As we all know, the $90 Billion federal healthcare marketplace is a lucrative, though complicated web of bureaucracy, regulations and under-performance.  As a result of those hurdles, most federal agencies miss their mandated goals on a consistent basis.  Specifically in regards to Executive Order 13360 (2004), which require all federal agencies to do business with Veteran Owned companies, there is substantial underperformance since there is a lack of qualified & approved veteran-owned companies within that marketplace. 

The hurdles for small companies entering this marketplace are countless:

• Contracting processes are long and expensive. 
• Relationships with federal agencies are hard to develop. 
• The paperwork, reporting, compliance and approvals are often over whelming to most small business. 

J&Co’s mission is to educate, empower, and employ veteran-owned companies through that turbulent process, so that they can succeed within the federal marketplace.

Realizing the power of a federal contract, especially in a marketplace where only one new Service Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business has been added the past five years; J&Co was successful in adding its client and subsidiary Vaughn Medical in 2008 (J&Co owns 49% of Vaughn Medical).  J&Co is excited about continuing to leverage its status and position, exercising federal mandates and goals in an environment that has:

• An extremely difficult barrier-to-entry (J&Co is the only “Small, VOSB & SDVOSB” company to have FSS/BPA federal contracts nationwide)
• Very little competition, and
• Extremely high growth potential over the next 20 years

Through our experience in federal sales, healthcare management, and extensive relationships on Capitol Hill, we have perfected the process of helping Vaughn Medical receive contracts, market to the federal government, and helping the Department of Veterans Affairs meet its goals.

Though successful and lucrative in our venture, with over $11M in federal sales, J&Co suffers from its own success and often sits in a situation where the demand is greater than our ability to purchase the Supply in the quantities that we need to.  Like most small businesses, J&Co must often operate within tight constraints by pre-paying for product in low-quantities, being limited by short credit terms, and having to “Pay-Go” instead of being able to bulk purchase inventory at substantial (often 30-45%) discounts.  Specifically, “Pay-Go” purchasing often yields a profit of around 8-10%, whereas bulk purchasing would allow J&Co to yield a profit margin around 20-30% for those very same items.  Because of all these factors, J&Co is not able to accept all orders received due to lack of inventory.

J&Co is thus, in the process, of trying to secure a line of credit/loan for bulk inventory purchasing to achieve the following:

• Process all orders received currently receiving
• Dramatically increase profit margins (due to bulk purchasing discounts)
• And expand into new marketplaces

Having achieved so much success in helping the federal agencies meet their mandates, J&Co – under the new 2010 Congressional Budget guidelines, has been asked to service a greater volume of business, to help more federal agencies meet their goals, and to do so in a timely manner.