I’m not going to discuss the pros and cons of being a certified minority business, there are enough conspiracy theorists to debate that.  What I will discuss is that there is not one correct answer for all minority businesses or all businesses period.  You have to examine your business and research the programs to see if becoming certified is a good investment for your business.

 With that said here’s a quick primer on what being certified means and a list of certifying agencies.

Having minority businesses certified proves that the businesses are owned and controlled by a minority group as defined below:

“Women and Minority Business Enterprise” (WMBE) shall mean a minority-owned business not specifically identified as a AABE, an ANBE, or a WBE, as follows:

The business must be a continuing, independent, for profit business which performs a commercially useful function, and is at least 51 percent owned and controlled by one or more Asian, Pacific Islander, or Hispanic individuals. Or, in the case of any publicly owned business, at least 51 percent of the stock of which is owned and controlled by one or more Asian, Pacific Islanders, or Hispanic members (see above definition of minorities).
One or more Asian, Pacific Islander, or Hispanic individuals must control the management and daily business operations.
“Control” as used in the above clause, means exercising the power to make policy decision.
“Operate”, as used in the above clause, means being actively involved in the day-to-day management of the business.

If you meet the above criteria the Federal, State and City governments have different programs available for your business to participate in.

On the federal level there’s the 8A program, HubZone and Small Disadvantaged Business administered by the Small Business Association (SBA). Go here for more information on these programs and other SBA programs: http://www.sba.gov.

Depending on your city and state there are different ways to become a certified minority vendor check your city and state website for more information. For residents of New York City you can begin with the City’s certification and once you’re approved you don’t have to file all of the same information with the state for certification. Just complete a fast track application and all the state has to do is visit your place of business. You can begin the process here.

Corporations that have supplier diversity programs do not certify businesses for participation, this is done by the National Minority Supplier Development Council and their 39 regional councils located throughout the US.

The NMSDC Network includes a National Office in New York and 39 regional councils across the country. There are 3,500 corporate members throughout the network, including most of America’s largest publicly-owned, privately-owned and foreign-owned companies, as well as universities, hospitals and other buying institutions. The regional councils certify and match more than 15,000 minority owned businesses (Asian, Black, Hispanic and Native American) with member corporations which want to purchase goods and services.

We’re certified members in the New York/New Jersey Council and have applied for reciprocal certification in Conneticut and Philadelphia.

Here’s the link to the NMSDC website where you can find your local council.

If you are a women owned business you can become certified by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council.

The Women’s Business Enterprise National Council is the nation’s leading advocate of women’s business enterprises as suppliers to corporate America. In fact, WBENC is the only national organization that brings WBEs and corporations together to work toward the mutual goal of improving marketing opportunities for resourceful women-owned businesses as vendors and suppliers to the nation’s corporate and non-profit sectors.

You can learn more about WBENC at their website.

There’s also the National Women Business Owners Corporation

NWBOC was established in 1995 for the purpose of increasing competition for corporate and government contracts through implementation of a pioneering economic development strategy for women business owners. NWBOC is a national 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation, and is the first third-party, national certifier providing WBE Certification.

Here’s the link to their website.

Please read this very carefully:

“BECOMING CERTIFIED IN ANY OF THESE ORGANIZATIONS DOES NOT GUARANTEE THAT YOUR BUSINESS WILL WIN A CONTRACT.”

There are too many certified minority businesses that have done nothing with their certification but wait for a contract to magically land in their lap.

To win the game in securing contracts with large corporations and government agencies will require an investment of time and NETWORKING on your part. People still do business with people they know. That means getting out and attending the functions that are organized by these organizations that allow you to meet with the buyers, supplier diversity officers and agency officials.

When we were applying for 8A certification I asked one of the VPs at the SBA about the number of 8A businesses that win contracts and I was informed that less than 10 percent of their 8A firms have won a contract with the federal government. We’re talking about contracts that are set aside for small disadvantage businesses and only 10 percent have won a contract. I asked how is that and was told that too often 8A firms just get certified and sit around waiting for a contract. They’re not proactive enough to seek out opportunities.

Remember getting certified just gives you access to play the game, you still have to get off the bench and get in the game to win.