Tag Archives: women business owners

TOP 5 REASONS TO PARTNER WITH A CERTIFIED WOMAN-OWNED BUSINESS

Posted on Tuesday, 20 March
by Dr. Pamela Williamson

A certified woman-owned business is not a feat that is achieved overnight! Women-owned businesses undergo a thorough formal documentation and site visit from a third-party certifier (such as WBEC-West) before they are accredited.

The business is highly scrutinized and may take up to 6 months  just to complete the paperwork and receive certification. If that justifies the importance of being a certified woman-owned business, there are more advantages to partner with one. The top reasons are:

  1. Opportunities

This would be the primary and most important reason to partner with a certified woman-owned business.  The federal government sets aside opportunities (contracts) every year for qualifying women owned small businesses.  The number and size of these contracts varies by industry based on how well women are represented.  As you’d expect,  there are more opportunities available in industries  that are underrepresented in women business owners.

  1. Drives Competition

After partnering with a woman-certified business your company has access to other multiple avenues for goods and services. This allows you to compare prices with your existing vendors and service providers and drive them to offer you more competitive prices. This opens up channels to build new supplier alliances.

  1. Taps Women Customers

Apart from women being a growing economic force for the nation and in the world, women themselves have a great buying power. Women customers not only drive sales up by their purchasing power but also market the services and products they like by speaking about it to friends, family and colleagues. This no-cost word of mouth marketing can lead to spiking profits for the partnering company.

  1. Showcases Diversity

Diversity positively impacts the bottom line of any business. Working with woman-owned businesses sends a message to vendors, investors and potential customers that your company supports diversity. This in turn, enhances economic growth in local communities.

  1. Promotes Innovation

Woman-owned businesses, normally being smaller companies, are aware of the tough competition and hence try to bring more innovative and creative solutions to the table. Partnering with a smaller team provides the advantage of getting prompt customer service. They are also able to assist by making quicker course corrections and provide much faster turn-around times than their larger competitors.

As woman-owned businesses grow, it will boost the nation’s economy. Moreover, it will leave a lasting impression on your company profile, by being one which has assisted economic growth by partnering with local, diverse and minority communities.

Top 4 Things to Consider When Looking for a Potential Business Partner

Posted on Wednesday, 18 October
by Dr. Pamela Williamson

Want to find the perfect business partner to take your company to the next level? Joint ventures are wonderful when they work, but let’s face it, finding the right business partner is not easy by any means.

When looking for a potential business partner you’ve got to find one that is as motivated as you to get the job done and is willing to do their share of the work to take your company to where you envision it to be. As women business owners, relationship building is one of our key strengths, but when evaluating a potential business partner, you’ve got to keep a few key things in mind.

Here are top 4 things to consider when looking for a potential business partner:

  1. Building Trust

Trust is key in any relationship and the same goes for a business partnership. If you can’t completely trust someone with confidential and critical information about your company then you need to think twice about getting into a business relationship with them. Trust is the first building block for starting a business partnership.

  1. Converting Friendship to Business

A good friendship can often be a great starting point for a successful business relationship. However, you need to evaluate if your friend’s values and goals match your own. Also you need to ensure that the responsibilities you both have agreed to are met and everyone is doing their fair share of work. You also have to agree to disagree and  not let business come in the way of a strong friendship – no matter come what may.

  1. Money Matters

Money is often the main reason for souring a good business relationship. To ensure that your new business partnership venture starts out on the right foot, when it gets down to money, being clear cut and getting everything on paper is key. Key points to discuss include each partner’s contribution, how profits will be distributed and losses will be borne.

  1. Sharing Responsibilities

When one partner ends up doing more than what was agreed to and the other partner seems to slack or not share the load fairly, that is often the root to why a good business partnership eventually falls apart. Again, it is important that all parties involved agree (in writing) to what their responsibilities are going to be, so nothing is taken for granted.

In conclusion, finding a good business partner takes time and is not something you should rush into. The first step is to meet with like-minded business owners who are as passionate and motivated as you are and have varied strengths that compliment your own so they can bring a new perspective to the table.

Getting certified is a great way to network with enthusiastic women business owners just like you. Find out more here.

5 Game Changing Facts You Need to Know About Women in Business Today

Posted on Thursday, 02 March
by Dr. Pamela Williamson

Did you know that women entrepreneurs account for owning almost half of all businesses in the USA?

Today more than ever, more and more women are entering the world of business. A recent study showed that one out of every eleven adult women, is a business owner in the USA. It’s not surprising since many women today are simply breaking free from gender-based stereotypes, or are re-entering the workforce or starting their own business after rearing children. Also women are just naturally wired for juggling family and work and multi-tasking.

In fact, according to research reported by the SBA in May 2016, there are more women entering the business world today, than ever before. Here are some game-changing facts worth noting:

  1. “Women are entering  the  ranks  of  business  ownership  at  record  rates.  Women  are launching a net of more than 1,100 new businesses every single day.”
  2. “Women-owned businesses comprise 36% of the country’s businesses. They employ more than 8  million workers,  7  percent of  the  private-sector workforce.  They  generate more than $1.4 trillion in revenues, contributing 4% of business revenue.”
  3. “In 2002, there  were fewer than  1  million  minority  women-owned  firms.  As  of  2012, there  are  nearly  3.8  million  firms  owned  by  women  of  color.  Between  2002  and  2012, the number of non-minority women-owned businesses grew by just 9 percent, while the number of minority women-owned businesses overall grew by 315 percent.”
  4. “Between 2007 and 2012, the number of female veteran-owned businesses increased by 295 percent. Today there  are  more  than  383,000  female  veteran-owned  businesses  in the U.S.”
  5. In fact 2015 proved to be a historic year in terms of Federal contracting because, “for the first time in history, the Federal Government met the 5 percent women-owned small business (WOSB) goal.  In  FY15, 5.05  percent  or  $17.8  billion of  all  federal  small  business eligible contracting dollars were awarded to WOSBs.”

These facts are exciting news for women entering the world of business and women looking to take their business to new heights. At WBEC-West we help women entrepreneurs everyday get the certification they need to procure essential contracts and grow their business.

This one step alone can be the game-changer you need to get your business noticed and be an increasingly successful women business entrepreneur. Learn how we can help.

woman business owners

Are Women Better Business Owners? Here are 5 Reasons Why…

Posted on Wednesday, 28 September
by Dr. Pamela Williamson

Do women make better business owners and managers? If you’re a woman thinking about starting a business and are afraid to take the first step, or if you’re a man contemplating about asking a woman to be your business partner here is some food for thought.

Here are 5 reasons why women are successful in business:

  • Research and due diligence: According to the SBA, “U.S. women have far less business failures than men,” and “The longevity of their businesses surpasses that of men’s.”
    One reason for this is that before taking the plunge into anything women are known to do their research, get all the facts together, investigate and not cut corners. This in one sense allows women to make better business decisions leading to higher business success.
  • Questions, questions, questions:  You may not like it but often women are known to ask lots of questions to get to the bottom of things. Questions help to clear doubt, remove confusion, and zero in on what really needs to be done. Clearing things up on the get-go before any business involvement, can go a long way in doing business transactions, which make women excellent business partners.
  • They listen: This might not come as a surprise but women can often be much better listeners. Although women may ask questions first, they are also careful to listen to the answers they get back. This allows a woman to quickly understand the pain points of her customers and empowers her with the information required to provide the products and services that the customer actually needs.
  • Relationships are key: This is by far one of the biggest strengths a woman has – her ability to form and develop relationships. Business relationships and networking with the right people can often form the backbone of a woman-owned businesses. Strong relationships also fuel lasting loyalty which is why women continue to be successful and profitable and are able to main long-lasting relationships with business partners, customers and employees.
  • Empathy: Some may think that being compassionate can be seen as a sign of weakness, but for many women, it’s the reason for being so successful. Having empathy allows women to build deeper relationships with employees, for example, who stay loyal and will go out of the way to help her succeed. Empathizing with customers shows them that she cares about their problems, which helps to not only build client trust but also helps her to possibly find a better solution to their problems.

    Are you a woman business owner? Which points most struck a chord with you? Let us know in the comments below!

Top 3 Leadership Secrets for Women Business Leaders

Posted on Tuesday, 23 August
by Dr. Pamela Williamson

If you manage your own business you know what a rewarding experience it is. You’re not only faced with interesting and challenging work on a daily basis but you’re also making a difference and impacting the lives of your staff and the community at large.

To accelerate your success here are three leadership secrets every woman business leader should know:

Secret #1 – Build your network

You might think you’re pretty busy right now with current clients or that since you don’t have a career or job, business networking is not as important anymore. Think again! Networking is key – not only outside your company to bring in more business, but also internally to understand your staff and corporate culture – this is critical to your business survival. Hosting team building or corporate training workshops in-house or attending business matchmakers can be a great way to build both external and internal allies and have a strong network.

Secret #2 — Master your emotions

Learning to master your emotions is a skill and an important one to develop. Being able to communicate well, listen and effectively handle unpleasant situations or conflict is critical at the leadership level you’re at right now. In fact, your ability to lead and influence is more important than your technical know-how at this point.

Emotional Intelligence (EI), which is now increasingly popular is your ability to  manage your emotions and relate effectively with others.  In a study of over 200 companies by Hunter et al, they found that high performers were 127% more productive than average performers.  Research indicated that 1/3rd of the difference in the two was due to technical and cognitive (IQ) ability, while 2/3rds was due to competence in the area of EI.  This shows that EI competency is an important determinant of being a effective leader.

Secret #3 — Select a mentor

In a study conducted by the authors of  Breaking the Glass Ceiling, they found that only 38% of successful men had mentors, but all of the women executives who procured senior ranks in organizations had them. This means mentorship is critical to growth and if you currently don’t have a mentor you should give this area some serious thought.

A mentor can give you advice on the next steps you could take in any given situation, on how to get visibility and recognition, and how to play the game in your business niche. You can make the setup as formal or informal as you’re comfortable with. A mentor can also be an excellent motivator and can un-tap potential talent you didn’t know you had. Find out more about the WBEC-West Ambassador Program and see if it’s right for you.