Disparity Studies’ Purpose

Disparity Studies are conducted to determine the utilization of Disadvantaged Minority and Women-owned Business Enterprises (DMWBE) for various states, counties and cities.  The study generally examines the process for attaining products and services, the subcontracting practices of prime contractors/service providers who do business with the government, and the evidence collected from a broad cross section…

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Simplify RFP Reviews

SDMWVLGBTBE (Small, Disadvantaged, Disabled, Minority, Women, Veteran, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Transgendered Business Enterprise) business owners are often faced with responding to a variety of requests for proposals (RFPs), requests for quote (RFQ), Invitation to Bid (ITB), or Invitation to Qualify (ITQ) by our commercial or government clients.  If you are a Not-for-Profit, this might be…

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What is Commercially Useful?

Why should we SDMWVLGBTBE (Small, Disadvantaged, Disabled, Minority, Women, Veteran, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Transgendered Business Enterprise) care about Commercially Useful Functions (CUF)? Because our federal government or prime vendor clients can only take credit when the SDMWVLGBTBE actually performs, manages and/or supervises distinct elements of work that are necessary to fulfill the delivery of…

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Required Certification Documents – Governance

Why does a SDMWVLGBTBE (Small, Disadvantaged, Disabled, Minority, Women, Veteran, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Transgendered Business Enterprise) get denied certification over Governance? Governance is certifier short hand that refers to the documents governing a diverse SDMWVLGBT business and its operations. Certifiers (the SBA, VA, state agencies or third party organizations) review these documents to make…

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Diversity & Inclusion in 2016

Earlier this month we read an interesting article in Forbes Magazine by Josh Bersin, a researcher responsible for a recent two year Deloitte Talent Management study which states: “Companies that embrace diversity and inclusion in all aspects of their business statistically outperform their peers.” The study focuses on diversity and inclusion from a Human Resources…

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#WomenWOW

Last month we got an email asking us to write a blog entry in support of “#WomenWOW, a worldwide pledge to support female-owned businesses and causes that’ll take place on December 2.” So here we are, struggling with the objective of picking “a strong female role model to showcase.”  Truth be told, there are many,…

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Getting Certified ~ Six Simple Steps

Our company has always been a women-owned business enterprise (WBE), and getting WBE certified in 1989 was a piece of cake compared to today’s rigorous process. Through various organizations and events we have met many other small business owners who became minority- or women-owned certified at the recommendation of a large corporate supplier diversity contact.…

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Geek Strong

If you’ve been reading our posts, it may be apparent we’re readers (for some of us, books are the drug of choice).  So what do quirky actress Felicia Day [author of You’re Never Weird on the Internet (almost)] and social scientist Brené Brown [author of Rising Strong] have of interest to SDMWVLGBTBE (Small, Disadvantaged/Disabled, Minority,…

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Power of SDMWVLGBTBE Listings

The intent behind SDMWVLGBTBE (Small, Disadvantaged/Disabled, Minority, Women, Veteran, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Transgendered Business Enterprise) participation goals is to help the SDMWVLGBTBE firm mature and grow our own capacity to directly support large companies and government agencies.  A New York State Comptroller’s report says the programs are “…  intended to provide direct economic benefit to…

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Confidence

Summer time is reading time, especially if you can find time to bask in the sunshine with a good book.  The Confidence Code by Katty Kay and Claire Shipman was on our list this year.  We talked last time about the many mixed messages we overheard growing up and as we ventured out into entrepreneurship.…

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