For readers who have already read Readiness Engineering, Volume 5: Government and SLED Buyers: what changed, newest first.
2026-09-28: A domain volume for small firms selling to government is complete
Most small firms answer every RFP they can find, while the buyers who can buy published their plans months earlier. Volume 5 has 14 chapters that show how to read budgets, forecasts, board minutes and award histories as dated evidence of readiness, then check a public buyer’s authority, funding, contract vehicle and your own eligibility as four separate gates. It follows Fernhollow Data, a nine-person company that sells a benefits screener, across federal, defense, state, county and school buyers. It covers CMMC and DoD contracting in depth, treats primes as counterparties with their own readiness, and records a no-bid as a clean stop with a date to look again. Facts that change quickly are in the online appendix.
2026-09-28: New book: Readiness Engineering, Volume 5: Government and SLED Buyers
Most small firms answer every RFP they can find, but the buyers who can buy published their plans months earlier. By the time a solicitation appears, the budget, the forecast and the request for information have come and gone, and a public buyer has to clear four gates before it can buy anything from you. This volume follows Fernhollow Data, a nine-person company that sells a benefits screener, as it builds a readiness workforce on the method, building and running volumes and points it at federal, defense, state, county and school buyers. You learn to read budgets, forecasts, board minutes and award histories as dated readiness evidence, check authority, funding, a contract vehicle and your own eligibility as separate gates, keep your own eligibility record including CMMC, treat primes and government funders as counterparties with their own readiness, and record a no-bid as a clean stop with a date to look again. It is for small firms and startups breaking into government sales.