Where Others See Red Tape, He Found Gold: James Walk’s Tale of Government Contracting

When it comes to government contracts, trapping wild pigs doesn’t exactly scream cool. It doesn’t have the sleek appeal of IT, cybersecurity, or AI modernization. Let’s be honest, if someone tells you they just won a contract involving artificial intelligence, it sounds like they’re shaping the future.

But here’s the twist. Imagine you’re brand new to the world of government contracting. No fancy degrees, no tech background, just a sharp eye for opportunity. You come across a contract that could earn you a $10,000 margin simply by hiring the right crew to get the job done.

Would you take it? Most middlemen would shrug it off. But James Walk, founder of Blue Falcon Services, sees it differently. He’d jump on that contract in a heartbeat.

The better part of this story? It’s not just a one-off win. James Walk has landed two government contracts in just six months, totaling $68,000. That’s not luck—it’s business acumen.

And that’s the part we’ll dig into later. In a recent episode of Kizzy Parks’ podcast series, where she interviews successful government contractors, James shared a treasure trove of insights for newcomers.

Let’s dive into what James had to say, and why his approach is turning heads in the contracting world.

From Layoff to Thriving in Government Contracting

James Walk always knew government contracting was something he should pursue but didn’t act on it right away. With a background in tech support and crisis management, he worked across both startups and large companies, often handling government-related contracts.

For years, he kept thinking, “I should be the one out there doing this and making the money, instead of doing it for my company.”

That moment came earlier this year. On January 29, James was told he’d be laid off in two weeks. By February 7, he had already launched his own company, built specifically to go after government contracts.

To keep stability, James also secured another corporate job. But his real passion happens after hours: once his day job ends, he’s on sam.gov combing through opportunities, reviewing bids, and mapping out his next moves.

“In the meantime, I was fortunate to pick up another corporate job, so I had something going in the background. I work my day job there, and as soon as I’m done, I’m on sam.gov pulling up all the bids I want to look at for the day. And I do that every single day,” James recalled.

James took a learn-as-you-go approach. He immersed himself in YouTube videos on government contracting, determined to build real experience by actively participating. Rather than waiting to feel fully ready, he jumped in and began submitting dozens of bids. With each submission, he refined his knowledge, strengthened his strategy, and approached it with the mindset that he was prepared to win.

That persistence paid off. Within just five months of starting, James secured two contracts totaling $68,000.

However, the focus here is not on how James Walk made more money. It is about exploring the strategy he used to establish himself as a trusted vendor in government contracting and his perspective on what truly defines a successful business.

Inside James Walk’s Mind on Government Contracting

Every government contractor has a unique way of finding opportunities, and James is no different. What sets him apart is the way he filters and narrows those opportunities to match his strengths and passions.

Zeroes In on Contracts Where His Expertise and Passion Overlap

He takes a very broad approach when searching for government contracts. Instead of narrowing his focus early, he looks at every solicitation opened in the last 24 hours—which can be around a thousand opportunities per day.

He admits this is overwhelming and even something experts often advise against, but it is how he works. He quickly skims through page after page, skipping smaller opportunities, until he finds ones that are relevant.

From that wide pool, he narrows his focus to areas that align with his strengths and interests. He looks closely at training and development services, where his professional experience gives him an advantage. He also pays attention to fitness-related opportunities, drawing on his background as a former franchise owner, certified coach in multiple sports, and years of coaching young athletes.

Another key focus for James is veteran-related contracts. Having served in two different branches of the military, he feels a strong connection to this space and looks especially closely at opportunities coming from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

“If it says it’s from the VA, I’m looking at it. And then in particular, if there’s anything out there that says fitness, I’m looking at it. Those are the ones where they’re going to grab my attention immediately,” he stated.

He Won Because He Read the Proposal Carefully

In his first win with the VA, James succeeded by carefully reading the proposal because the government spelled out exactly what they wanted, and winning came down to following those instructions precisely.

He paid close attention to the requirements in the solicitation—firm pricing, shipping included, specific delivery dates, and a 100-day deadline. He made sure his proposal addressed each of those points, which showed the government he understood their needs and could deliver.

“I focused on the proposal and what they asked for,” James said.

That attention to detail mattered more than his background or even the competition. While others may have focused on credentials or cut prices too low, James stood out because his proposal clearly matched what the VA asked for.

One more thing about the importance of reading the proposal is that sometimes, it may contain errors. In James’s first VA contract, the solicitation listed the wrong part numbers. A day before the bid was due, the contracting officer admitted the mistake. Fortunately, James had already spoken with the distributor, who knew the site well and flagged the issue early.

Because James had already been warned by his distributor that the part numbers in the solicitation were probably wrong, he adjusted his quote ahead of time. So when the contracting officer later admitted the mistake, James didn’t need to change anything—his quote was already accurate.

“The distributor knew that site so well because they had done business there in the past. He said, ‘I know what they want.’ So I was able to tell the contracting officer, ‘No problem, the quote I gave you is still good. I quoted you what you wanted, not just what was in your paper, because I worked with them and knew what they wanted,’” James explained.

He Did It, Even He Did It Badly!

According to James Walk, the best way for newcomers to break into government contracting is to surround themselves with people who have already figured it out. He encourages joining social media groups, listening to those with real wins, and soaking up their lessons. But James is quick to remind that too much waiting and planning won’t get you far, “just start” is the key.

Many people waste time overanalyzing, but James stresses that even a badly written proposal is better than none at all.

“Just do it. Do it wrong. Do it badly. But do it,” he suggested.

His own early submissions were full of mistakes, but those failures became lessons that shaped his success.

The key point is that there’s no real downside to trying. The government doesn’t penalize you for weak proposals, so every attempt builds confidence and experience. His advice: stop hesitating, pick a solicitation you can reasonably handle, and just get started.

“But there’s no penalty. They don’t knock you out of the next opportunity just because you looked silly this time,” he stated.

Some Contracts Sound Silly But They Can Be Easy Wins

One thing about the government is they need everything, even trapping animals—and this was James Walk’s second win.

The contract was for feral hog trapping in Texas, which at first sounded unusual, even funny. But James quickly realized that what seemed silly was actually a smart opportunity.

He was casually looking at bids with a friend who already ran a successful roofing and construction business. When they saw a city posting about trapping pigs, James laughed because it sounded odd and outside the scope of what they usually did.

But his friend pointed out that he and his brother had been trapping pigs on the side for 20 years. Suddenly, what looked like a “silly contract” became a practical opportunity, since they already had the know-how.

“So, we talked through it and decided I would go ahead and put out a bid to trap pigs for one of my local cities,” James remembered.

The bid was for trapping both pigs and beavers. When he asked the city some questions, they realized their plan for relocating beavers wasn’t realistic since most traps cause drowning. He even warned them it probably wouldn’t work as written. In the end, the city admitted they hadn’t thought it through and withdrew the bid.

Even though it got canceled, he had already spent weeks preparing. He bought a large corral, set up cameras, and had a remote gate system ready. That preparation paid off, because when a new pig-trapping opportunity from the USDA came up in East Texas, he was able to jump right in and win easily. That deal ended up netting him a 50% margin.

what he realized was that this “silly-sounding” animal control niche is actually a huge industry. Cities and federal agencies spend serious money on things like pig trapping, beaver relocation, and even dropping flies, with some contracts worth hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. What seemed like a small, quirky opportunity at first turned out to be a major space with steady, long-term demand.

“The city of Dallas has a $750,000 contract for trapping digs. It’s a 5-year contract. So, the guy’s making, I think, $150,000 a year,” he provided an example.

Build a Rapport with Everyone

James is the kind of person who proactively makes connections with everyone, from fellow entrepreneurs to government officials. He understands that opportunities in government contracting are often hidden in plain sight, and the more people know who he is, the more doors open.

Subcontractors Can be Someone in Your Neighborhood

One thing is that you don’t need to look far or for a big company to find help for a government contract. People you already know, even casually, may have the skills, licenses, or equipment needed to help complete a project.

For example, in his second win, he discovered a potential subcontractor simply through a conversation with a friend. That’s why James suggested people to actively talk to people to find more valuable connections.

“Talk about what you want to do. Success breeds success. When you start talking about the business you want to do, you’ll find out how many people you know in your tight circle that are doing a side gig that you didn’t know about,” he stated.

“And I sit at a little nutrition shop in the mornings to have a protein shake being there on my computer doing something and somebody asks, ’What are you doing?’ And what are you working on? You do this. And you find out a guy, again, a guy that owns a business has three side gigs to go with his business because his goal is to retire in 5 years. And he wants to have all those things with somebody else running them in 5 years,” he added.

Building relationships in government contracting requires proactive effort and overcoming fear. You can’t just rely on email; picking up the phone and having real conversations is essential to make meaningful connections, as he said.

You also need to show up in person, whether it’s at site visits, VA events, or SBA gatherings, even if you don’t plan to bid on that particular contract. These in-person connections can help you identify dependable subcontractors,

Contracts Will Find You If They Know Who You Are

Besides building relationships with subcontractors, James also emphasized that connecting with decision-makers, introducing yourself, and building trust can significantly boost your visibility within the contracting community and open doors to future opportunities.

In James’ story, because he has enhanced his visibility in the game, people started to notice him about opportunities.

“And I’m a big fan of the source of sought, just getting the name out there. I had one in the last week—I think I posted it in the Facebook group—where somebody reached out to me and said, ‘Why didn’t you bid on this? We saw you on the sources sought,’” he recalled.