What is Behind a Site Visit?

Don’t be intimidated by or worry about a site visit. We’ve been visited a lot … 14 certifications worth! The visits have been about confirming information and they give the certifying organization an opportunity to explore and understand the business first hand.

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What’s in a word – Control?

To be a diversity certified business, the diverse owners must control the business. The owner has to have the authority and “power to direct or determine” or influence what will happen in the business, both now and in the future.

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Certification Application Rejected?

Rejection can be quite frustrating, especially when you’ve spent hours filling out forms and locating supporting documents. Here are some things that can cause a certifier to reject your application for diversity certification, in no particular order…

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Supplier Diversity Challenges – Registration

How many times have you registered with a government or prime vendor’s supplier diversity program? How many times have you followed up with those diversity supplier contacts? And, what or how – as one of those diverse suppliers – do you measure your net return?

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Authority to Transact Business

Some certification applications will clearly state that your firm must be “licensed” or “registered” to do business within their state prior to applying for certification; some even include a question asking if the firm is registered or licensed with the state. This authority to transact business is different from being a licensed professional contractor, engineer, architect, etc.

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What is Diversity Certification?

Many state, federal, commercial and third party agencies have programs that are used to establish a diverse supplier base. This process is referred to as a diversity certification process. The implied goal of these programs is to create a level playing field for first, employment opportunities and subsequently, for diverse businesses in procurement processes. Government agencies…

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Welcome to Diversity Business Blog

I’ve tried a variety of search word combinations, trying to find something, anything that talked about supplier diversity from the supplier’s point of view. The best combination “diverse supplier” got over 4.5 million hits, “supplier diversity issues” got a little less than 1.1 million, while “diverse supplier certification” only got 210,000 and many of these were multiple duplicates. Even after drilling down 1253 pages, I couldn’t find a venue for the diverse supplier … just about all of the links related to the corporate, government, or certifying agency perspective on diverse suppliers, with a few training sites and a couple of companies that facilitate SBA 8(a) certification.

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