Are you a woman business owner with 51% or more interest in your company? Have you considered becoming certified as a women business enterprise or WBE?

I took a class about 2 years ago in how to effectively complete the forms. It's a full time job. They ask for all kinds of financial and operational information and the paperwork seems daunting.

Is it worth it?

WBENC (Women Business Enterprise National Council) celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. The Women's Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), founded in 1997, is the nation's leading advocate of women-owned businesses as suppliers to America's corporations. It also is the largest third-party certifier of businesses owned and operated by women in the United States. WBENC works to foster diversity in the world of commerce with programs and policies designed to expand opportunities and eliminate barriers in the marketplace for women business owners. WBENC works with representatives of corporations to encourage the utilization and expansion of supplier/vendor diversity programs.

In a recent edition of Entrepreneur Magazine, woman business owner tara Krapes told her story. She owns a housing relocation company, Vesta Executive Housing and before her certification, she had annual revenues around $850,000. She became certified in 2005 and in her first year sales jumped to $2.6 million. In 2006 she brought in $3.5 million.

Interested in more information? Here is the WBENC certification process.

Congratulations to fellow blogger and Power 150 member Chris Brown whose company Marketing Resources and Results just became WBE certified! Best of luck!

Deborah Chaddock Brown
Writer, WBE Eligible - so what's stopping me?
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