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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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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Intentional Involvement

Being involved in the SDMWVBE (Small, Disadvantaged, Minority, Women or Veteran Business Enterprise) community should mean more than taking advantage of opportunities.  We’ve often written about “walking the walk”, creating our own opportunities for and supporting other SDMWVBE businesses.  For us, this meant commenting at a public hearing in Allegheny County Pennsylvania regarding potential changes to…

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Site Visit Preparations

A Little History: In the past, SDMWVBEs (Small, Disadvantaged/Disabled, Minority, Women, or Veteran Business Enterprises) were certified on faith that owners provided truthful information on application forms and that they really, actually owned and operated their own businesses. Unfortunately, in the early days there was a fair amount of fraud, so the certification process itself…

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Size Standards Revised!

Claiming Small Business Status? It is important to know that there are sizing rules and regulations that you must use to determine whether or not your business is considered small. And, the definition of small depends on your business’s industry based on NAICS (North American Industry Classification System) codes. At the federal level, being classified as…

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Creating Inclusion Strategies

While we may not be completely aware of the impact, SDMWVBE (Small, Disadvantaged, Minority, Women, or Veteran Business Enterprise) business owners are often the beneficiaries of the supplier diversity inclusion initiatives taken by large organizations. I found my favorite definition of D&I on the Royal Bank of Canada’s web site: “In simple terms, diversity is…

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