By Debbie Gregory.

The outlook is bright for startups that want to work with government. New pathways to federal business are helping many startups thrive on government work. The timing has never been better for technology startups to see that working with the government is a winning business proposition.

Small startup firms are perfectly situated to fill the contracting gaps left by large companies, in that they are flexible enough to move quickly, avoid red tape, and at times, their work is less costly. In this respect, startups have an advantage over the larger, more established businesses. Since the government has a wide variety of critical missions that are in need of the newest and most innovative technology ASAP,  the federal government now offers ways for startups to test and deploy their innovative solutions.

“Gov Tech” or “Civic Tech” startups are now the hallmarks of innovation in areas such as mobility, the cloud and data analytics.  These areas are seeing thriving advancements under entrepreneurial thinking, agile processes and open data. Gov Tech startups enable governments to become more efficient, and have already seen rapid growth as a series of technologies have been adopted by national, regional and city governments.

Many government agencies have developed funds and contract vehicles with shorter procurement timelines and rapid iteration cycles. And once a startup has government users for one product, it can often develop products for both government and commercial markets.

It is evident that startups have a real opportunity with the federal government. The Office of American Innovation (OAI) has maintained that one of its primary goals is to convene the private sector with the government and encourage collaboration between the two. To the extent that innovative companies can help the government save taxpayer money, OAI has painted itself as an ally.

With the new doors that have swung open in non-traditional procurement, winning government customers should be an ambitious goal for our country’s most innovative startups.

Veteran and Military Business Owners Association, VAMBOA,

By Debbie Gregory.

When it comes to having online visibility, nothing is more valuable than your company’s website. Having a strong, professional destination gives customers the impression that you mean business, and the motivation to want to engage more with your business.

Because most small businesses don’t have the resources to launch a full-scale marketing campaign, your website is where many consumers will decide whether or not they want to engage with you. They’re likely to dismiss you entirely should they believe your website doesn’t reflect the kind of experience your business should offer. Keeping that in mind, if you have a bad website, it’s better to have no website at all. Yes, having no website equals missed opportunities, but a bad website can actually be worse since it literally can make your business look bad.

The first area of major importance is your homepage. This is where you tell your visitors exactly what you do with a clear, easy-to-find value proposition.  The homepage navigation should be easy to use, and the page should include links to your social media and your contact information. Additionally, you should have high-quality images that are original. You don’t want visitors to see the same image on a thousand other websites. If you have a blog, this is the heart of your content strategy. Encourage people to view and subscribe to it by highlighting it on your homepage.

Next you want your about us page to explain your values, tell your story, and introduce the people behind your business. Good stories humanize your brand, providing context and meaning for your product, so skip the stiff intro and tell your story in your own words.

Conversions, revenue, business and profit- they all depend on calls to action. Whatever action it is meant to compel, your calls to action text need to say what you mean and mean what you say. Be clear and direct, and make sure the button performs as advertised. Use action words such as Order, Subscribe, Buy, Get, Learn, Discover, etc. Calls to action should appear throughout the website, not just on the homepage.

The last tip is to be mobile-friendly. Since more and more people are turning to their smart phones to browse the internet, a responsive site is a must.

A great website is one that lots of people visit and who hopefully convert – whether that’s a sale, a lead, or interacting with an element on the page.

Veteran and Military Business Owners Association, VAMBOA,

By Debbie Gregory.

The U.S. Army will be moving $31.5 billion over the next five years from lower-priority programs to the service’s top-priority needs, according to undersecretary Ryan McCarthy. The 2020 fiscal budget will ensure that the service branch’s top priorities of readiness and modernization, the “Big Six” , remain on track.

“All six of the Army modernization priorities will have vast increases, and you will see a sustained push to the readiness portfolio because we made hard choices inside of our budget,” McCarthy said.

The Big Six include: long-range precision fires, next-generation combat vehicle, future vertical lift, a mobile network, air and missile defense, and soldier lethality.

This year, the Army plans to launch a competition for new armored vehicles; award development contracts for scout aircraft and helicopter engines; conduct key tests of long-range missiles, anti-aircraft defenses, rifles, targeting goggles, and multiple battlefield networks; and field new electronics for command posts.

Overall, McCarthy said, “We are trying to enable the National Defense Strategy” — which prioritizes preparing for high-intensity war with China and Russia — “and have taken some pretty dramatic steps in order to get there. We’ve been very consistent about where we were trying to take the Army… with that comes some very difficult choices.”

McCarthy would not give details about which programs have been cut, restructured or canceled. The question is whether Congress will accept the painful cutbacks, slowdowns, and outright cancellations required.

Both Republicans and Democrats on the Hill have objected to taking money from military construction, which would impact readiness, military families, and home-state jobs.

By constantly shifting money to top priorities in both near-term readiness and long-term modernization, Army Secretary Mark Esper expects the Army to hit a critical turning point within the next four years, and barring any unforeseen crisis, the Army will reach its readiness goal by 2022.

Veteran and Military Business Owners Association, VAMBOA,

By Debbie Gregory.

An innovative entrepreneurship training program called Apex at New York University offers military veterans, DoD affiliates and their spouses the support and resources they need to start and grow high-impact companies. And because doesn’t take equity, founders can guide their startups in the way that works best for their company.

In addition to providing free office space, mentoring and networking opportunities, the year-long program is now offering free housing to qualifying founders who are relocating to New York City, in shared apartments at Fort Hamilton Army Base, Brooklyn.

“We call it Apex because we want you to leave that program in a higher and better place than when you started,” said James Hendon, director of the NYU Tandon School of Engineering Veterans Future Lab, home to Apex and other veteran-specific training programs. Hendon, himself a veteran entrepreneur, was one of the first to attend the lab’s veteran-specific training.

“There are certain … skills that you bring from your military service,” such as discipline, integrity and a “never quit ethos”, Hendon said.

Unlike co-working spaces of non-curated companies and individuals, the Veterans Future Lab offers a community of military veterans and their spouses who are invested in each other’s success.

Additionally, startups in the program receive valuable perks such as Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud Platform credits, PricewaterhouseCoopers accounting, and tools from partners such as IBM and Nvidia.

Companies enrolled in Apex can also apply for Start-Up NY, a state incentive that grants tax-free status to startups participating in the APEX program.

Apex grew out of a 12-week training program for veteran entrepreneurs that started in 2015, according to Kurt Becker, Tandon’s vice dean for research, innovation and entrepreneurship.

Applications are open through April 7th for the next round of Apex, which will start in July and run through the following summer.

Veteran and Military Business Owners Association, VAMBOA,

By Debbie Gregory.

Have you ever put an item in an online shopping chart, then changed your mind about buying it, only to find a follow-up email in your inbox offering an incentive to complete the transaction? That is an example of great email marketing.

Email marketing is one of the most cost-effective and environmentally friendly ways to reach your clients/customers. At least 91% of consumers check their email on a daily basis, which can’t be said of any other communication channel.

Targeting inboxes with email automation allows your business to send personalized, timely, and engaging emails to customers. The most important thing to keep in mind is that you need permission to email your prospects and customers, so make sure that you have an opt-in form in place.

The best way to grow your email list is by attracting people with a compelling offer, often called a lead magnet. This can consist of digital materials like PDFs, MP3 audio files, infographic or videos that you can create yourself at minimal or no cost. It can be absolutely anything you want, so long as it provides value to your visitors for free.

Once you have a healthy email list, using an email platform such as Constant Contact, MailChimp, etc. to send your emails gives you access to templates that you can customize with your company’s logo, and corporate look and feel, strengthening your brand recognition. Your email subscribers want relevant, timely information and updates about your business, since they subscribed to your mailing list; you know that you’re targeting a receptive audience. Make sure they know about up-and-coming products, timed promotions, and seasonal updates.

Email list segmentation is the process of breaking your subscribers into smaller groups based on specific criteria so that you can send them more personalized and relevant emails. This results in higher conversion rates.

Be sure to monitor the performance of your emails to identify areas that need improvement. Then A/B test some of your changes in order to make improvements.

Don’t get upset about unsubscribes, they happen. But ask yourself why people subscribed to your list in the first place, and are you delivering on that promise? Is your content of value to the segment it is being sent to? Are you sending too many sales emails with too little value?

Keeping your loyal customers is much more cost-effective than acquiring new ones. Therefore, rewarding your email subscribers with exclusive offers is a powerful tactic for increasing the chances of them sticking with your business longer than they would have otherwise done.

Veteran and Military Business Owners Association, VAMBOA,