Class 01 Business Readiness

Terry A. Lucas | Character. Grit. Ingenuity. Class 1 | 1 CLASS 01 | PLAYBOOK AND WORKSHEET Business Readiness & Operational Capacity 75-minute class companion | November 6, 2026 edition Existing lesson text and worksheet prompts, packaged for individual use. This playbook is separate from the reviewed AI transcript produced after a live class. LESSON 01 · FIRST 10 MINUTES OF THE LIVE CLASS Before the contract: win your war. The habits that help you handle the life in front of you are the habits you bring into your business. A new market gives you a new setting in which to practice them. Before we talk about winning a contract, let’s talk about the responsibilities and challenges already in front of you. Where are you making progress? Where are you avoiding the work? What would it mean to start winning where you stand? I’m offering advice you can evaluate and put to use. Government contracting is one possible route for a business. It comes with obligations, uncertainty and financial ups and downs. Being registered in a system does not make you ready to carry them. OPENING GROUP EXERCISE · WIN YOUR WAR Is anybody’s life perfect here? Take a moment to name one or two challenges you are working through. Write them privately first. If you choose to share, describe only what you are comfortable discussing; passing is always an option. Now imagine starting somewhere unfamiliar, with fewer resources, no established customers and no familiar support network. Which would you choose: face the challenges in the life you know, or begin again under those conditions? There is no required answer. The point is to recognize what travels with you. The setting changes. So do the barriers and resources. Your character, grit and ingenuity are abilities you can practice and carry into the next situation. They improve how you respond; they do not make every outcome certain. What are we learning from this? A new location, registration or contract does not complete your personal work for you. Identify the responsibilities in front of you, recognize the resources you do have and choose one manageable improvement. Use the discussion to understand your own situation, rather than rank anyone’s hardship. Educational use only; not legal, tax, financial or medical advice. Verify requirements and consult qualified advisers. No outcomes guaranteed. Personal learning and internal application allowed; redistribution, resale or teaching from these materials requires written permission, except as law permits. Rights reserved in Aegis Bellator LLC-owned original expression; third-party and public-domain rights remain unaffected. © 2026 Aegis Bellator LLC and respective rights holders. All rights reserved. Educational use only; not legal advice. WinGovCon Government Contracting Education & Consulting for Small Businesses

Terry A. Lucas | Character. Grit. Ingenuity. Class 1 | 2 Build a steadier base. For me, winning your war means getting a stronger handle on the life you are asking your business to support. Know your bills, your obligations, your available time and the people depending on you. Work toward dependable routines so fewer things are left to chance. You do not need a perfect life or every bill paid before you can learn or begin building a business. You do need an honest picture of your commitments and a plan for the pressures a new order would add. An expected payment is not cleared cash, and the money needed to fulfill an order still has a job to do. The goal is a life and business supported by reliable systems. Even a good system needs your attention. Know what is due, communicate early and review what has changed. Before you think about winning a contract, think about winning your war. A contract gives you work to perform. Bring the same character that keeps your word, the grit that keeps you engaged and the ingenuity that helps you investigate another route. Those principles need practice before the opportunity arrives. THREE PRINCIPLES. EVERYDAY PRACTICE. Character. Grit. Ingenuity. Keep your word. Stay with the work. Find a way. These principles belong in the ordinary decisions. We’ll introduce them here, then return to them as we work through registration, buyer research, pricing and delivery. Learn the meaning, use it in a situation and explain the decision in your own words. Your word becomes your work. Character shows up in timely replies, respectful treatment, honest commitments and the quality you deliver. A prompt email is one chance to demonstrate care; reliable performance must follow it. When you commit, people begin planning around your word. Think about the agency and the people it serves before making a promise. Explain limits honestly and address problems early. Stay with the work. You may pursue forty-five opportunities without an award. That is a possible experience, not a forecast. Learn from each attempt and improve the next one. Respect a request to stop contacting someone and redirect your effort appropriately. After a setback, remain present. Make the difficult call, coordinate the correction, verify progress and keep people informed. Persistence needs judgment as well as effort. Find a workable way. There is a point A and a point B. Look for another route: a different sequence, a verified supplier, a better tool or a clearer division of work. Test the alternative before depending on it. Adapt your method while honoring the requirements and commitments. If the solution changes the agreement, bring that change forward for approval. © 2026 Aegis Bellator LLC and respective rights holders. All rights reserved. Educational use only; not legal advice. WinGovCon Government Contracting Education & Consulting for Small Businesses

Terry A. Lucas | Character. Grit. Ingenuity. Class 1 | 3 Character keeps the commitment honest. Grit carries the effort forward. Ingenuity finds a workable way. FROM THE FIELD TO THE BUSINESS Prepare the ground. I’ve worked as an entrepreneur, an operating engineer and a firefighter. The settings are different, but preparation and responsibility belong in all three. You have to understand the work in front of you and what people are depending on you to do. That is the discipline I bring to this classroom. Know the route before expanding your service area. Know your capacity before increasing the order. Know the cost before promising the price. Start with what you sell. 1. Name one offer. Tell me exactly what the buyer gets. “We do everything” leaves the customer doing the work of figuring it out. 2. Draw the delivery boundary. Where can you deliver reliably, how soon and with which people and equipment? Be specific enough to stand behind the answer. 3. Find one piece of proof. Show a sample, explain a process or point to completed work. Give the buyer something more useful than a description of how great you are. 4. Identify the weakest link. What could prevent you from delivering: stock, people, paperwork, pricing or the cash needed before payment? 5. Improve one thing now. Pick something that helps your current customers this week, even if a government contract never arrives this month. FICTIONAL PRACTICE CASE The order gets bigger. Does the business? Imagine a business supplying 100 units a week. Now there is an opportunity for 1,000, and the selling price looks good. Stock is still unconfirmed, and the customer would pay after delivery. Where would you start asking questions? Your decision: what would you need to verify before saying yes? Work through the stock, delivery and funding. A smaller order handled well can give you useful evidence for the next one. Compare your thinking I would want the specifications, confirmed stock, people, transport, deadlines, acceptance rules, full costs and payment timing. With those facts, choose work you can support or pause until you can. This fictional exercise does not establish contract eligibility. FICTIONAL PRACTICE CASE · ONE PROBLEM, THREE PRINCIPLES The delivery is at risk. What happens next? A supplier reports a delay that could prevent tomorrow’s delivery. The agency has already planned around your commitment. You have not yet verified an alternative. © 2026 Aegis Bellator LLC and respective rights holders. All rights reserved. Educational use only; not legal advice. WinGovCon Government Contracting Education & Consulting for Small Businesses

Terry A. Lucas | Character. Grit. Ingenuity. Class 1 | 4 Character: tell the receiving party what happened, what is affected, what you know and what still needs confirmation. Do not promise a correction time you cannot support. Grit: stay engaged with your supplier and team. Assign the next actions, verify progress and provide updates. If the original deadline is no longer achievable, say so early. Ingenuity: investigate another supplier, transport option or work sequence. Check the requirements, quality, cost and feasibility. Obtain approval before making any change that requires it. Close the example. Explain your decision. Which principle makes you speak up? Which keeps you engaged? Which helps you investigate alternatives? Name one action for each, then identify what you must verify before committing to the revised plan. YOUR FIRST ASSIGNMENT Choose one challenge. Make one move. My best gift here is a way to think and a next step you can use. Before the next lesson, choose one challenge you can influence. Define what improvement would look like, take one specific action and review what happened. 1. Name the challenge. Keep private details private. Describe the issue in terms useful for your planning. 2. Choose your point B. What realistic, observable improvement are you working toward? 3. Take stock. What time, information, people or other resources can you actually use? 4. Make the next move. Choose one action and a date to complete or review it. 5. Work the three principles. What does character require? What will grit help you finish? What alternative can ingenuity help you verify? Your takeaway Before moving on, name one personal challenge, one next action and one business improvement. Define your offer and delivery limits honestly. Next, we’ll look at where that business fits into local, state and federal buying. © 2026 Aegis Bellator LLC and respective rights holders. All rights reserved. Educational use only; not legal advice. WinGovCon Government Contracting Education & Consulting for Small Businesses

Terry A. Lucas | Character. Grit. Ingenuity. Class 1 | 5 Class 01 Worksheet Business Readiness & Operational Capacity Name or classroom ID: ____________________________________ Use these pages for your own planning. Keep passwords, bank details and confidential information out of your class notes. Win your war · One challenge I can influence Point B · The specific improvement I want to see What resources and support can I actually use? My next move · action, review date and evidence of progress © 2026 Aegis Bellator LLC and respective rights holders. All rights reserved. Educational use only; not legal advice. WinGovCon Government Contracting Education & Consulting for Small Businesses

Terry A. Lucas | Character. Grit. Ingenuity. Class 1 | 6 Class 01 Worksheet - continued My one-sentence offer I help [buyer] solve [problem] by delivering [specific product/service]. What proves I can deliver today? My current delivery area, timing and realistic capacity Which of the three principles already shows in my work - and what is my example? What do I need to resolve before promising a larger order? © 2026 Aegis Bellator LLC and respective rights holders. All rights reserved. Educational use only; not legal advice. WinGovCon Government Contracting Education & Consulting for Small Businesses

Terry A. Lucas | Character. Grit. Ingenuity. Class 1 | 7 Class 01 Worksheet - continued One improvement I can make for my current customers this week Character · What commitment must I keep, clarify or correct? Grit · What action will I follow through on, and when will I check it? Ingenuity · What alternative can I verify while honoring the requirements? © 2026 Aegis Bellator LLC and respective rights holders. All rights reserved. Educational use only; not legal advice. WinGovCon Government Contracting Education & Consulting for Small Businesses