The small contract hiding in plain sight

Most of the work in this industry is not in the headlines. It is in notices that read like paperwork, because they are.

Public owners post their tenders in public. In Canada that means the federal CanadaBuys portal and a provincial or municipal one for almost every other buyer. Private owners post less, but they still go out to a short list of firms they already know.

A small notice is easy to skip: a culvert replacement, a haul road resurfacing, a month of equipment rental. It is also exactly the size of work a small firm can win.

What to look for in a notice:

• the closing date, which is usually shorter than you think
• whether there is a site visit, and if it is mandatory
• the bonding and insurance requirements
• the evaluation criteria, because price is rarely the only one
• any addenda, which change the scope and are easy to miss

Most losing bids lose on the paperwork, not the price. A missed addendum or a missing form is a disqualification, however good the number.

You cannot win the work you did not know was posted.

Set up alerts for the categories you actually do, and read them every week. The habit is boring and it pays.