How to become WOSB certified: an engaging SBA workshop

On January 23 the IWTT hosted a workshop at Georgia State University. Ms. Charlotte Johnson, SBA Economic Development Specialists facilitated the event; there were approximately 50 participants in attendance.

Ms. Johnson’s opening remarks encouraged women to have a positive “attitude” in operating their businesses because positive attitude reaffirms success. She stated several observations of women in business that includes:

Women conduct business differently than men

Women have lower revenue compared to businesses owned by men

Ms Johnson urged the audience to become certified as soon as possible, because the Federal government is mandated to give a certain percentage of contracts to women/minority owned small businesses and there are many opportunities available.

Highlights of the certification workshop include:

Pre-requisites to take in account regarding WOSB certification are: US Citizenship; 51% ownership or more; net worth lower than $750,000; yearly income less than $350,000 (during a period of 3 years); title showing the highest position in the company (for example President/CEO).
You have to be registered on SAM.gov and retrieve a DUNN number before starting the certification process.
It is necessary to have a NAICS code associated with your business. If there is not an exact match, look at the one that is the closest to it.
Review the forecast pages of the various federal agencies to see the projects that are being planned and the opportunities for bidding in relation to your business. You need to know what they buy. Consider also the Federal procurement data system to see current contracts and identify the ones that will soon expire.
Decisions for contracts are made months ahead of time, so during the months October, November, and December the contracts for the first quarter are signed.
Make sure you have enough money to sustain yourself during the process of a federal project. Payments are made at the end of the project. You have to accept credit card payments.
You can use the ORCA website to fill out the information. This site is connected to SAM and will pre-populate some of the fields.
For businesses located in the South, it is worthwhile to visit the Conference of ‘Alliance South Small Business Procurement Fair’, which is held in the Georgia International Convention Center. See website