AMS Consulting & Design: Repositioning a Woman-Owned Firm for Federal Contracting Success

Impact Snapshot

Industry: Construction Consulting

Region: Southern California

Support: Federal Procurement Advising

Result: $10M federal contract win

Support Team: CalAsian small business assistance team

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Overview

AMS Consulting and Design, Inc., founded by Ileana Evans, is a woman-owned small business specializing in federal procurement and construction consulting. As the company prepared to pursue larger federal opportunities, Evans sought specialized guidance to strengthen competitive positioning and partnership strategy.

Through its Small Construction Business Development Program (SCBDP), the CalAsian Chamber team provided the technical assistance and strategic mentorship needed to reposition the company and pursue more complex contracting opportunities.

The Challenge

Entering the federal procurement market offered significant growth potential, but also steep technical, bonding, and partnership barriers.

Key challenges included:

• Understanding bonding and proposal strategies
• Structuring the business for contracting competitiveness
• Identifying partnership pathways
• Building relationships needed to compete for larger federal awards

CalAsian’s Support

The CalAsian procurement advisory team provided:

• Hands-on instruction in federal procurement requirements
• Business repositioning strategy
• Partnership and teaming guidance
• Practical tools tied to real procurement scenarios
• Consistent advising follow-up

This support helped Evans translate federal procurement requirements into an actionable contracting strategy.

The Outcome

With strengthened positioning and partnership strategy, Evans and her team won a $10 million U.S. National Parks design-build contract through a collaborative bid.

Advising support helped the firm:

• Improve business readiness for federal contracting
• Increase procurement visibility
• Build relationships with experienced primes and teaming partners

This win represents a significant growth milestone for the company and shows how procurement advising and partnership strategy can translate directly into high-value contract awards.

Why This Matters

This case shows how procurement advising and the right partnership strategy can help small and women-owned firms compete for and win high-value public contracts, not just prepare for them.

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In the Owner’s Words

“They (CalAsian team) were especially helpful in providing clarity and tools to reposition my business for growth in federal contracting, enabling pursuit of new opportunities, strengthening business structure, and building strategic partnerships.”

“The key to being successful on any contract — especially competitive ones — is collaboration… Together, we bid on a U.S. National Parks design-build project and won a $10 million contract. I truly believe collaboration is the key to winning contracts of any size.”

— Ileana Evans, Founder, AMS Consulting & Design