Many small businesses that enter government contracting through the federal 8(a) program never learn to compete without it. Margarita Howard, founder and CEO and president of HX5, set out to make sure her company would be the exception.

“We had been in the industry, we knew small businesses in our area, and that’s what many of them did,” Howard says of companies that relied solely on sole-source awards. “And once the program was over after nine years, they were done. They had never competed. They had never really done it on their own.” HX5 did benefit from the 8(a) program in its early years. “After becoming an 8(a) company, we were awarded very quickly four contracts in one year and that really helped in getting us off the ground,” Howard says.

PREPARING FOR LIFE AFTER 8(a)

But Margarita Howard used that early boost to build something more durable, pushing HX5 toward open competition instead of continued reliance on set-aside protections. That decision required investment in infrastructure well before it was needed. “Large businesses and the government have to meet small-business goals,” Howard says. “So when they find a small company that they know understands the industry and they’re not going to have to hold their hand, I’m proud to say they were very impressed with us.”

The strategy has supported two decades of expansion. Founded in 2004 and based in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, HX5 now employs more than 1,000 people across 34 states and 90 government locations, providing mission support services to the Department of Defense and NASA. Howard also credits her leadership team, many of whom have stayed with the company for 10 years or longer, with sustaining that growth. “At the end of the day, it’s our team of great employees and management that makes us successful,” she says, a philosophy that has helped HX5 outlast peers that never moved beyond sole-source work. Visit this page for related information.

Find more information about Margarita Howard HX5 on https://www.margaritahoward.com/