The irony is that when I can convince them to go with a firm, they rave about how fabulous the firm actually is after working with them. It's not because we have a goal, but because it is the right thing to do. People think they're doing their job when they get the job done in the shortest amount of time for the least money. Sometimes doing business with a small firm which hasn't worked with the federal government before takes effort. But when you think in terms of what is good for the entire country, this program impacts a bigger bottom line.
Baron offers two examples of successful collaborations with small business.
Colville has done such an outstanding job that it won't be hard to convince anybody to go to them in the future. They do metal fabrication on the big trash racks. At first it was hard to make people see that there was a small disadvantaged business that could do the job, but now they rave about the work that Ebony Ironworks does for us. Chief of Engineers Lt. Gen. Joe Ballard is firmly behind the program, according to Baron. D.C. Every district sends their commander, the deputy for small business, and the chief of contracting.