the playbook for federal contractors, and these recent rule changes aren't just technical—they determine whether your small business can compete, win, and keep its contracts.
Tune in to understand the SBA’s 2025 Rule Shake-Up and how it impacts every new federal contractor. We'll break down the Top 10 crucial changes you need to act on now, including:
- Updated size standards and NAICS codes: Find out if you now qualify as a small business or if your industry's threshold has shifted, with most monetary-based standards raised by 13.65% and new NAICS 2022 codes adopted.
- Mandatory certifications: Learn about the new requirement for a social disadvantage narrative for 8(a) firms due to a court ruling, the shift to SBA VetCert for Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSBs) which ended self-certification as of January 2024, and the streamlined process for Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB)/Economically Disadvantaged WOSB (EDWOSB) certification.
- HUBZone map overhaul: Discover thousands of newly qualified areas added effective July 1, 2023, and the updated residency rules that open up new government contracting opportunities, with a transition period until July 1, 2026, for areas losing status.
- Subcontracting flexibilities: Understand how lower-tier subcontracting credit can boost your goals for individual, single-agency contracts, and why limitations on subcontracting (LOS) compliance is being monitored more closely, with leased employees now counting as the prime's own for compliance.
- Higher economic thresholds: See how increased caps for net worth (up to $850,000), average income (up to $400,000), and assets ($6.5 million) make 8(a) and EDWOSB programs more accessible.
- Leveraging past performance: Crucial insights into how joint ventures (JVs), particularly mentor-protégé JVs, can now rely on a mentor's experience, and how first-tier subcontractors can request CPARS ratings from their primes to build their competitive record.
These changes create both risk and reward for firms in the federal marketplace. We’ll guide you on how to proactively plan, certify, and market your business to capture contracts and form winning partnerships. Don't get left behind – stay ahead of the curve in government procurement!
