You’ve probably heard about Small Business Enterprise Certifications. Maybe you’ve heard someone mention that they have their 8(a) certification or WBE or MBE but you weren’t quite sure what that meant. They are special designations called Certifications that small business owners can use to get a foot up on their much larger business competitors.
List of Top Small Business Enterprise Certifications:
Small business enterprise certifications provide benefits (advantages) in several different areas.
Some certification benefits focus on helping small businesses and entrepreneurs to do business in the private sector with large corporations.
Some certifications help you to do business at the State and Local governments level.
And then there are those certifications that can also get you preferential treatment and access to all of these areas including Federal Government contracts.
And it’s not only for ‘For-Profit’ organizations. Non-Profits can also take advantage of getting small business certifications and using it to do business with the federal government.
Entrepreneurs know all too well how challenging and difficult it is owning and running your own business.
Your business requires your constant attention, ongoing strategizing, motivation, and constant problem solving to not only keep your doors open but to also make your business a success.
Add to that the difficulty to competing with larger competitors and the complexity of having smaller pockets (we all can’t spend like the big corporations can), it can be stressful to say the least.
That’s why we need a way to standout, a way to get noticed and get a seat at the table to be able to meet and market competitively.
One way to stand out and increase your small business income is through small business enterprise certifications.
Benefits of Certification Explained
Obtaining a small business enterprise certification can help you gain access to a much larger customer base that buys in huge quantities repeatedly year after year.
Certs can help you get access to large contracts, specialized funding, grants, training and mentoring that big business don’t get.
The ability to bid on small business set-aside solicitations (contracts $150,000 and under)
23% of all federal contracts are mandated to be awarded to small businesses
It puts you in the running for “no-bid” contracts valued under $25,000
There are many different types of small business certifications out there that you could get that can help boost your business sales and generate more revenue than ever before.
Government agencies at the Federal, State, City and County levels all buy products and services just like you and I (consumers) do.
They buy them every day from almost every imaginable industry but on a much grander scale.
They buy cleaning services, technical support, software, office supplies, staffing, laundry services, real estate services, landscaping, rentals, machinery, A/C & Plumbing, and all types of other products and services.
You name it and it’s a good bet that they buy it.
This creates a huge opportunity to get in front of some of the largest customers in the world.
I mentioned earlier that there were several types of certifications that aided small business owners in various ways, well here’s a breakdown to help you understand just how helpful many certifications can be.
The Small Business Administration (SBA) is a Federal Government program that administers specific certification programs:
Minority-Owned Small Business Enterprise (MBE)
Can provide access to federal DOT government-wide contracting as it has a 10% requirement. Also, construction has a 15% requirement on contract over $1 million.
Women-Owned Small Business Enterprise (WBE/WOSB/EDWOSB)
Has a 5% government-wide contracting goal each year. Either self-certified or third-party certified.
8(a) Small Business Development Program
Provides eligible socially and economically disadvantaged businesses development and contract assistance. Small Disadvantage Business Enterprise (SDB/SDBE). 23% government-wide contracting goal for Small Businesses.
