Introduction
A WBE certification is a certification you obtain that certifies that your business is 51% or more owned, controlled, and operated by one or more women. The acronym WBE stands for woman business enterprise, and can be used to refer to a woman owned business, whether or not that business has a formal certification.
Here are some of the ways that you may use multiple levels of WBE certifications to grow your woman-owned business. You can obtain that WBE certification at a local government level, state government level, federal government level, and at a national level (for selling to large corporations). You should consider obtaining one or more certifications depending on who you would like to have as clients.
For example, if you are interested in selling to a state government agency, then you should consider a state WBE certification, but if you want to sell to various large corporations, then you should consider a national certification.
You are not necessarily required to have a certification to do business with a government agency or Corporate America, but as a practical matter, some of them will require or encourage you to have a certification so you can increase your chances of getting business from them. That is the primary reason these certifications can be beneficial " to increase your chances of landing the government and/or Corporate America as a client.
Why would these certifications increase your chances of obtaining business from the government and Corporate America? Well, the government and corporations that receive government funding are required to award a certain percentage of their contracts to women owned business. So by obtaining a WBE certification, you can increase your chances of getting work from the government and Corporate America to help them meet their quotas.
Obtaining Multiple Certifications to Grow Your Business
If you have goods or services state government agencies would be interested in buying, then you should definitely consider obtaining a WBE certification in your state, if your state offers such a certification.
You can really leverage the power of certifications by obtaining WBE certifications in many states. Often people think that they can only obtain a WBE state certification in the state in which their business is headquartered. But that is not true at all. Many businesses obtain WBE certifications in several states. This allows them to obtain projects from state government agencies in each state in which they are certified.
There is definitely some extra effort involved in obtaining a WBE certification in multiple states. Each state has a separate WBE certification process. If you dont plan to sell to state government agencies in a certain state, then it would not be worth the effort to obtain a certification there unless there is some other reason you need to.
Another strategy often used by many successful women owned businesses is to leverage multiple state certifications in combination with a federal certification and national certification. In other words, businesses that sell a product or service that any or all of these entities would buy can benefit from obtaining these different levels of certification.
The first step in determining what level(s) of certifications to go after is to analyze who you would like to have as a customer. The next step is to determine the level of certification that will best increase your chances of obtaining that entity as a client. If your business isnt interested in selling to the government or Corporate America, then dont waste your time with one of these WBE certifications.
WBE certifications can really help you have a higher chance of getting projects from those cash cow clients. So, if you want to have those entities as clients, you would be crazy not to consider a certification that may give you a serious competitive advantage due to mandates they have to meet.
A WBE certification is a certification you obtain that certifies that your business is 51% or more owned, controlled, and operated by one or more women. The acronym WBE stands for woman business enterprise, and can be used to refer to a woman owned business, whether or not that business has a formal certification.
Here are some of the ways that you may use multiple levels of WBE certifications to grow your woman-owned business. You can obtain that WBE certification at a local government level, state government level, federal government level, and at a national level (for selling to large corporations). You should consider obtaining one or more certifications depending on who you would like to have as clients.
For example, if you are interested in selling to a state government agency, then you should consider a state WBE certification, but if you want to sell to various large corporations, then you should consider a national certification.
You are not necessarily required to have a certification to do business with a government agency or Corporate America, but as a practical matter, some of them will require or encourage you to have a certification so you can increase your chances of getting business from them. That is the primary reason these certifications can be beneficial " to increase your chances of landing the government and/or Corporate America as a client.
Why would these certifications increase your chances of obtaining business from the government and Corporate America? Well, the government and corporations that receive government funding are required to award a certain percentage of their contracts to women owned business. So by obtaining a WBE certification, you can increase your chances of getting work from the government and Corporate America to help them meet their quotas.
Obtaining Multiple Certifications to Grow Your Business
If you have goods or services state government agencies would be interested in buying, then you should definitely consider obtaining a WBE certification in your state, if your state offers such a certification.
You can really leverage the power of certifications by obtaining WBE certifications in many states. Often people think that they can only obtain a WBE state certification in the state in which their business is headquartered. But that is not true at all. Many businesses obtain WBE certifications in several states. This allows them to obtain projects from state government agencies in each state in which they are certified.
There is definitely some extra effort involved in obtaining a WBE certification in multiple states. Each state has a separate WBE certification process. If you dont plan to sell to state government agencies in a certain state, then it would not be worth the effort to obtain a certification there unless there is some other reason you need to.
Another strategy often used by many successful women owned businesses is to leverage multiple state certifications in combination with a federal certification and national certification. In other words, businesses that sell a product or service that any or all of these entities would buy can benefit from obtaining these different levels of certification.
The first step in determining what level(s) of certifications to go after is to analyze who you would like to have as a customer. The next step is to determine the level of certification that will best increase your chances of obtaining that entity as a client. If your business isnt interested in selling to the government or Corporate America, then dont waste your time with one of these WBE certifications.
WBE certifications can really help you have a higher chance of getting projects from those cash cow clients. So, if you want to have those entities as clients, you would be crazy not to consider a certification that may give you a serious competitive advantage due to mandates they have to meet.
About the Author:
Denise Gosnell is an entrepreneur and world-recognized author on business, technology, and legal topics. For more details about growing your business through WBE certifications, make sure you check out Denise's FREE CD and video on obtaining a WBE certification
