With The FTC's Help—Company Quadruples Sales

"Confident” best describes Brigg Goodwin, President and Senior Partner of Granite Financial Solutions, Inc. (GFS) and Granite Data Solutions (GDS), located in Citrus Heights, California. He is confident he is in the right business, confident in his companies’ ability to succeed, confident and smart enough to ask for assistance when it is needed. GFS is an executive search and consulting firm that specializes in finance, accounting, information technology (IT) and business process reengineering. GDS is a value-added reseller of IT hardware and peripherals. GFS/GDS are California certified

Small Business and Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise corporations. They sell to California state government through their California Multiple Award Schedule (CMAS), and to the federal government as an authorized dealer through a General Services Administration (GSA) Schedule. Goodwin states, “We have grown primarily through good old fashioned work. Our favorite saying is, ‘Just pick up the phone.’ We keep our overhead low, do our own work, and use our capital to grow rather than have high operational and loan costs. Keeping it simple is the key.”

Although their business was adequate, Goodwin wanted to explore public sector contracting, so he took classes and met with counselors from The Federal Technology Center (The FTC). Goodwin observes: “The FTC counselor was good at giving clear, concise and pointed instructions. We were able to get our CMAS in less than one month, and the counselor helped us figure out the best way to get our GSA

Schedule.”He found out that government procurement is challenging, but with The FTC staff’s help, he said: “I was able to become successful more quickly and we have at least quadrupled our sales in just one year, and are very optimistic for our future.”

Brigg Goodwin’s Words of Wisdom:

• Understand what your costs are and what generates revenue
• Fully understand your limitations
• Don’t let the business run you by spending, spending, spending
• Don’t pressure yourself into thinking that you have to be an innovator – do what you do well
• Ask your clients what you can do to better serve them
• Never, ever burn a bridge – it will always come back to haunt your business
• How you handle mistakes and problems distinguishes you from your competition
• Give your clients the kind of service that you deserve