Tag Archives: WBE certification

Top 3 Questions You Need to Answer Before Applying for WBENC Certification

Posted on Wednesday, 11 May
by Dr. Pamela Williamson

You may have heard of WBEs or WBENC certification, but are not sure what exactly it means to be certified and how certification will help you. This post aims to clear some doubts and will help you determine if you are eligible to apply or qualify to be certified as a WBE.

 

Q1 – Do I qualify as a WBE?

A1 – A Women’s Business Enterprise, or in short a WBE, is an independent business that is at least 51% owned and controlled by one or more women who are U.S. citizens or Legal Resident Aliens; whose business formation and principal place of business are in the U.S. or its territories; and whose management and daily operation is controlled by a woman with industry expertise.  If you said yes to all of the above, you are eligible to apply for certification.  Also note that a WBE is the business, not the individual.

 

Q2 – What is the purpose of getting WBENC certification?

A2 – WBENC certification offered specifically to women-owned businesses is one of the most broadly recognized and esteemed certifications in the US. The certification is accepted by hundreds of corporations nationwide including  a number of federal, state, and local government agencies.

Often there are procurement opportunities reserved for WBE’s and getting certified means you get a chance to apply to these contracts not available to you if you were not a WBE.

Also by getting certified you can display a badge of certification on your website making it an important marketing tool for expanding your company’s visibility among decision makers in corporate supply chain diversity and procurement organizations.  Getting certified also gives you access to other WBE’s to do business with or partner with for joint ventures.

 

Q3 – Do I apply to WBEC-West directly and what are the fees?

A3 – If your business is registered in Arizona, Southern California, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming or Guam you can contact us directly to start the certification process. For other States click here to see which territory you fall under and contact that RPO directly.

Fees are determined individually by each RPO so if you fall under the WBEC-West territory please contact us directly for fee details or any other questions you might have about the certification process at: http://wbec-west.com/contact-us/

How Can Women Business Enterprise Certification Benefit Your Business?

Posted on Wednesday, 20 April
by Dr. Pamela Williamson

Each year state, local and federal agencies award billions of dollars in contracts to private businesses and of those contracts awarded, government agencies set aside a percentage of business opportunities or contacts for certified Women Business Enterprises (WBE). 

These government set-asides are for businesses certified as a WBE and sometimes require additional certification as a small business, as such term is defined under federal or state applicable laws to be a Women Owned Small Business (WOSB) and/or industry specific requirements.  

In addition to government work, many large private sector companies seek to have business relationships with women owned businesses.  If a business meets certain requirements, the business could certify as a WBE and reap the benefits of lucrative private sector contract initiatives.  For this reason alone, certification solely as a WBE could greatly benefit your business.

A business can be WBE certified by a state government, the Federal Government, a third party certifier such as the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, or, on the federal and often private sector level, by self-certification. 

While the WBE certification process may vary slightly depending on the applicable government agency or private company, the requirements are generally similar. 

At least 51% of the business must be owned and controlled by women and the day-to-day operations managed by women.  For certain government contract set-asides, including the Federal Government, an entity must operate in approved industries and not exceed certain size and/or revenue limitations with respect to such industry to qualify as a small business under applicable law.

Certifiers take this process seriously and require, among other things, various organizational, governance and tax documents to vet the applicant.  Certifiers are particularly concerned with the “control” requirement and endeavor to look beyond the applicant’s ownership into the realities of decision-making and management.  

Careful attention is required when there is ownership through other entities or estate planning trusts.  Furthermore, certifiers typically prefer applicants to be in existence and conducting business for at least a year prior to submitting an application for WBE status.  New York, for example, strongly recommends, but does not require, that businesses operate for at least one year prior to applying for WBE certification.  As such, an entity may apply for WBE status prior to operating for one year, but may face issues in collecting the necessary documentation.

While the application process can be scrutinizing in some respects, the benefits of being certified as a WBE can be well worth the process.  As a WBE, businesses are afforded improved access to government and private sector work and set-asides. 

While WBE status does not guarantee more work by virtue of the status itself, WBE status places businesses in favorable positions as they bid for contracts or business relationships with those seeking to work with WBEs.  For a business looking to grow, becoming a WBE could be the key to greater revenues and connecting with new industry contacts.

There are similar certifications available for minority-owned businesses.

via Women Business Enterprise Certification Could Benefit Your Business

 

Benefits of WBE Certification for Business Growth

Posted on Tuesday, 23 February
by Dr. Pamela Williamson

Although women-owned businesses are growing in numbers nationwide, they still lag behind their male-owned counterparts in terms of revenue and business growth.

In a recent article in The Business Journal it stated that:

According to a report released last year by the National Women’s Business Council, the number of women-owned firms jumped 26 percent between 2007 and 2012. The 2012 numbers are the most recent available and showed more than 9.8 million women-owned businesses in the U.S. that year.

The overwhelming majority of the studied firms — 89.5 percent — employed no individuals other than the female owner, however, and reported total receipts of just over $182.2 billion.

There are several organizations established to specifically address the trend of slow growth and help WBEs grow their business footprint. Two Federal entities include the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Women Owned Small Business (WOSB) and Economically Disadvantaged Women Owned Small Business (EDWOSB) certifications.

The programs require businesses to demonstrate a minimum of 51 percent ownership by one or more woman and that she be actively involved in the company’s management.

Especially when it comes to EDWOSB the criteria is as follows:

To qualify for the EDWOSB certification, businesses must demonstrate that the owner’s net worth is less than $750,000, her adjusted gross yearly income average from the three years prior to applying did not exceed $350,000 and the fair market value of all her assets does not exceed $6 million.

Stating the importance of WBEs getting certified, Dawn Golik, deputy director and public affairs officer with the SBA’s Fresno District Office stated that, ““It gives them a competitive edge and opens the door to new contracts that might otherwise have been out of reach.”

Benefits of WBENC Certification through WBEC-WEST

Once you are certified through WBEC-West you become a member of the WBEC-West Community, which allows you the ability to communicate with  other certified WBE to share best practices and to grow WBE to WBE connections and corporate relationships.

You will also be able to attend WBEC-West hosted corporate workshops including the coveted Platinum, Supplier Program, watch  videos, broadcasts and podcast that provide insider information on how to  successfully engage corporations and increase your exposure and opportunities.