Posts Tagged ‘VBE’
More Inclusion for V/SDVOBs
Back in March the State of New York announced the addition of the Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Business (SDVOB) classification on the NYS Contract Reporter (NYSCR). This designation will be self-identifying and will allow New York State agencies to enter their SDVOB contracting goals into NYSCR. Though the State is not currently certifying businesses as SDVOBs the…
Read MoreIntentional 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…
Read MoreSite 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…
Read MoreNetworking Choices
Time has simply slipped away so fast, part of it consumed by attending SDMWVBE (Small, Disadvantaged, Minority, Women, or Veteran Business Enterprise) events in multiple states. Not a day goes by that that we don’t get at least one invitation or notice about an event in one of the states where we’re certified. Networking is working…
Read MoreSize 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…
Read MoreCreating 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…
Read MoreWhat HR 4435 Could Mean for Small Business
Heads up owners of Small, Disadvantaged, Minority, Women, or Veteran Business Enterprise (SDMWVBE) businesses! The government-wide Federal Procurement Contract Award Goals could be changing. In late May, House Resolution No. 4435 was passed. Included in this bill are a number of provisions that could positively affect small businesses if the Senate passes the bill out…
Read MoreWe’re Certified, Now What? Revisited
In speaking with newly certified SDMWVBE (Small, Disadvantaged, Minority, Women, or Veteran Business Enterprise) business owners or those seeking certification the question “What does certification do for me?” is often asked. In most cases, just being certified does not help grow your business; it is how you’re able to market your certification and utilize programs…
Read MoreCertification Alphabet Soup (or fun with acronyms)
In the world of diversity certifications there are many acronyms, some more familiar than others. This alphabet soup contains WBE, MBE, DBE, SBE, VBE, DSBE, HUB, LGBT and that’s only half of them. Some of the abbreviations are shared by government and third-party certifiers (MBE, WBE) and others are specific to the Federal government (8(a),…
Read MoreDiversity Dividends: Reducing Bias
Bias is the very human and perhaps unfair preference for or dislike of something. Its synonyms include prejudice, partiality and favoritism. At the heart of the original equal opportunity movement, laws and regulations were enacted to mitigate conscious bias in American education, employment and procurement opportunities. As SDMWVBE (Small, Disadvantaged, Minority, Women, or Veteran Business…
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