Helpful Hints
Meet the 3rd Party Certifiers
New businesses open every day and we know entering the diverse supplier landscape can be confusing with all those acronyms flying around for the types of certifications available (DOBE, MBE, WBE, etc.) and certifiers (NGLCC, NVBDC, USPAACC, etc.) who offer them. Today we’re re-introducing the 3rd party certifiers (which means these certifiers are not a…
Read MoreNavigating NAICS
NAICS (the North American Industry Classification System) codes, pronounced “NAKES” can have a profound impact on SDMWVLGBTBEs (Small Disadvantaged or Disabled, Minority, Women, Veteran, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Transgendered Business Enterprises) for a bunch of reasons. NAICS is a shorthand description of your business’s good and services used by many of the US certifying agencies.…
Read MoreWhat’s Being Certified?
We get asked this question frequently: I’m selling my business (or buying one). Is the diversity certification transferable? There is no short yes or no answer, the reality is that it depends on the type of certification held and who is purchasing the business. What’s actually being certified? The certification process is two-fold. 1) The business…
Read MoreGolden Tickets
We hear stories from SDMWVLGBTBE (Small Disadvantaged or Disabled, Minority, Women, Veteran, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Transgendered Business Enterprise) owners about how a client told him or her to get a diversity certification. And, while we’re perfectly happy to work with those owners, there are a few thoughts we like to share. Because we’re certification neutral, we…
Read MoreABC’s of Supplier Diversity
If you’re a newbie to the SDMWVLGBTBE (Small Disadvantaged or Disabled, Minority, Women, Veteran, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Transgendered Business Enterprise) certification world, your head is likely swimming with the terms and acronyms the rest of the community uses as shorthand. We thought we’d take a moment to introduce you to the definitions of some important…
Read MoreDog Days
It is the hot, humid and last lazy dog days of summer, as our mother used to refer to them. Then we were excited about new home room teachers, cool clothes and maybe even a new school building. These days, its the return to a more normal business landscape. Our customers will be back from…
Read MorePerspectives
We often talk about the history of supplier diversity, how its roots are buried in the affirmative action/equal employment opportunities that came out of the Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon administrations. Some of our staff actually marched (and sat) in solidarity with Martin Luther King, Jr’s mission at various locations and campuses in the Midwest and…
Read MoreFor the Veterans Among Us
Not just thank you for your service, although we certainly do! Fourteen states do more than say thank you. They have specifically included VOSBs (Veteran Owned Small Business) and SDVOSBs (Service Disabled Veteran Small Business) in their procurement opportunities and SDMWVLGBTBE (Small Disadvantaged or Disabled, Minority, Women, Veteran, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Transgendered Business Enterprise)…
Read MoreHandling Documentation Gaps
So, you want to get certified as a SDMWVLGBTBE (Small Disadvantaged or Disabled, Minority, Women, Veteran, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Transgendered Business Enterprise) but the list of documents is overwhelming. And, in some instances, the business might not even have everything the certifying agency requires. We know many people who have decided not to pursue…
Read MoreSmall Business Supplier Diversity
Certified small DMWVLGBTBEs (Disadvantaged or Disabled, Minority, Women, Veteran, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Transgendered Business Enterprises) reap the benefits of the diversity spend goals set by government agencies and large corporations. These organizations understand the compelling business case for diversity and inclusion. A couple years ago, we wrote several posts based on the book The Inclusion Dividend:…
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