CMMC compliance is one of the most misunderstood requirements in government contracting, and the rumor that it costs small businesses $250,000 is simply not true. In this episode, Eric Coffie sits down with Katie Arrington, the architect behind CMMC, to break down what the real audit actually costs, why the rule was just paused for 60 days, and what small businesses need to know before making any decisions. If you have ever felt confused or priced out by CMMC headlines, this conversation sets the record straight.

Key discussion points from this episode:

Why the real CMMC audit costs around $20,000, not the $250,000 number circulating online
How 75 percent of small businesses have already completed their compliance work without government funding
Why the False Claims Act creates serious risk for companies that claim compliance they have not actually achieved
How the level two maturity model was designed to give small businesses a roadmap from unclassified work to handling CUI
Why the 60 day pause is meant for public comment and not a rollback of the CMMC rule itself

Mindy gives you the federal opportunities, agency signals, recompete intel, and pursuit briefs that tell you not just what contracts exist, but which ones to chase and how to win them.

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EPISODE CHAPTERS: 0:00 - Introducing Mindy your federal contract research assistant 0:55 - Debunking the 250K CMMC cost myth 1:45 - Understanding the difference between audit and compliance costs 4:08 - Why CMMC has always been a net positive 5:34 - How the False Claims Act protects taxpayers 6:29 - Two changes Katie Arrington would make to CMMC 9:46 - Why small businesses fund their own compliance already 12:07 - The driver's license analogy for cybersecurity standards 15:27 - Comparing CMMC to banking and healthcare security systems 19:20 - Please stop confusing compliance with an audit 21:40 - Why this is not the time to lower cyber standards 25:49 - Closing thoughts and where to find Mindy