Certification: Truth or Myth?

We seem to be deluged with information about diversity certifications lately, and we’ve been unpleasantly surprised by how much of it is false or misleading. SDMWVLGBTQBE (Small Disadvantaged or Disabled, Minority, Women, Veteran, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered or Queer Business Enterprise) owners already have a lot to juggle without being led down a costly path of…

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Vocabulary Changes

If we live long enough in interesting times, we will likely experience changes in our language’s vocabulary.  Maybe different definitions for the same or similar words, new words replacing currently accepted ones or, my personal favorite, dialogues so obfuscated with acronyms and protocol that we’re not exactly sure what we might be talking about. We’re…

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What You Say Matters!

We’ve been interviewing supplier diversity (SD) specialists over the last few months and the most recent answer to “what’s one of your pet peeves” struck us as we get ready for the diverse business conference season to kickoff into high gear. His peeve, a diverse supplier coming up to speak with him and asking what…

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Reading (& Writing) Excerpts

In the last month, we’ve come across a variety of articles that seem to touch on topics of importance for SDMWVLGBTBEs (Small Disadvantaged or Disabled, Minority, Women, Veteran, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Transgendered Business Enterprise) owners.  The first that sparked a gut reaction was about generational wealth. The Founders of Color believe, “If wealth inequity is…

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Help! I don’t have that document.

The certification process is co-dependent. The business itself is being certified as being capable to provide its products and/or services. The business is being certified as being at least 51% owned, operated and controlled by a diverse individual(s) who possesses the knowledge and skill to run the business applying for certification. This is why certifiers require supporting documentation…

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Notes on Supplier Diversity

So, we read a post on LinkedIn the other day and just can’t get it out of our heads. The reason is because this is a bigger issue than our colleague Tammy Davis, CEO at NexLevel, wrote. She’s not wrong in her characterization of some supplier diversity professionals (SDP). Like us, they are imperfect humans doing…

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Navigating 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.…

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Profiles in Certification – Bill Evans

We’re back profiling another SDMWVLGBTBE (Small Disadvantaged or Disabled, Minority, Women, Veteran, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Transgendered Business Enterprise) — this time speaking with a business that holds multiple certifications, though the conversation focused on their Disability Owned Business Enterprise status.  Samantha Smith interviews potential businesses, so email us with a request to be included…

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What’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…

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Best Practices

In the world of supplier diversity literature, best practices are defined and expressed by the professionals in corporations and government agencies. SDMWVLGBTBE (Small Disadvantaged or Disabled, Minority, Women, Veteran, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Transgendered Business Enterprise) owners are often unaware of the challenges facing supplier diversity organizations. We’ve written about The Inclusion Dividend: Why Investing…

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