JANE APPLEGATE
In 1983, Sharon Evans was a single mother of three with limited work experience. When she couldn’t find a job, she co-founded Collection Fine Jewelry, based in Saginaw, Texas. The company focused on producing corporate gifts and eventually expanded into making stationery products and computer chips.
When members of the North Texas Women’s Business Council urged Evans to have her business officially certified as a women business enterprise, or WBE, she initially declined.
“The process was extensive, and although I respected that, I was busy,” Evans recalled.
The council is one of several groups affiliated with the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, a Washington-based group that provides third-party certification of WBEs across the country. A WBE must be 51 percent owned and controlled by a woman. The certification process costs about $200, according to council President Susan Bari.
Bari, who founded the organization in 1997, said both big and small companies are served through a database that provides the names of certified women-owned businesses, as well as other services.
The organization receives financial support from major corporations like Sears, Roebuck and Co., J.C. Penney Co. and Frito-Lay Inc. In addition to providing certification, WBENC encourages its corporate members to do more business with women-owned firms, because it makes economic sense.
Judging from national statistics, it’s easy to see why. In 1999, there were 9.1 million women-owned businesses, employing 27.5 million workers and generating $3.8 trillion in sales. Between 1987 and 1999, the number of women-owned firms increased by 103 percent nationwide.
Although Evans had already done some business with J.C. Penney and Frito-Lay, certification brought her to the attention of Susan Maxwell, manager of Penney’s supplier diversity program. Maxwell said the company has had a minority-supplier program in place since 1972, but the women’s business program was added in 1993.
“Doing this just because it’s the ‘right thing to do’ went out the door 20 years ago,” she said. “We want to do business with the folks who do business with us.”
Maxwell was so impressed with Evans’ products that she introduced her to Bob Gonzalez, group manager for Frito-Lay’s minority/women business development department.
“We had known about CFJ (Evan’s firm) for a few years, but had not given them much business at all,” said Gonzalez. “But then, I saw her presentation at J.C. Penney.”
Evans, who won Penney’s Grand Award for products and services last year, was recommended by Maxwell to her colleagues at American Airlines and recently signed a contract to produce service awards for Frito-Lay.
For companies like J.C. Penney and Frito-Lay, taking an active approach to finding more women to do business with is viewed as a smart move.
“It’s a tremendous strategy for us because these are the people who buy our products,” said Gonzalez. “We need our communities to be strong, and this keeps us in touch with our consumers.”
Frito-Lay’s supplier diversity program dates back to 1983.
“Sometimes, a minority-owned business is more competitive than other suppliers or offers something unique,” said Gonzalez, who admits in a tie-breaking situation between vendors, certification could make the difference.
WBENC is not the only organization that certifies women business owners, but it is the one most corporations prefer to deal with. Until it came around, certification programs relied on self-certification or state certification programs that were open to abuse.
In some well-publicized cases, women were brought into firms and positioned as the owners so the businesses would qualify as women-owned organizations when they were not.
For big companies that prefer not to create or manage their own certification programs, the organization fills an important need.
“For us at J.C. Penney, you have to meet or exceed the standards of WBENC certification,” said Maxwell. “We do not accept self-certification.”
It also provides training and support for its corporate members, helping them better manage their supplier diversity programs. “It makes my job a lot easier,” said Frito-Lay’s Gonzalez.
The organization is now gearing up to recognize companies like J.C. Penney and Frito-Lay by compiling a list of the best corporations for women to do business with. WBENC is inviting Fortune 1000 companies to participate in a national survey to identify the most women-friendly firms. The survey, entitled “The Search for America’s Top Corporations for WBEs,” will be mailed out July 9 to the chief executives of the Fortune 1000.
The survey will focus on the programs, philosophies and commitments made to women-owned firms. It will include questions about internal buyer education, how firms are identified, and internal and external communications. The survey will ask the CEOs to share information about their programs as well as the names of at least two WBEs the company does business with.
The surveys are due back by Sept. 1. WBENC will review all the results, incorporate its research into the best practices of corporations dealing with WBEs, and release a report on Oct. 14.
For more information about the survey or how to become a certified WBE, contact WBENC by writing to: 1156 15th St., N.W., Suite 1015, Washington, D.C. 20005. You also can call (202) 862-4810, fax a request to (202) 862-4829, or send an e-mail to: [email protected].
Reporting by Robin Wallace. Jane Applegate is a syndicated columnist and author of “201 Great Ideas for Your Small Business.” For more resources, visit [email protected].
