Government Contracting Advisory · Columbus, Ohio

Your city certified you.
The federal government hasn't. Yet.

You've already earned a local or state certification. But every federal set-aside asks for something you don't have, and you're losing contracts to firms that aren't better than you, just federally certified. HerO closes that gap.

Where you areCity / StateMBE · DBE · SBE
Where the money isFederalWOSB · EDWOSB · HUBZone · VOSB · SDVOSB
Based in Columbus, Ohio
SAM.gov & Federal Registration Support
Certification & Bid Support
13+ Years in Public-Sector Operations

You did everything right.
The federal door still won't open.

A city or state certification proves you belong in public-sector work. It just doesn't carry where the largest contracts live. Here's exactly where the wall goes up.

One

Your local cert doesn't transfer

Your city MBE or state DBE means nothing on SAM.gov. Federal set-asides read WOSB, EDWOSB, HUBZone, VOSB, SDVOSB, and 8(a), and only those.

Two

The set-asides pass you by

Contracts reserved for federally certified small businesses get filtered before you ever see them. You can't bid what you can't qualify for.

Three

The paperwork stops most owners cold

Ownership documentation, size standards, SAM registration, portal submissions. It's a full second job, so it never gets done.

The Federal Crossover

One focused engagement that takes you from locally certified to federally certified, and lists you where federal buyers actually look.

Flagship Program

From your city's list to SAM.gov

We confirm the right federal path, prepare and submit the certification, and get you registered and positioned to bid, on your behalf, to standard.

Phase 01 · Qualify

Confirm the path

We verify which federal certification you actually qualify for (WOSB, EDWOSB, HUBZone, VOSB, SDVOSB, or 8(a)) before a dollar or a day is spent chasing the wrong one.

Phase 02 · Build

Prepare & submit

Ownership and control documentation, SBA size review, SAM.gov, and the full certification application, prepared, packaged, and submitted for you.

Phase 03 · Position

Get bid-ready

Capability statement, NAICS alignment, and vendor readiness so that the moment your certification lands, you're ready to compete, not just eligible.

Can you actually go federal?

Before you spend a month on paperwork, find out which federal path fits, in five quick questions. No email required to see your result.

This is the same screen we run before taking on a Crossover engagement. If you don't qualify yet, we'll tell you straight, and point you at what closes the gap.

Directional guidance only, not an official eligibility determination. Final certification is decided by the SBA and issuing agencies.
Federal Eligibility · Pre-Screen0 / 5
Is your business at least 51% owned and controlled by one or more women?
Is your business at least 51% owned and controlled by one or more veterans?
Are the owners U.S. citizens?
Does your business meet SBA small-business size standards for your industry?
Is your main office in a HUBZone, with roughly a third of staff living in one?
Your directional result

Book a Call to Confirm Your Path

Built for the crossover,
and every stage around it.

Most of our clients come to us already certified locally. But wherever you enter, there's a stage built for what you need next.

Our FocusPrimary

Locally Certified

You hold a city or state cert and you're ready for the federal level. This is the crossover we're built to run.

Stage One

New Businesses

You have the vision but need the structure: entity, registrations, and a compliant foundation from day one.

Stage Three

Bid-Ready Firms

Set up and certified. Now you want the contracts. We run your pipeline: research, proposals, submissions.

Stage Four

Established Companies

Already winning, or expanding into government markets. Capture strategy and compliance to compete at a higher level.

One clear path,
matched to where you're starting.

Enter at the assessment or step straight into the stage that fits. The Federal Crossover lives inside Foundation.

Begin Here

Readiness Assessment

A focused review of where your business stands and the fastest route to becoming contract-ready.

  • Where you are vs. where you need to be
  • Your top gaps, named clearly
  • The right path forward for your business
Start with the Assessment
Foundation Setup

Launchpad

Entity readiness and government registration, done for you, not handed to you as a checklist.

  • Entity structure guidance & coordination
  • EIN, SAM.gov & state/local registrations
  • NAICS code identification
  • Capability statement, design-ready
Get set up
Includes The Crossover

Foundation

Full compliance infrastructure and the certification pathways that open doors most competitors never reach.

  • Certification eligibility & strategy
  • WOSB · EDWOSB · HUBZone · VOSB · SDVOSB · 8(a)
  • Applications prepared & submitted for you
  • Government vendor readiness review
Start your certification
Active Pursuit

Accelerator

Active bid pipeline management, so you're competing for real contracts, not just eligible for them.

  • Federal, state & local opportunity research
  • Bid / no-bid analysis
  • Proposal development & compliance review
  • Submission management
Build your pipeline

Not sure where you fit? Start with a Discovery Call and we'll map it together.

Simple process.
Clear expectations.

From your first call to your certification landing. Here's exactly what working with HerO looks like.

1

Book a Discovery Call

A focused conversation about where your business is and where you want it to go. No pressure, no pitch, just clarity on what you actually need.

You leave knowing exactly where you stand
2

Get Your Roadmap

We name the federal path you qualify for and map the route to it: clear scope, clear sequence, no guesswork about what happens or when.

A defined plan, not a wish list
3

We Do the Work

Registered. Documented. Submitted. You get regular updates while we handle the complexity, you run your business.

Done for you, on your behalf
4

You Compete and Win

Certification in hand and the right opportunities in front of you, you're positioned to bid, and win, at the federal level.

Positioned to win, not just to qualify

The person behind
the paperwork.

CH
Christal Harris Founder & CEO

HerO Consulting was built on a simple frustration: watching capable, locally certified business owners get shut out of federal contracts, not because their work wasn't good enough, but because the paperwork between them and the federal level was a full second job nobody had time for.

Christal spent more than a decade inside public-sector operations before starting HerO, learning firsthand how set-asides, registrations, and certifications actually move, and where good businesses get stuck. She founded HerO Consulting in Columbus, Ohio to do that work for owners, not hand it to them as a checklist.

Today, HerO helps small businesses, including women-owned and veteran-owned firms, cross from city and state certifications to federal ones like WOSB, EDWOSB, HUBZone, VOSB, and SDVOSB, and get positioned to compete for the contracts those certifications open. The approach is the same on every engagement: qualify honestly, build it right, and keep you clear on exactly where you stand.

Christal Founder & CEO, HerO Consulting LLC

Why businesses
trust the work.

The difference isn't just what we do. It's how we do it, and what it feels like to have us in your corner.

Done-for-you execution

We don't hand you templates and wish you luck. We build it, file it, and submit it, on your behalf, to standard.

We qualify before we sell

If a federal path isn't reachable for you yet, we say so up front, and show you what closes the gap. No dead-end engagements.

One source of truth

Every registration, certification, and deadline lives in one place. Nothing gets lost, nothing gets duplicated.

Straight answers

You'll always know where you stand: what's done, what's next, and what it takes to win. No jargon, no runaround.

Your business deserves
a HerO behind it.

Book your Discovery Call. No obligation, just a clear conversation about the federal path that's open to you.

Book a Discovery Call

Prefer email? Reach us directly at christal.harris@heroconsultingfirm.com