ever doubted it for a minute."
~ Warren Buffett
| How Women Business Owners Can Obtain Clients Who Always Pay On Time |
Most women business owners do not realize that there are billionaire companies out there looking to do business with women entrepreneurs. These billionaire companies include the U.S. federal government and large corporations.
In fact, most people don't realize that government agencies and large corporations buy every type of product and service on the planet. Yes, they even buy toilet paper too! They also buy office supplies, computer equipment, training seminars, pay-per-click advertising services, and more.
And these billionaire companies have huge budgets, and are REQUIRED to award a certain percentage of their projects to women-owned business. This also applies to Corporate America - like the big box retailers. Whenever these companies take federal dollars, they are also required to award a certain percentage of their projects to women-owned businesses.
Here is the sad part. Most women-owned businesses are not even aware that these opportunities exist.
Today we're going to pull back the curtains on the world of "WBE certifications." We'll look at the different types of WBE certifications and how to use those certifications to land your own billionaire clients who always pay on time.
What Is a WBE Certification?
WBE stands for "woman business enterprise." A WBE certification is a type of business certification that can be obtained by any business that is 51% owned, controlled, and operated by one or more women.
A WBE certification lets government agencies and Corporate America know that you have met the required ownership threshold. It also lets them know that if they award business to you, that it will help them meet their requirements for working with women-owned businesses.
But there are different levels of certification, so it can sometimes be confusing on what certification you need.
So let's walk through some of the levels of certification and how to obtain then. We'll also look at how to use each certification to grow your business with billionaire clients.
There are basically four different levels of WBE certifications:
Federal WBE Certifications
Federal WBE certifications are probably some of the most misunderstood certifications. That is because there is actually no formal certification process for becoming a WBE to sell to the federal government.
Federal certification is basically a "self-certifying" process, which means that if you say you are 51% owned, controlled, and operated by a woman, they will accept your word for it. If you are later awarded a contract, they may ask you for proof of this fact, so don't say you are if you are not.
But the great news is that you can get started doing business with the federal government immediately - without waiting on a WBE certification.
What is even better news than this is that the federal government has mandatory goals for awarding 5% of their contracts to woman owned businesses. So if you are a WBE, then you can also look for special projects are set-aside just for women owned businesses. And this is in addition to all of the other projects that they have available for any type of business.
There are 3 ways that the federal government buys goods and services. Projects that exceed $25,000 are posted on FedBizOpps (www.fedbizopps.gov). You can search for projects and submit your responses for those projects directly on FedBizOpps. Projects that are less than $25,000 can be located on the procurement forecast and negotiated directly with each agency.
Here is a golden nugget that most certified businesses aren't even aware of. There is also a third way that the U.S. federal government uses to buy goods and services. That method is called FedBid (www.fedbid.com) and is a reverse auction (kind of like eBay) where you can bid on what you are willing to provide the product or service for.
The government then awards the project to the bidder who best met the requirements. The winning bidder will usually be the bidder who offered the lowest price. If you wanted to, you could have an entire business that just focuses on supplying the federal government with what it is looking for on FedBid.com.
State WBE Certifications
State WBE Certifications can be obtained in most states through a state certifying office. You should obtain a state certification if you want to increase your chances of getting business from one or more state government agencies.
To obtain a state WBE certification, then you will need to contact the certifying office in the state in which you want to be certified. Most states have a WBE certification program, but some of them do not.
We have compiled an index of state certifying offices that you can consult as a starting point. Note that these links may change from time to time, so please don't use this index as the final authority on what certifications may be available in your state. With that said, here is where you can find our state certification index: www.innoventum.com/mbewbe.html
Local WBE Certifications
Local WBE certifications can be obtained by a local government certifying office, such as a city. You should obtain a local certification if you want to increase your chances of getting business from that particular local agency, such as the city where your business is located.
For example, we used our WBE certification to help obtain a contract with the City of Indianapolis. The City of Indianapolis is licensing our training materials for the Department of Minority and Women's Business Development to help minority and women businesses grow.
National WBE Certifications
National WBE Certifications are generally needed when you want to have large corporations as clients. Some large corporations will accept either a National Certification or a State Certification, so before you rush out and get a National Certification, you would first want to see what the corporations that you want as clients would require. Large corporations always have a section on their web site called "Supplier Diversity," and this program always talks about what they look for and require.
To obtain a National Certification, you must file an application with the Women's Business Enterprise Counsel (www.wbenc.org). WBENC is an agency that processes WBE certifications on a national level.
But before you rush out and get any of these types of WBE certifications, you should first think about who you would like to have as a client. You can then apply for the type of certification that you need based upon the client you want to obtain.
But hopefully you now see just how many opportunities there are for women-owned businesses. If you are interested in working with government agencies or Corporate America, it is definitely worth considering a WBE certification.
Once you become certified, you then need to take action and find how you can serve their needs. But the opportunities are endless. So I truly hope you will obtain and leverage your WBE status at every opportunity, and get the billionaire clients that you deserve.
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