Small Disadvantaged Businesses?

[ModManSEK]

Hello,

I was wondering if anyone might have an opinion about Small-Disadvantaged Businesses (SDBs). Specifically, an opinion about stability, pay, and benefits. I have an opportunity to take a job at an SDB. The increase in pay is decent (~16%) but some of that will be eaten up by the increased cost to me for things like health benefits, etc. I would be leaving a very large aerospace company with full benefits -- both health and fringe.

The new company is up-and-coming but very, very, small. The biggest attraction to the SDB for me is the challenging and interesting work I'd be doing. At my current job, I'm not learning much of anything and the work is mind-numbingly boring. If I stay, my fear is that I won't be employable when my current program/project ends in a couple of years. BTW, I've never worked for a company with less than several thousand people and the SDB has less than a hundred.

Well, if anyone has a good or bad opinion/story relative to this topic, feel free to chime in. Thanks.

 

[MintJulep]

For projects that are funded by Federal money it is MANDATED that DBs get a cut.

Not a bad position to be in.

 

[Yagonyonok]

There are definitely advantages to SBDs. You get to do a little of everything (good experience for a young engineer like me).
There are also downsides. You mentioned the insurance. Our insurance is crap. Beyond the monthly premiums we have a huge deductible and co-pays. For me to cover all of my deductible and co-pays for my family it would be over 21% of my annual income. It has quadrupled since I started here (less than 2 years ago). That combined with sub-COLA “raises” have me looking for a new job.
As a point of reference, this is my first job out of school, it is a woman-owned, HUBZone, SBDE 8(a) business. We have 10 full time employees and 2 part time contractors.

 

[diarmud]

I used to work for the Def Dept and we dealt with SDB's.

To get started they have to mortgage everything, it's not a great deal for the owners at first. They usually sign over their homes, etc.

The ones we worked with were nimble, able to adjust to changing conditions and were definately customer oriented. I enjoyed working with them. At times, they lacked technical skill and we had to help.

Their great advantage to them was some contracts were negotiated and I believe they did well on those.

If they have about 100 employees, they are well sized as most we worked with were alot smaller.

Security, numbness or take a chance.

Note, they cannot stay in the program forever. You might want to see how long they can stay. If it's near the end, they will be thrown out of the lifeboat and have to swim with the rest of us, though I think some of them figured a way around that one.

Good luck, let us know what you decide.

 

[ModManSEK]

Thanks to all of you for the responses. You made a number of really good and useful points. Thanks again.