How to Charge as a Government Contracting Consultant When You Are Just Starting Out

How to charge as a consultant is the question every new federal contracting advisor asks, and in this bootcamp session Zach Golden breaks down the retainer plus success fee model he uses to get paid on wins. He walks through when he switches to hourly because industry margins are too thin, how he takes a percentage of gross on a $200K proposal even when he only brings the opportunity, and why his cut moves from 10% to 5% on the same client depending on how involved he is. He also covers coordinating a Department of Energy lab kickoff, setting up invoicing and payroll, and using tools like govwin.IQ so a one-person consultant can run like a full BD team. If you want to turn GovCon knowledge into a paid consulting practice, this is the pricing playbook. CHAPTERS 00:00 How consultants get paid 00:52 Which platforms she searches for bids 01:22 Trading a govwin.IQ seat for services 02:19 Running a DOE lab contract kickoff 03:47 Retainer plus success fee, explained 04:43 When to switch to hourly 05:40 Finder's fee and scope creep 06:38 Percentage of gross on a $200K proposal 07:37 Why her cut went 10% to 5% 08:36 Setting the standard with new clients Market Intelligence gives you the federal opportunities, agency signals, recompete intel, and pursuit briefs that tell you not just what contracts exist, but which ones to chase and how to win them. Sign up for free Daily Alerts and get opportunities delivered to your inbox before the day starts. 👉 Get your free Daily Alerts here 🔗 https://getmindy.ai