Growing a GovCon Biz: You need to work after hours

by Dale Davidson March 18, 2026

A cartoon of a tired business owner trying to interview someone after business hours at a coffee shop. The scene shows a stick figure business owner with bags under their eyes, holding a cup of coffee in one hand and a resume in the other. They are sitting across from a potential hire, who looks eager and fresh. The business owner is struggling to keep their eyes open, yawning widely, while attempting to ask interview questions. The coffee shop is cozy, with other patrons in the background focused on their laptops or conversations, oblivious to the interview happening. The contrast between the energetic interviewee and the exhausted interviewer is emphasized, highlighting the dedication of the business owner to grow their team, even after a long day's work. The style is humorous and exaggerated, capturing the fatigue and commitment of the business owner in a lighthearted manner.

I'm trying to grow my business and it's tough.

One of the tougher challenges is recruiting (in large part due to being in the cleared space) and is, in fact, probably the main challenge.

I have tried using ClearedJobs before but the results were meh. You don't get much inbound interest because you compete with other postings, and cold e-mailing candidates has a very low response rate. Candidates get bombarded with e-mails from recruiters so you just don't stand out.

ClearedJobs.Net

So the way I have to recruit now is through my network. I ask my employees, friends, and acquaintances to let me know if they know of anyone that would be interested in X role, and if so, I ask for an introduction.

Once I get the intro, I then set up an in-person coffee or HH if they're in the DC area.

I do the casual in-person meet up because both parties are able to relax a bit in an informal setting. This also helps separate me from the other companies who aren't doing this (because it doesn't scale).

At this point in my life, doing this work is pretty difficult because I have a toddler at home, a near full time billable gig, and candidates I try to recruit can really only meet in person outside of business hours, because they also have day jobs.

So, I have to find time outside of work to grow, and it's tiring.

I share this not to discourage you, but to make sure you know going from being a solo 1099 to a company with employees is a significant jump in effort.

There may be other things that you'd rather do with your time (like spend time with family) or maybe even easier ways to make extra money.

I heard becoming a TikTok star is more fun and can make you rich ;).

If you have other questions about growing a small govcon business feel free to e-mail me.

Want the full playbook? Check out Going 1099.