Stone Rickhouse Group LLC

Stone Rickhouse Group LLC MMN Consulting, LLC is a woman-owned government contracting consulting firm headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky.

The firm offers personalized services to help companies analyze, assess and capitalize on contracting opportunities with local, state and federal government agencies.

AI clauses are coming to your contracts. If you’re using AI in your proposal shop today, you’re ahead of the curve.But t...
06/05/2026

AI clauses are coming to your contracts.
If you’re using AI in your proposal shop today, you’re ahead of the curve.
But the rules around that AI are catching up fast. We’re already seeing:
▪️ Draft AI clauses that require contractors to safeguard AI systems and disclose how they’re used.
▪️ Talk about giving agencies broad rights to inspect AI‑generated content and underlying data.
▪️ Early language in some RFPs asking about AI use, governance, and risk management.

None of this is meant to scare you away from AI. It is a signal that “we just use ChatGPT to make things faster” is no longer a strategy.

Here’s how I’d think about AI clauses:
1️⃣ Expect disclosure, not invisibility
▪️ Assume more solicitations will ask if, where, and how you use AI in proposals and performance.
▪️ That means you need a real answer, not “uh… sometimes my team pastes stuff into a chatbot.”
2️⃣ Your data handling story matters
▪️ If you’re touching CUI, export‑controlled data, or sensitive PII, be ready to explain:
▪️ Which AI tools do you use
▪️ Where they’re hosted
▪️ What guardrails you’ve set (no source selection info, no CUI in public tools, etc.)
3️⃣ Flow‑downs will get tighter
▪️ As primes respond to AI clauses, they’ll push new requirements and certifications down to small subs.
▪️ Having your own AI policy and basic documentation in place puts you in the “low‑risk, easy to team with” category.
4️⃣ Quality is still king
▪️ Agencies care less about “was AI used?” and more about “is this proposal accurate, responsive, and trustworthy?”
▪️ If AI helps you improve clarity, compliance, and consistency, and you can show your review process, that’s a strength, not a liability.
5️⃣ Policy now is less pain later
▪️ The contractors who win in this new environment will be the ones who can say: Yes, we use AI, here’s our policy, here’s how we protect you, and here’s our review and audit trail.

You don’t have to become an AI expert.
You do need a simple story that connects your use of AI to compliance, quality, and risk management.

Using AI in GovCon? Don’t get burned. Here are 5 non‑negotiable guardrails for FAR‑friendly proposal workflows 👇1️⃣ AI ...
06/04/2026

Using AI in GovCon? Don’t get burned.
Here are 5 non‑negotiable guardrails for FAR‑friendly proposal workflows 👇
1️⃣ AI = junior analyst, not decision maker
2️⃣ No source selection info in public tools, ever
3️⃣ Keep CUI/ITAR out of insecure environments
4️⃣ Write a simple AI‑use policy your team actually follows
5️⃣ Aim AI at Section L & M, compliance matrices, and gap checks

Bonus: more RFPs are starting to include AI‑specific instructions and disclosure language, so having these guardrails in place now will keep you ahead of those clauses when they land.

Many small businesses are technically registered for federal contracting…but practically invisible. The problem is not S...
06/02/2026

Many small businesses are technically registered for federal contracting…but practically invisible. The problem is not SAM.gov. It is SBS (Small Business Search), formerly DSBS. That’s the database federal buyers and prime contractors use for market research and vendor discovery.

In the graphic, I broke down 10 common SBS visibility mistakes that can limit opportunities without businesses even realizing it.

If you have not reviewed your SBS profile recently, it is worth checking how your company appears in search results.

The Small Business Search (SBS), formerly DSBS, is the primary free database that federal buyers and prime contractors u...
06/01/2026

The Small Business Search (SBS), formerly DSBS, is the primary free database that federal buyers and prime contractors use to find small business vendors, yet most small firms barely touch it.

SAM registration makes you eligible for federal contracts; a complete SBS profile makes you discoverable.

Every small business registered in SAM should complete and optimize its SBS profile to be found for:
• Unrestricted small business set-asides
• Subcontracting opportunities with primes
• Set-aside searches for WOSB, SDVOSB, 8(a), and HUBZone certified firms
• Sources sought / market research
• Micro-purchases and credit card buys
• NAICS-specific searches where you qualify as “small,” even if you are not small in every code

Federal buyers are required by FAR to use “commercially available market research methods” to identify capabilities, and SBS is one of the tools they rely on.

If you are only focused on SAM, you are playing with half a deck. It's time to treat SBS like your federal capabilities storefront, not a one-time registration.

Louisville–Southern Indiana already delivers billions in federal value every year, from TRICARE and logistics to ammo co...
06/01/2026

Louisville–Southern Indiana already delivers billions in federal value every year, from TRICARE and logistics to ammo containers and heavy‑civil construction.

I created this snapshot to highlight just a few of the local firms leading the way and to encourage more manufacturers, logistics providers, and professional services firms in our region to explore federal work.

And they’re not alone. Our region also includes:
▪️ Specialized manufacturers and logistics providers that quietly sit in defense and civilian federal supply chains.
▪️ Southern Indiana defense suppliers like Conco and other firms are tied into the state’s broader “defense triangle” of installations.

If you’re a Louisville or SoIN manufacturer, construction firm, logistics provider, tech/IT integrator, or professional services shop, you’re not starting from zero. You’re in a region where federal contracting is already happening at scale.

If you’re “govcurious” and want to understand whether federal contracting fits your business, let’s talk.

Happy Kentucky Derby Day🌹🏇👒
05/02/2026

Happy Kentucky Derby Day🌹🏇👒

Hello, Spring.The doors that matter rarely open on their own.
03/25/2026

Hello, Spring.
The doors that matter rarely open on their own.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day ☘️
03/16/2026

Happy St. Patrick’s Day ☘️

Marisa Midkiff Neal is speaking this Wednesday at NEW: Network of Entrepreneurial Women with Crystal Billingslea (Crico ...
03/10/2026

Marisa Midkiff Neal is speaking this Wednesday at NEW: Network of Entrepreneurial Women with Crystal Billingslea (Crico Enterprise).

Join NEW for an evening of networking, wine, bites, and conversation.

If you’ve ever wondered how companies are awarded federal contracts, this conversation is for you.

📅 March 11
⏰ 6:00–8:00 PM
📍 Old National Bank – Brownsboro Rd, Louisville
🎟 $12 | Register online at NEW

As I prepare to speak at (NEW: Network of Entrepreneurial Women) next week, I’ve been reviewing federal contracting dat...
03/08/2026

As I prepare to speak at (NEW: Network of Entrepreneurial Women) next week, I’ve been reviewing federal contracting data. One of the things that stands out is:

Women-owned businesses are getting very close to the federal government’s 5% contracting goal, but that progress has surprisingly little to do with WOSB set-asides.

The straightforward statutory target is 5% of all prime and subcontract dollars awarded to women-owned small businesses.

How close is the target according to the SBA?
• FY2022: 4.57%
• FY2023: 4.91%
• FY2024: 4.97%

The federal government is essentially right on the edge of the goal, but here’s one interesting part in the data: most of those awards are not coming from WOSB set-aside contracts.

Only about $2.2B of WOSB awards in FY2024 came from WOSB set-aside procurements. That’s roughly .35% of total prime contract dollars (less than 1%).
The majority came from:
• small business set-asides
• 8(a) contracts
• full and open competitions

The winning company simply happened to be woman-owned.

So, is WOSB certification still valuable?
Yes, as long as the 5% contracting goal remains a statutory target for federal agencies.
The data, along with conversations I’ve had with owners of WOSB certified companies, points to the fact that opportunity for women-owned businesses isn’t limited to WOSB set-asides. Success comes from competing effectively across the broader federal marketplace.

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