Size & Scale Do Matter
In dog sports, sometimes the size of the dog is either a detriment or an advantage. Chasing a critter into a small hole wil certainly disadvantage a larger dog and often the power of a large dog can propel it forward much farther off the dock in a dockdiving competition. Not always, but some times.
The key is to know your size and how to use it appropriately. Yet, it seems many project owners, project managers and their attorneys do not routinely review the size of the firms they are entering contracts with, and that is a real problem.
When government funds are used in a project and the project requires say 30 - 40% usage of disadvantaged entities, WBEs, MBEs, DBEs, etc., the owners should not be using corporate bullying tactics or even the same set of contracts, insurance requirements, that are used with other larger firms.
Many of these disadvantaged entities are sole proprietors. They have neither the human capital nor the financial resources to be taking on full indemnity for projects or the time and resources to be negotiating or paying attorneys to negotiate on their behalf. But, it seems, no one but the sole proprietor cares, or at least that has been the experience of many we have worked with and seen this in action.
If the government has established requirements to use disadvantaged entities, they should also mandate standard documents to be used in conjunction with these projects that do not cause undo financial harm to said firms. And their attorneys really need to abide by this and understand this. Or they need to pick up the legal bills for the negotiations.
We continue to be dismayed at the treatment of several disadvantaged entities we work with, and truly wish there were more advocacy efforts around protecting their time and financial resources. We hope that by writing about this periodically, it may garner the sight of those in power to help or change the system. Requiring a solopreneur to take on the risk of an entire project when their insurance limits them to an amount much less than the project itself, causes us to stop and wonder why. Insurance limits are in place for a reason, understand them and abide by them. And stop wasting time of these small firms and taking any profit away from them. One size does not fit all and sometimes it is not just black or white.
The dog sports we have been involved with always seemed to be flexible to try and adjust to ensure every participant is given a fair chance or at least enjoys their efforts. Human interactions can learn much from canine interactions.
Be well.
