Government contracting demands precision, compliance, and unwavering commitment to performance standards. For Margarita Howard, sole owner and CEO/president of HX5, these demands represent opportunities rather than obstacles. Her methodical approach to building a government contracting business has transformed HX5 from a startup to a respected name supporting critical NASA and Department of Defense missions nationwide.
When Howard founded HX5 in 2004, she made a decision that would prove crucial to the company’s future success.
“Right from the beginning, we invested heavily upfront in purchasing and implementing a specialized accounting system developed for government service contracting firms,” Howard explains. “A system we knew the government was very familiar with and that would provide us the necessary accounting tools to pass government billing audits and gain government approval for use in the performance of our government contracts.”
This early infrastructure investment signaled to potential government clients and large business partners that HX5, though new, was serious about compliance and prepared to meet federal contracting standards.
“So, that was also very attractive to large businesses, that we were very small at the time and that we already had this government accounting system in place that those large businesses had,” Howard adds.
Competitive Mindset and Strategic Growth
Rather than relying solely on set-aside contracts, Margarita Howard positioned HX5 to compete in the open market from day one. This philosophy distinguished the company from many peers who focused exclusively on sole-source opportunities through programs like the Small Business Administration’s 8(a) initiative.
“I had that competitive edge or desire,” Howard notes. “And I knew that I didn’t want HX5 to be dependent on sole-source awards.”
This foresight proved invaluable as the company grew. “We had been in the industry, we knew small businesses in our area, and that’s what many of them did. And once the program was over after nine years, they were done. They had never competed. They had never really done it on their own,” she says.
The results speak volumes about the effectiveness of this method. Today, HX5 employs over 1,000 people across 34 states and 90 government locations, providing specialized services in research, development, testing, evaluation, hardware and software engineering, and mission support operations.
Comprehensive Compliance Management
Government contracting involves facing complex regulatory requirements that change frequently and vary across agencies. Howard’s leadership at HX5 emphasizes thorough compliance management as a cornerstone of reputation building.
“Government contracting is laden with rules, regulations, and compliance requirements that can be daunting to new business owners,” she points out. “Businesses must invest in educating themselves about these regulations and ensure strict adherence to them.”
This commitment extends to documentation practices and financial management. “It’s important that a company’s records are impeccable when working with the government due to the compliance reporting and audits that companies have to agree to in order to perform on government contracts,” Howard adds.
The company maintains specialized expertise to handle these mosaics of requirements. “We have built and keep a team of advisers that specialize in the government industry, in the government field. These external experts help us with the more challenging and complex regulatory matters,” Howard explains.
Building the Right Team
Margarita Howard attributes much of HX5’s success to careful team building. “For a company to be successful, they must be able to clearly articulate their unique value proposition and differentiate their services from their competitors,” she says.
Recognizing that government contracting work requires specialized knowledge, Howard prioritizes hiring individuals with relevant qualifications. “We prefer to hire experienced individuals, so we look for people that have worked with, or supported, NASA or the Department of Defense, as this experience is always very helpful,” she notes. “Experience in their respective fields, while supporting these agencies’ respective programs and missions, is very different than experience gained from working in the commercial world.”
This extends to leadership positions as well. “We were very selective of people that we chose for our management team. And really, I could not be more proud of the team that we have,” Howard states. “Many of them have been with us 10 years or so, and we just have a highly dedicated, experienced management team.”
Howard’s leadership philosophy centers on demonstrating the standards she expects from her team. “Our guiding principle is to lead by example. We hold ourselves to the same high standards of performance, and integrity, and honesty that we would expect of our employees,” she explains.
This approach creates alignment throughout the organization and helps maintain consistent quality in service delivery. “We try to remind them always that our customers have important missions, and we are trusting in them to help us support our customers. We always want to provide the best possible services at the highest levels,” Howard says.
Building Long-Term Partnerships
For Howard, creating lasting relationships with clients and business partners represents a fundamental business strategy. “Large businesses and the government have to meet small-business goals,” she explains. “So when they find a small company that they know understands the industry, that performs well, takes care of its employees, and know they’re not going to have to hold their hand, so to speak, that makes for a very positive long-term relationship between the two companies and oftentimes leads to new contracts and the expansion of existing work.”
This relationship-building extends to financial partners as well, with Howard maintaining loyalty to the institutions that supported HX5 during its early days. “We went from the first year where a big part of my job was going and knocking on doors, meeting with the bankers, and trying to get a line of credit, a business loan, etc. I was turned down continually until one bank took a chance on us, and that bank remains our bank to this day.”
Through measured growth, strategic investments, and unwavering attention to performance standards, Margarita Howard has built HX5 into a respected name in government contracting. Her leadership demonstrates that success in this demanding field comes through thorough preparation, consistent execution, and genuine commitment to supporting critical government missions.
