Why Local Government Contracts Are Hidden Gems
When you think about government contracts, you might picture federal agencies with million-dollar projects and endless red tape.
But here’s the truth: some of the biggest opportunities for small businesses start much closer to home—and they don’t have to be the biggest contract to actually matter.
Cities, counties, and school districts buy everything from office supplies to landscaping to event services. Unlike giant federal projects, these local opportunities often:
Come with smaller price tags (and smaller stacks of paperwork).
Give you a chance to build relationships face-to-face with decision-makers.
Lead to repeat business—because once an agency trusts you, they’ll call again.
Check out my YouTube video where I go into more detail on this concept:
Small Contracts, Big Wins
Here’s the other secret: your first government contract doesn’t need to be six figures to count.
The $5,000 Catering Gig: One business owner landed a small job providing boxed lunches for a city workshop. That “tiny” contract became their ticket to larger catering requests later.
The $7,500 Cleaning Job: A janitorial business picked up a micro-purchase to clean a county office space. Delivering on that simple task helped them secure a much bigger, ongoing custodial contract.
The $18,000 Tech Fix: An IT consultant won a streamlined acquisition to update software for a local department. That one project built trust—and opened the door to steady repeat work.
Why Starting Small Works
Think of it like planting seeds. Local government contracts—especially the smaller ones—help you grow roots. With each successful project, you build the track record and relationships that lead to bigger opportunities down the road.
You learn the process without drowning in red tape and you earn credibility—both for yourself and with the agencies you serve.
One of my coaches shared with me the idea of counting my “sprout” activities. Measuring activities like networking events, webinars, positive engagement on LinkedIn, etc. that might help me get to a larger opportunity. At the time, it may not seem like much, but over time can make a great difference!