Certification for Women-Owned Business

Karen Say, who owns and operates Puyallup-based Sabyr Contractors, Inc., discovered that being a young and attractive woman created a barrier to getting contracts to complete petroleum construction and environmental clean up projects

 “I’ve had corporate people come into a room and assume that I’m the secretary, and ask me, ‘honey, can you get me a cup of coffee?” said Say. “I strongly doubt that happens to many male business owners.”

Auburn-based Centon Industries, distributors of standard and specialty nuts and bolts, is run by Marion Ogden, who also felt the sting of prejudice while trying to get contracts for her business.

“I started my business in 1986, and I remember being called a ‘token woman’ to my face,” said Ogden. “People would come in and ask me, ‘Where’s Mike, where’s the boss?’ and he worked for me!”

One way to combat prejudice and increase the availability of contracts, if your business is woman-owned, is to certify on the federal, state and local levels.

 Certification comes in three major forms, from the federal government under the auspices of the Small Business Administration, or SBA, at the state level from the Office of Minority and Women’s Business Enterprise, or OMWBE, and at the regional/global level from the Astra Women’s Business Alliance and Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, or WBENC.

Certification from these entities provides varying degrees of introductions and referrals to government and private corporations, so a woman’s business can sell her product or service to those corporations and satisfy their internal policy for working with minorities and women, who are considered to be disadvantaged in the marketplace.

Say became certified with the OMWBE first, and then heard about the SBA’s federal 8(a) certification program, and became certified with them for a period of 9 years. “It’s a finite certification that is designed to help grow minority business,” she said. “The biggest advantage to it is it opens doors so that you can prove that you are capable and qualified to do the job.” Say noted that her OMWBE certification took her only one month to complete the paperwork, and another two months for their review process to be completed, while the 8(a) certification took her two years to complete, because the government requires proof that being a woman in your particular line of business has put you at a social and economic disadvantage.

The SBA actually has two programs, the 8(a) and the Small Disadvantaged Business, or SDB programs that issue certifications.

Both programs are designed for minorities, because the federal government doesn’t recognize Caucasian women as minorities.

Women are allowed to apply for 8(a) certification only if they have a preponderance of evidence to show they’ve been discriminated against in the marketplace because they are female.

“The woman business owner has to demonstrate on paper how she was personally subjected to discriminatory practices,” said Diana Drake, Assistant District Director for the 8(a) and SDB programs, and lead business opportunity specialist. “It’s not enough to say she’s a displaced homemaker, she needs to tell us how this personally affected her in getting jobs, starting her own business, applying for a loan and being credit worthy.”

“Add it all up and barely 40 percent of the government’s business goes to minority and women-owned business,” said Drake. “And the federal government was having trouble even meeting these small goals for using minority and women-owned business, until an act of congress in 2003 made it mandatory that they meet their goals and made them accountable for reaching them.”

The local SBA has been going out into the community and letting women know about the SBA and other certification programs, so the federal government can meet their goals.

“We’ve been going out and meeting more with government buyers from various agencies and educating them on where to look for small business,” said Drake. “It’s worked well, because these agencies are now meeting their goals.” The local SBA holds two match-making events a year, when they invite 8(a) and SDB certified businesses to meet with people from the Department of Energy, The Boeing Company, Todd Shipyards and the Ports of Seattle and Tacoma, to name a few, to pitch their products or services.

Because the 8(a) program is so rigorous in vetting business for their certification, Drake noted that if you have 8(a) certification, you’ll also have SDB certification if you qualify. She also noted that the competition pool for 8 (a) certification is small, as there are currently fewer than 10,000 businesses thus certified, while the number of SDB certifications is twice that, because a disadvantaged business can be run by any gender.

Applications for 8(a) and SDB certification can be downloaded online at www.sba.gov. Congress mandated that the SBA process applications in 90 days, but Drake said they currently have a 60-day turnaround time. If applicants need help with their application process or with proving that they’ve been discriminated against, they can get assistance from an SBA partner organization called the Procurement Technical Assistance Center, PTAC, at 23rd and Jackson in Seattle. All SBA certifications are free.

African-American business owner Valerie Southern of Valerie J. Southern Transportation Consultant LLC, prepares 20-year transportation plans for highways, roadways, bus systems, public transportation and airports.

“I’m the only female-owned minority firm that does this work in the state of Washington, so (certification) seemed like a practical thing to do.” Southern said. “The 8(A) program got me in touch with federal contracts…it’s not a given that you’ll get a contract, but at least, once you are certified, you’re in the que.” The OMWBE program took 6 months to certify Southern’s business, and the federal 8(a) program took 8 months.

The OMWBE in the state capital also does two kinds of certification, a state MWBE certification and a disadvantaged business enterprises certification, or DBE, via the Federal Department of Transportation. The DBE certification is only for people who work on highways or for transportation agencies.

“Our certification helps women market their business,” said Crowson. “Our directory of certified business is open to many public agencies like the school district and companies like Washington Mutual and Microsoft, and they search our directory because their supplier diversity programs can be fulfilled this way.”

The OMWBE also has a linked deposit loan program that gives certified business a 2 percent discount on business loans.  But Crowson emphasizes that its important to call the OMWBE office before you fill out an application to make sure you are eligible. “We require that companies prove ownership and control by a woman,” Crowson said. “Plus you have to have expertise in the field you’re working in, so an architect can’t get certified as a plumber, for example.” The OMWBE charges $100 for regular certification and $25 for DBE certification. The OMWBE participates in networking groups offered by other programs, such as the Astra/WBENC program.

Astra Women’s Business Alliance was started as an outgrowth of Diane McClelland’s Gateway to Women’s Market Company that did research on the habits and attitudes of women-owned business in Oregon. 

In 1997, Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, or WBENC, was hoping to create a program in partnership with women’s organizations around the country to deliver regional/national certification.

McClelland met Susan Bari, the founding president of WBENC in 1998, and after Astra became a 501(c) 3 organization, in 2000, they became partners with WBENC in issuing certifications to women-owned business in Oregon, Alaska, Idaho, Washington and Nevada.

“To date we’ve certified 202 women-owned business across those states,” said McClelland. “We have helped create over 300 contracts with Fortune 500 companies and women-owned businesses.”

McClelland admits their certification is geared more toward corporate America than to state or government agencies. “It’s been WBENC that has raised the bar for contracting opportunities for minority and non-minority women because we focus on gender,” said McClelland. “Our standards have become respected, because every application gets a site visit, and the certification is renewed each year, so just because you’re certified one year doesn’t mean you’ll qualify the next year.” 

Astra/WBENC also puts on networking events, such as their Done Deals program, that tracks the number of contracts between certified business and this regions companies. "We think the success of the supplier diversity program keeps shareholders happy because women are a powerful consumer base.” McClelland said their application process takes 30 to 90 days to complete, and there is a $350 annual fee. “We are growing at a rate of 30 percent a year,” she said. “We help provide education to women to help them go global rather than stay regional or national.” Applications are found at their web site, www.wbenc.org

Perhaps the most important part of getting certified is developing the courage to take on the old boy’s network.

“There is a challenge in overcoming the stereotypes,” said Karen Say. “As a woman in business, you’re always being questioned and second-guessed. With certification, there’s a satisfaction in overcoming that, giving you the chance to market yourself and having the opportunity to show them your competence and capabilities, so they take you seriously. Certification can be a great asset.”