When Margarita Howard launched HX5 in 2004, she was working with the limited capital and nonexistent track record common to every new government contractor. What was uncommon was how she chose to deploy those resources. Rather than spending on the things that made a company look established, she spent on the things that made a company capable of performing. That distinction became the foundation of HX5’s competitive approach.
Accounting Infrastructure as a Business Development Tool
Howard invested early in a government-approved accounting system designed for federal service contractors. The purchase served an obvious operational function: HX5 needed to bill the government accurately and survive audits. But it also served a less obvious business development function. Prime contractors evaluating small business subcontractors consistently worried about working with companies that lacked proper financial infrastructure. When they encountered HX5, that concern evaporated. Margarita Howard had anticipated the objection and answered it before anyone asked.
“That’s something HX5 did very early on rather than buying big fancy furniture or offices or anything like that,” Howard said. “It was more important for us that we invest in things like a high-end accounting system that was built and developed specifically for companies who work with the government, and was government reviewed and approved.” The system cost more than standard software but paid back in partnership access and contract credibility.
A Philosophy in Practice
The accounting investment was the most visible early example of a broader approach. Margarita Howard directed HX5’s limited resources toward qualified personnel over premium real estate, compliance tools over marketing materials, and financial reserves over premature expansion. The question guiding every decision was whether the investment would help HX5 compete and win, not whether it would make the company appear to have already won. Today, HX5 employs over 1,000 professionals across 34 states and 90 government locations, a scale built on that early commitment to operational substance. Refer to this article for additional information.
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