Getting SMWVDBE Certified

It seems that many companies have SMWVDBE (Small, Minority, Women, Veteran, Disadvantaged Business Enterprise) certification on their minds as the new year begins.  So, it makes sense to revisit what certification is all about and why a business might want to get certified. What is a certification? SMWVDBE certifications are offered by the Small Business Adminstration,…

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The Rules They Are (maybe) A-Changing

Federal DBE Rules Changing – WANT TO BE HEARD? Did you know that the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) is considering changes to its disadvantaged business enterprise (DBE) program — and that you can tell them what you think about these changes?  You can read a summary of or a detailed document about the changes…

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236 Years Later

There’s much to celebrate this month during the two hundred and thirty sixth birthday of our country, including the benefits of being a SDMWVBE (Small, Disadvantaged, Minority, Women or Veteran Business Enterprise) in the United States. Most of the time we talk about the issues and challenges we business owners face competing for our places at the  procurement tables…

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What is SAM?

We’ve discussed the CCR (Central Contractor Registration) web site back in 2010. Early this year it was announced that the CCR, Online Representations and Certifications Application (ORCA), Federal Business Opportunities (FBO), Federal Procurement Data System-Next Generation (FPDS-NG), Electronic Subcontracting Reporting System (eSRS), Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS), Excluded Parties List System (EPLS), Catalog of…

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Less Stress Through Proof Reading

Preparing the application for SDMWVBE (Small, Disadvantaged, Minority, Women or Veteran Business Enterprise) certification can be pretty stressful for a variety of reasons. We live and breathe our businesses first.  Certification is a tool that we use to serve our customers and expand our markets.  But, in a process that seems alien and out of…

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Overcoming Stereotypes

Overcoming the new MWBE stereotypes in the business community is hard work. Practice transparent diversity yourself – in your work force and supplier base and publicize your commitment to diversity.

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Can’t Get No Information

Bidding government work can be a long, and admittedly sometimes frustrating, process; however, it can also be rewarding. Our willingness to put effort into finding out what our targeted clients wanted from us, using the tips shared here, helped us foster and cement long-term involvement with our government clients.

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Spotlight on NMSDC

NMSDC is now comprised of 37 regional councils, 3,500 corporate members and more than 16,000 MBE (Minority Business Enterprise) certified firms.

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Maintaining Your Certification

Getting certified is just the first step. Next comes maintenance of that certification. Virtually all certifiers state that they MUST BE notified – usually in writing – within 30 days of any major change in your business.

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