Tools to build what's missing

Built for entrepreneurs who want to win

Government is the largest buyer in the country, and much of what it spends is reserved for small businesses. Most entrepreneurs never win a single contract because they register incorrectly, look in the wrong places, or bid on work they were never positioned to win. The Contract-Ready Playbook fixes that. Written in plain language by Gladian Rivera, founder of Obsidian Rising LLC, this guide takes you from "where do I even start?" to submitting confident bids.

What's inside

• Registration made simple: SAM.gov, UEI, CAGE, NAICS codes, and how SBA decides if you are "small"
• Market research that works: use USAspending.gov to find who buys what you sell and which contracts are about to be re-bid
• The federal playbook: 15 proven strategies, plus how to win without past performance
• Proposals and pricing: write to the evaluation criteria, build a compliance matrix, and price to win while staying profitable
• Construction and facilities track: bonding, prevailing wage, and the agencies that build and maintain
• State and local contracting: MWBE goals, public bids, and cooperative purchasing contracts
• A track for veteran entrepreneurs: plus building your contracting team
• 14 fill-in templates: capability statement, Sources Sought response, bid/no-bid scorecard, pricing worksheet, pipeline tracker, 13-week action plan, and more
• Directories of free resources: official procurement portals for all 50 states and DC, agency small business offices and forecasts, and NY/NJ programs
• What changed in 2025 and 2026: new thresholds, the FPDS retirement, and 8(a) updates

Links and key figures checked October 6, 2026. Instant PDF download.