PR Advice for Professionals

The Benefits of Woman Business Enterprise (WBE) Certification

by Gloria

One of our clients that belongs to the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) said her peer advisory group suggested to her early on to get certified as a woman-owned business. This particular MMI client had just opened her own full-service exhibit design agency. Her company was in the process of obtaining certification when she first spoke with a representative of Volvo, a potential new client for her business. The Volvo representative told her to call him back as soon as her business was certified, and said he would then include her name on the bid list, but not before. The very day she became certified, our client called Volvo, and she ultimately won the bid.

Our client’s full-service exhibit design agency has been certified by The Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) since 2002, and certified by the National Women Business Owners Corporation (NWBOC), a national 501©(3) not-for-profit corporation, since 2000. WBENC provides the most widely recognized and respected certification in the United States for women’s business enterprises.

If you are a woman business owner, the benefits of obtaining Woman Business Enterprise (WBE) certification are substantial. Consider obtaining certification to widen your network, obtain new business and increase your profile. Certification will widen your possibilities, since many large corporations and government organizations have initiatives for doing business with WBEs. Many corporations require a company to be certified as a woman-owned business before providing access to their supplier diversity programs.

Any woman business owner can apply for certification if she meets the criteria of majority ownership and control of her company, which means at least 51% of the business is owned by a woman or women.

Another MMI client and top Triangle businesswoman at the multimillion-dollar level who is owner and CEO of not one, but three thriving businesses, said, “I recognized that in today’s competitive business world, certification is rapidly becoming important to women-owned businesses.” She contacted Mary Cantando, president of Cantando and Associates, whose firm exclusively supports the growth of women-owned businesses by assisting them to obtain WBENC certification.

By becoming certified, this MMI client provided her company with an edge that has proved essential. She said, “It has opened the door and has allowed me to pitch on a more level playing field. Certification is the door opener, and I am the closer.”

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