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Founded in 1997, the Women's Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC, www.wbenc.org) is a vital third-party certifier for women-owned business enterprises (WBEs). The nationwide organization works with fourteen regional partners to provide a national standard of third-party certification, plus many business-boosting perks for its certified WBEs. The partner organizations handle the certification process and help support certified WBEs on the local level nationwide.
The Women Presidents' Educational Organization (WPEO) is the regional affiliate for New York, northern New Jersey, Southern Connecticut, Washington, DC, Maryland and Virginia. WPEO was founded in 1998 by Dr Marsha Firestone, CEO of an $8 million for-profit educational institution.
Why certify?
"Only 4 percent of corporate contracts given out nationwide go to WBEs," Firestone declares. Certification by these nationally recognized organizations, she says, helps break down barriers and expand business opportunities for women entrepreneurs.
An increasing number of Fortune 1000 companies require formal certification "to show that a woman actually owns, operates, manages and controls the company in question," says Liz Cullen, regional director of certification for the WPEO organization.
Helpful several ways
Beyond the essential certification process, WPEO and the other regional partners help their WBEs in several ways. Membership increases their awareness of available opportunities through networking, business courses, matchmaker meetings and trade shows with other WBEs, government and corporate buyers.
Of course WPEO is part of WBENC's mammoth annual business conference and fair, the largest in the country for women-owned businesses. At the conference, WBEs from all over the nation can market their products and services and enjoy networking opportunities. This year's conference was in Las Vegas, NV; in 2006 the conference will be held in Miami, FL.
Once WBEs become certified, they're listed on WBENCLink, an Internet database accessible to interested major corporations throughout the U.S. They also get to use the special WBENC seal shown here, and on page 6 of every issue of Diversity/Careers, whose parent company, Renard Communications, is a certified WBE.
Certified WBEs also have access to the directories of interested corporations. "They can access key people to build business relationships," says Cullen. They can also access WEBuy@wbenc.org, an online marketplace used by government agencies, corporate members and other WBEs for exclusive postings.
I'm certified, now what?
Cullen compares WBENC certification to a gym membership. "You have the card, but if you don't work out you're not going to get in shape," she says.
A good way to get in shape is to attend the WPEO and WBENC programs to learn how to "market, market, market that certificate," Cullen declares.
The techie 250
Are any of these certified companies technical? Plenty of them. In the New York region alone, some 250 certified WBEs provide tech products and services, from construction and engineering to IT. "Some of our CEOs are engineers, many are certified IT pros," Firestone notes.
Meet Gina Addeo, WPEO member
Gina Addeo is president and owner of GMA Electrical Corp (Staten Island, NY), a contracting firm that installs power and lighting in commercial spaces. Addeo first learned about WPEO at a diversity breakfast put on by Goldman Sachs (New York, NY). This networking event introduced WBE contractors to the financial giant's construction department.
GMA applied for WBENC certification soon after. The company has held certifications with several government agencies for the past ten years, but Addeo says she never felt quite as comfortable as she does now. "The people at WPEO go out of their way to know us and make us feel important."
One thing Addeo really treasures about WPEO is its attitude that "the bigger you are, the better." That, she says, "is great for women business owners. If it were not for WPEO, I would not have felt free to grow my company as I have."
WBENC, Cullen explains, certifies women-owned businesses of any size, from the smallest to the largest. "Our organization supports unlimited growth," she declares.
Interaction with women
Every year WBENC issues its list of America's top corporations and government agencies promoting WBEs. There's even a formal dinner to honor outstanding WBEs.
But behind the gala events, the day-to-day workings of WBENC and WPEO are what count the most with their leaders. Firestone says she loves "the interaction with women, learning about their businesses and hearing their stories, especially when they find a new business opportunity."
For Cullen, the best part of all is "seeing WBEs use the certification to actually sign a contract with a major corporation."
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