Three Rumors I Heard at AAM
Three Rumors I Heard at AAM
June 1, 2010 by Taylor Studios
In giving you a review of the American Association of Museum’s Conference in LA this last week, I will try to give you something juicy you might not hear elsewhere.
Rumors
I imagine every industry has their rumors. How did so and so get that job; I hear this business is hurting and might go out of business; etc. Here are a few of the comments I heard at this year’s AAM Conference.
I was surprised to hear this one. After hearing it, I looked at Drew and asked him how much this helps us win work. He couldn’t think of a single proposal where that was the deciding factor for us to win the job. We do register as a WBE in many states, so hopefully it helps a little as it takes a lot of effort to do the paperwork. Just as in a horse race, sometimes you win by a nose and a few points might help. We did get a few points on our recent win of an IDIQ contract with the state of MO, but four other firms that were not registered also won the IDIQ. So, just because we’re women owned, we don’t think it’s the reason we win jobs.
Once again, I was surprised by this comment. This may help us occasionally, but it has never come up around the office. To a certain degree it may be helping us as firms over a certain amount of sales (usually the threshold is around $8 million in sales) cannot bid on these government projects. Therefore, it does lower the amount of competition which may give us higher odds on the jobs that have this requirement. The vast majority of what we bid does not have this government requirement, however.
I think DCI had a reputation for low price for quite some time. At this show I heard the theory that they were buying the work so they could then sell the business. Who knows? What I do know is businesses often go out of business after the founders leave. I would say DCI slowly started to fade when the founders sold the company. I did hear a rumor of the new low priced firm in the industry. I won’t mention names on this one, but it seems there are always firms that get the low price reputation.
Well, hopefully this debunks a few of the rumors floating round about us and it is a reminder to be careful of what you hear. Make sure you check the facts before you believe it.
It was great to see old friends, visit museums and have some great dinners.
Marina del Rey