Equality matters in every sector for both genders, which is why thankfully in today’s generation women are now even running their own businesses and being their own bosses. Great opportunities such as gaining the wosb certification are now eligible to all women from different backgrounds and financial situations. WOSB stands for Women-owned business certification and it is the ultimate key to female entrepreneurs that want to get credibility, loans, and other benefits for their companies. There are different types of women-owned business certifications, which is why we have written a guide for you, in order to understand better and make the right choices.
What kind of wosb certifications are there?
Each female entrepreneur has a different financial situation or ultimate goal for their business. That’s why the federal government and small business associations teamed up together in order to offer different incentives and courses for all businesswomen.
The first to consider is for the women who are economically disadvantaged and need the extra financial boost in order for their business to grow. This is the EDWOSB certification which stands for Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Business and it is a nationally recognized certificate by the federal government.
The second one is NAICS which stands for the North American Industry Classification System and allows federal governments to classify the businesses for female business owners. This means that women in business have more chances of being classified in the sector they wish to be, across America.
For assistance towards financial growth within the company, the best certification for female entrepreneurs is WBE which stands for Women Business Enterprise. This allows the federal government to offer financial contracts to female business owners who wish to expand or grow.
How do I become a certified female business owner?
In order to be a certified female business owner, you would have to do it through a third-party agency or you can apply for an SBA application through the federal contracting program, which is free to do. You simply need to go online and visit the website sam.gov, where you can enter your details and then wait three days until you can return to the website and fill out the application.
You can be expected to pay for costs for an actual certificate through a third party, whereas if you do it online through the SBA website it is free. When applying online, you’re expected to answer all kinds of questions about your business, such as the type of business structure it has (LLC, a corporation for example). If you prefer to have a physical certificate, you can apply for this through the agencies that are National Women Business Owners Corporation, Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, U.S Women’s Chamber of Commerce, and the El Paso Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Each agency has different fee requirements that could start from $275 and go up to $1,200. The timeline for completion of certification can range anywhere between 15 to 90 days, depending on which agency you choose.
Who can be eligible for WOSB?
In order to be eligible for any of the certificates, the business must comply with the SBA standards, the female business owner must be a U.S citizen and have 51% ownership, have women running, managing, and making decisions for the business and lastly, the highest role in the business structure must be run by a woman.
If you meet these requirements and fulfill everything in order to be certified, you can benefit greatly as a wbe certified business owner. These certificates offer extensive education that’s needed in order to gain extra knowledge on how to run a business, networking opportunities with like-minded business women, credibility and promotion for your business, and lastly, the financial growth needed for your business. Even though it may seem like it’s a long process, it can actually benefit you greatly.
If you need any help with compliance you can reach out to companies who can help you with the compliance process.