March 2014 Newsletter: Executive-in-Residence News: Jim Ruma: "DoD 2015 Proposed Defense Budget"

Your business opportunities with the US Department of Defense are affected by funded needs. The 2014 actual ‘enacted’ and 2015 current proposed fiscal budgets are about equal. Therefore, the demand opportunity for you is in the programs and services that remain and new opportunities that will arise. In any case, some current funded programs will be diminished.

The 2015 proposed Defense budget includes a separate, fully funded “opportunity, growth and security (OSG) initiative” of about $26 billion. This is targeted for increased readiness, modernization, base sustainment and military construction. A summary of the budget highlights can be found at whitehouse.gov/omb/overview and for our local customer at TACOM, see the Army overview at asafm.army.mil/offices/BU. Studying these and other available reference material may provide you opportunities.

Not only must you ‘look’ at this but you need to be aware of who all the prime contractors are and their next tier levels. This is the area of best opportunity for local small businesses. Dealing with the U.S. Government can be complex, time consuming and hard work. Dealing with a prime contractor or the next tier major supplier is somewhat simpler. But, in all these cases, the success of your sale is directly proportional to your efforts to endure, network with others and be innovative.

Jim Ruma is a Macomb OU-INCubator Executive-in-Residence and assists businesses in the defense sector, especially the development of technology, engineering, manufacturing and sustainment. Jim spent 42 years with General Dynamics Land Systems, where he most recently served as Vice President of Engineering Programs and Project Management. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the National Defense Industrial Association Michigan chapter. Jim can be reached at the Macomb OU-INCubator at (586) 844-9320.