WBE is the acronym for "Woman Business Enterprise." As a WBE, there are one or more levels of certification that will provide you with special advantages for increasing your sales.
WBE certification is a certification that is obtained from a certifying agency to confirm that a business is 51% owned, controlled, and operated by one or more women. There are different types and levels of certification, and this article will explain the different levels. There are some WBE's that would not really benefit from having a WBE certification. If you don't sell a product or service that the government or large corporations buy, then it would be a waste of effort to obtain a WBE certification.
However, if you would like to sell your products or services to these government and corporate clients with huge budgets, then obtaining a WBE certification is something you should consider. One reason a WBE certification can be valuable is because government agencies and many corporations MUST award a certain percentage of business each and every year to WBE enterprises. That WBE certification allows you to prove that you meet that requirement of being a woman-owned business.
Here are some of the ways you can be certified: 1. Locally 2. With the state 3. With the federal government 4. Nationally
Here are details about each of these different levels of certification.
Local WBE Certification
Local certifications are obtained from a local government agency. You should obtain a local WBE certification if you want to do business with a particular local government agency and want to increase your chances of getting them as a client.
Certification at the State Level
State certifications can be obtained in most states through a state MBE/WBE office. You should obtain a state certification if you want to sell to one or more state government agencies, and increase your chances of getting state agencies as a client. If you want to obtain a state WBE certification, then you will need to contact the MBE/WBE certification office in the state in which you want to be certified. You can then fill out the paperwork that they specify on their web site.
Federal WBE Certification
For federal certification, there is actually no formal certification process. Federal WBE certifications are obtained through self-certification. If you want to sell to the U.S. federal government, then you self-certify that you are a WBE. Later, if you are awarded a project with the federal government, they may ask you to prove your WBE status, but in most cases, they do not. Don't say you are a WBE if you are not.
With no formal WBE application process for the federal government, this means that you can get started right away in responding to federal government opportunities and leverage your WBE status (once you are registered as a federal government vendor with CCR, etc.). And the federal government has mandatory goals to award 5% of their projects each year to woman owned businesses. (That statistic was current as of September 2009, but the exact percentage can change over time).
The key point is that the federal government has projects that are set-aside just for WBEs. So this is a great opportunity for you to take advantage of special projects that have been designed just for women owned businesses!
Certification at the National Level
National certifications can be obtained by filing an application with the Women's Business Enterprise National Counsel (www.wbenc.org/ ). You should pursue a national WBE certification if you want to have large corporations as clients. Some large corporations will accept a state certification, so before you rush out and get a national certification, you should first check and see what is required by the specific corporations you want to have as clients. But many large corporations will want you to have a national certification from WBENC before they want to work with you. So if you plan to do a lot of business with various large corporations, then you should definitely consider a national certification.
More Information:
Denise Gosnell is an attorney, as well as a world-recognized author on business, technology, and legal topics. For more information on growing your business through
WBE certifications, make sure you check out Denise's FREE CD and other training on obtaining a
WBE certification
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