Before You Pursue a Government Contract, Get a Reality Check.
After decades inside federal operations, I help companies evaluate opportunities before they invest serious time and resources.
Many companies pursue government opportunities without fully understanding how federal organizations actually operate.
Choose the Right Starting Point
Organizations approach government contracting from very different starting points.
Some are exploring the idea for the first time. Others already have a specific opportunity sitting in front of them.
The resources below are designed to help you begin in the right place.
New to Government Contracting
If you are just beginning to explore government contracting, start with the Before You Bid guide. It explains common misconceptions and helps businesses understand what they are stepping into before committing serious time and effort.
Evaluating a Specific Opportunity
If your company is already considering a government opportunity, the Government Contract Fit & Readiness Review provides an objective outside perspective before you commit resources.
Why Organizations Speak With T & C Trust
Government contracting advice is easy to find. What’s harder to find is perspective from someone who has spent decades inside the system responsible for accountability, operations, and oversight.
Tom Rooney spent more than four decades working inside the federal government, including over twenty-five years in operational and technology leadership within the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.. During that time he served as Deputy Director of the VA Enterprise Command Center, an environment where coordination, performance monitoring, and operational response were part of everyday work.
From that vantage point, he saw how government programs actually function — how decisions move, how accountability works, and where companies often misunderstand the environment they are entering. Experiences like that shape the perspective behind T & C Trust.
The goal isn’t to offer theory about government contracting or repeat what can already be found online. It explains how decisions actually move through government organizations once a contract begins.
For companies evaluating an opportunity, that understanding can make the difference between chasing something that looks attractive on paper and pursuing work that truly fits their capabilities.
The purpose of this advisory work is simple: helping organizations evaluate opportunities clearly before committing time, resources, and reputation to the pursuit.
Experience Snapshot
• 40+ years inside federal operations
• Former VA Enterprise Command Center leadership
• Veteran-Owned Small Business founder
• Focus on risk, accountability, and execution
Government Contracting: Not for the Faint of Heart
Most companies approach government contracting like a normal sales process.
It isn’t.
This short series explains what actually happens inside government once a contract begins.
Originally Published on LinkedIn
Why Government Contract Readiness Matters
Many organizations are introduced to government contracting through opportunity lists, webinars, or conversations with colleagues. What is often missing from those introductions is a clear explanation of how different the environment actually is.
Structure
Expectations
Commitment
Government contracting operates within formal processes and defined requirements that differ from typical commercial work.
Agencies expect consistency, documentation, and performance standards that many first-time contractors underestimate.
Pursuing the wrong opportunity can consume significant time, money, and internal capacity—often before a contract is ever awarded.
This is why many organizations seek an independent perspective before moving forward.
Thinking Through a Government Opportunity?
If your organization is considering a government contract and wants an experienced outside perspective, you’re welcome to start a conversation.
Some companies simply want to sanity-check what they’re seeing. Others want help evaluating whether an opportunity truly fits their capabilities and resources.
Either way, the goal is the same: understanding the situation clearly before committing time and effort.
Government Contracting Is Not Like Typical Sales
Many organizations approach government opportunities the same way they approach commercial customers. The reality is different. Contracts are awarded through formal processes, requirements must be followed precisely, and decisions are often driven by evaluation criteria rather than persuasion.
Understanding these realities early can help organizations decide whether a particular opportunity is worth pursuing.
Structure
Commitment
Expectations
Government contracts operate within formal processes and defined requirements that differ from typical commercial sales.
Agencies expect consistency, documentation, and performance standards that many new contractors underestimate.
Pursuing the wrong opportunity can consume significant time and internal resources.
A Practical Perspective on Government Contracting
My perspective comes from more than three decades working inside federal operations, where decisions, coordination, and accountability directly affect how programs succeed or fail. During that time, I saw many organizations approach government work with strong capabilities but an incomplete understanding of the environment they were entering.
Government contracting can be rewarding, but it operates differently from most commercial markets. Agencies evaluate vendors through structured processes, expectations are defined carefully, and performance is measured in ways that are not always obvious from the outside. Understanding those realities early can save organizations significant time, effort, and expense.
The purpose of T & C Trust is not to encourage every company to pursue government work. It is to help organizations step back, examine an opportunity thoughtfully, and determine whether it truly aligns with their capabilities and goals before committing substantial resources.
What Businesses Often Miss
Where Independent Perspective Helps
Many companies approach government contracting expecting it to work like commercial sales. In reality, procurement timelines, documentation requirements, and evaluation criteria create a very different environment.
Without preparation, organizations often invest months pursuing opportunities that were never the right fit.
An outside review can help clarify:
• Whether the opportunity aligns with your capabilities
• Where operational risks may exist
• What agencies will realistically expect
• Whether the effort is worth pursuing
This type of evaluation is often most valuable before significant time and resources are committed.
Developing government contract readiness before bidding can dramatically improve outcomes.