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 any
women-owned enterprises are aware that certification
from the Women's Business Enterprise National Council
(WBENC) can open doors for them in the private sector,
but they may not be aware that it can also open
doors for government contracting.
According
to Susan Phillips Bari, president of WBENC, major
corporations like Lockheed Martin use WBENC certification
to validate that the subcontracting suppliers they
utilize in their government contracts are truly
women-owned, managed and controlled. This gives
them confidence, Bari says, that when they report
their numbers to the government they will pass whatever
scrutiny is applied.
"Many
of our WBEs have also increased their business as
prime contractors," Bari adds. She cited three examples
of WBENC-certified firms doing business with the
government: Rebecca Boenigk, whose company, Neutral
Posture (a manufacturer of ergonomic seating) is
on the GSA schedule; Alta Baker, whose SafeHaven
Enterprises has grown dramatically in the post 9/11
world with major
contracts with the Departments of State and Defense;
and Gretchen Fox, whose firm specializes in corporate,
and now government, relocation. All three have or
will shortly open Washington, D.C. offices to better
handle their growing federal government business.
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Contact WBENC at www.wbenc.org
(This
article is reprinted from the Fall 2003 edition
of Enterprising Women magazine. Copyright
2003, Enterprising Women Inc. Reproduction in whole
or part is prohibited, except by permission of the
publisher.)
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