Contacts! You have to have contacts to be a primes. Without knowing the right people in the right places, you will never be a prime. It takes years and years of developing relationships with the right people, like General Managers, Project Managers, Director of Engineering, VP of Engineering, etc. In other words, the decision makers of the companies that you want to work for. Also you may want to develop relationships with the managers of Professional Engineering Firms so you can get on their bid list. Get in front of people, serve on boards. Let people know who you are. You have to sell your services, the jobs won't just show up. Doing quality work is important part of your business but it is not enough to be a prime, you have to get out and in front of people that make decisions. Then develop those relationships. Relationships take years to develop in to meaningful business ventures.
Did I mention you need contacts?
