The U.S. Government is the world's largest customer, and they routinely do business with small businesses. You just have to follow proper procedure (of course!).

Difficulty: Hard
Time Required: Usually several months

Here's How:

1. Educate yourself extremely well on the process. This is just an overview.
2. Make sure you meet the basic requirements for doing business with the government, such as accepting electronic funds transfer and credit cards.
3. Determine your NAICS code and make sure you qualify as a small business.
4. Determine who in the government purchases your products or services.
5. Determine if there are any special programs for which you may qualify.
6. Obtain a DUNS (Data Universal Numbering System) number for free from Dun & Bradstreet.
7. Register with the SBA and the agency with which you wish to do business.
8. Subscribe to the Commerce Business Daily, which lists notices of proposed government procurement actions, contract awards, sales of government property, and other procurement information.
9. Respond to the bids effectively and get awarded contracts!

Tips:

1. Make sure you want to do business with the government. They may be the world's largest customer, but their business comes with a lot of strings attached.
2. Make sure you meet both general government contracting qualifications and those of the specific agency, or you'll waste a lot of time and effort.
3. Don't expect the government to move fast on anything -- this is a long-term process.
4. Educate yourself thoroughly on the process.
5. Get in touch with your local SBA office.

More How To's from your Guide To Entrepreneurs