Metro Nashville small business certification can boost your bottom line
Does your small business want to work with the Metro Government of Nashville and Davidson County? You’ll need to get certified as a small business first.
Winning government contracts may not be the most exciting prospect, but it can be a great way to get stable and reliable work for your small business. Metro Nashville has incentives that reward purchasing agents for working with suppliers or contractors that are registered as small or Service Disabled Veteran-owned businesses.
To be considered a small business, you must first meet the following guidelines:
- Must be independently owned and operated in the United States;
- Demonstrate capability to perform a substantial portion of the contract independently;
- Not share office space or other business support systems, like personnel or marketing budgets, with a business that isn’t classified as a small business;
- Havee been in business for at least one year;
- Made at least $35,000 in sales income during the previous year; and
- Not be owned by someone that has a large business in the same industry.
Furthermore, businesses must either make less than the sales volume or have fewer employees than the guidelines specified below for their industry:
| Industry | Annual Sales Volume | Maximum Number of Employees |
| Agriculture/Forestry/Fishing | $500,000 | 9 |
| Architecture/Design/Engineering | $2,000,000 | 30 |
| Construction | $2,000,000 | 30 |
| Education | $1,000,000 | 9 |
| Finance/Insurance/Real Estate | $1,000,000 | 9 |
| I.T. | $2,000,000 | 30 |
| Manufacturing | $2,000,000 | 99 |
| Marketing/Communications/PR | $2,000,000 | 30 |
| Medical/Health Care | $2,000,000 | 30 |
| Mining | $1,000,000 | 49 |
| Retail Trade | $750,000 | 9 |
| Hospitality | $500,000 | 9 |
| Transportation/Utilities | $1,000,000 | 9 |
| Wholesale Trade | $1,000,000 | 19 |
You’ll need to create a Letter of Affirmation on your business letterhead that outlines which industry you’ll be seeking for certification. The template for this letter can be found here. Also, you’ll need your business’ two most recent tax returns and your two most recent IRS 941 tax forms.
Gather this information and send it via one of these methods:
Mail:
Metro BAO
PO Box 196300
Nashville, TN 37210-2006
Hand Delivery:
730 2nd Avenue South, Suite 112
Nashville, TN 37210-2006
Email: bao@nashville.gov
Secure Fax: 615-862-6175
Get the full scoop on how to get certified as a small business with Metro Nashville here. For more tips for small business owners and entrepreneurs, check out our other blog articles