U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Section 8(a) program has historically promised more—in terms of a unique opportunity for entrepreneurs to grow their business—than it has delivered. Sunil Kolhekar explains why a few 8(a) firms have remained economically viable well beyond the end of the program while others have not; and how the operating principles these companies share mirror the structured approach known as Critical Success Factor (CSF) analysis—an approach that any individual small business entrepreneur can use to develop a strong federally-focused company. Kolhekar combines an analysis of secondary data sources with survey-based and face-to-face interviews with entrepreneurs to illuminate the common barriers-to-entry and struggles to survive that all entrepreneurs face at various stages of the small business program. He then aptly validates his work that the activities of any 8(a)-certified entrepreneur when built on the CSF framework are likely to be more focused,...
