The WBENC is the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council. It is a national council that certifies women owned business throughout the country. There are many benefits of getting a minority business certification through this agency. From gaining useful access to valuable resources and capacity building programs to chances for women owned business recognition awards and promotional opportunities, there are dozens of benefits to reap from the WBENC certification.
Access:
Being a certified member of the WBENC allows you to access current list of supplier diversity and procurement executives at hundreds of major U.S. corporations and federal, state and local government entities that accept WBENC certification. WBENC certified businesses also have formal and informal opportunities to pursue business deals with National Corporate Members and other WBENC certified businesses.
WBENC certification gives women owned businesses the opportunity to attend WBENC’s annual Women in Business National Conference and Business Fair, and are eligible to participate in face-to-face match making sessions. Additionally, WBENC certified businesses are automatically included in WBENCLink, WBENC’s Internet database of certified WBEs, which is accessible by WBENC’s Corporate Members and other certified WBEs across the country.
WBENC certified businesses are given eligibility to receive sourcing opportunities through MatchMaker365, WBENC’s new online business matching, scheduling, and tracking portal, which helps corporate buyers identify and meet the right WBE suppliers and obtain the right products or services. WBENC certified businesses are encourages to partner with other WBENC certified WBEs to pursue other business opportunities to grow their network and profit.
Capacity Development:
WBENC certification gives women owned businesses access to a number of capacity building programs and activities. Some of these include: eligibility to receive a Dorothy B. Brothers Scholarship, eligibility to participate in the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, workshops and keynotes at WBENC national events, Webinars, WBENCLink, MatchMaker365, “Just in Time Learning Series” by Susan Bari, access to community of support among WBENC certified WBEs, and articles in WBENC’s President’s Report and WBENC News on website.
Recognition:
WBENC certified businesses are given eligibility for regional representation and national recognition as a Women’s Business Enterprise Star; eligibility for recognition through WBENC’s Applause Award; eligibility for International Luminary Award; and eligibility for recognition through the William J. Alcorn Leadership Award.
Promotion of the Business:
WBENC certified businesses are given use of the WBENC certification WBE seal on their marketing materials, which identifies the women’s business enterprise as certified through WBENC’s national standards and procedures, use of WBENC press release template to announcing the business as newly WBENC certified.
WBENC certified businesses are given eligibility to promote their business through sponsorship of WBENC national events. A number of promotional opportunities are provided in sponsorship packages. WBE Chair opportunities are available and open to every WBENC certified WBE. Although only two WBE Co-Chairs are selected for each national event, this sponsorship opportunity includes year-long promotional and exposure benefits.
WBENC certified businesses are given eligibility to promote their business in a 60 second video on the Elevator Pitch located on WBENC’s website and eligibility to promote their business on WBENC Social Media profiles.
Advocacy:
The WBENC drafts papers and research developed on key women business issues and offers opportunities to participate in surveys so that each business’ voice is represented on key issues, and improves the representation of women business issues in key forums.
There are many benefits to becoming a certified member of the WBENC. As reviewed, the WBENC minority business certification can be key to major access, development programs, promotional activities and advocacy that is key to ongoing growth and development. If your business is majority owned by a woman it would definitely be in your businesses best interest to join and begin reaping the benefits of WBENC certification.
It is time for another small business webinar event hosted by BizCentral USA. This week’s webcast we will take a look at basic financial management best practices for small businesses. Specifically, bookkeeping is one task that many small businesses neglect or make half-hearted efforts at doing. Both options are a mistake.
With that said, I would like to personally invite you to spend some time with BizCentral USA and learn a number of ways to make sure that your small business gets its financials in order!
Topics of Interest:
• Things Needed to get Started
• Bookkeeping & Accounting Process
• Financial Reporting Tools
• Solutions and Tips on Record Keeping
Join us to learn the importance of basic financial management, bookkeeping and accounting and how to master it so your business can reap the benefits! Have questions you would like us to answer during the webcast? Enter them into the comments section below and we will be sure to review them!
Frequently, I have clients ask about different opportunities to fund their small business startup and it seems that most individuals are interested in investors. This term tends to be the nebulous catch all for individuals that give away money but there are important distinctions in investor groups. This article is meant to help you understand venture capitalist, angel investors, and individual investors.
Venture Capitalist
Venture capital investments are generally made in cash in exchange for shares in the invested small business. It is typical for venture capital investors to identify and back companies in high technology industries such as biotechnology and IT (Information Technology). In 2008, venture capitalist-backed account for 10 percent of sales and private employment, but well less than 1 percent of companies.
Venture capital is important for building high growth companies. Venture Capitalist backed projects are 150 times more likely than average small business startup to create jobs. Venture Capitalists invested $18 billion in business startups last year. Over all, venture capitalists made 2,802 deals, investing in 2,372 companies. Approximately 728 small businesses received first-time funds or $3.3 billion in first-time financing. In 2008, average Venture Capitalist investment was $7.4 million. Venture capitalists are often the first choice for firms who are looking for a large-scale project or need money for research purposes.
Angel Investors
An angel investor, also known as an informal investor is an affluent group of individuals who provide capital for a small business startup, usually in exchange for convertible debt or ownership equity. There is a growing trend for angel investors to pool together into angel groups or angel networks to share research and pool their investment capital. In 2008, the average angel group investment was $275,000. As a whole, angel groups make one quarter of the investments of venture capitalists. Always have your documents reviewed by a lawyer before you agree to any funding terms.
Individual Investors
Individual investors are often persons who dabble in investments and have limited funds to appropriate to your small business. Many times individual investors are people you know like family and friends. The average individual angel investment is only $77,000, half of individual angel capital is provided as debt, and more than 2/3 of individual angels are unaccredited. Be careful when dealing with individual investors, providing appropriate rates of return using debt would violate usury laws.
Whichever method you choose it is important to understand the strengths and weaknesses of your investor. In 2008, overall 7.3% of business plans made it through the screening process. Only 3.3% made it to the presentation process. About 2.8% had investors complete due diligence and 2.1% received investment. Working with investors is competitive and it is important that your business plan meet their exacting standards. A solid small business plan should grab hold of the vision in which you want your company to be perceived, plant the seed to grow a successful and profitable small business and prove the two previous points to investors. Finally, always understand the investor’s business plan qualifications before you begin solicitations. Being smart early on will increase the chances of your success and help you achieve that all-important capital for your small business startup.
Whether you are just starting out or growing your small business, a sound business plan is your road map to success.
Writing a business plan will force you to objectively develop and evaluate your tactical and strategic plans. It will also help you identify the opportunities and risks encountered as a result of your decisions. Most importantly, you will understand who your customers are and how you can meet or exceed their needs and expectations.
We invite you to spend some invaluable time with BizCentral USA’s senior business plan consultants and learn how to not just build an effective business plan, but utilize it to insure your small business’ success!
Do you have suggestions for additional topics of interest you would like us to cover? Share them in the comments section below!
Don’t let your small business dreams fail or fall short of their actual potential! Reserve your seat today at: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/558842394
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