Is your business majority-owned and operated by one or more women? If yes, you may be eligible for the Small Business Administration’s (SBA’s) Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) program. WOSB is a business-level diversity certification based on requirements established by the SBA. The federal government aims to provide a level playing field for businesses owned by women and provide them an opportunity to grow their businesses. Federal Government understands the hurdles and difficulties faced by women in starting and establishing businesses. Hence, the federal government’s goal is to award at least 5% of all federal contracting dollars to women-owned small businesses each year.
The government created the WOSB program to give more opportunities to female business owners in the United States. The WOSB program is designed to ensure that women-owned small businesses have an equal opportunity to win federal contracts. In FY2022, the federal government spent over $28.1 billion in contracting dollars with prime contracts for women-owned small businesses, about 4.57% of overall contracting dollars spent. The requirements for WOSB may differ from those for other Women-Owned certifications, such as Women-Owned Business Enterprises (WBE). The WOSB program limits certified firms to specific NAICS codes, while the WBE program typically does not. In addition, some WBE-certified firms have no size requirements, while WOSB requires that the firm meet the size standard defined by the SBA. In this blog, we will briefly discuss the importance and process of obtaining WOSB certification.
Eligibility Criteria
To participate in the SBA-WOSB program, a business must be at least 51 percent owned and controlled by a U.S. citizen. Depending on whether the company is certified nationally or locally, there may be more or fewer requirements.
To be eligible for the WOSB Federal Contracting Program, a firm must:
● Meet the size standards defined by the SBA
● It must be 51% controlled by a female U.S. citizen
● Ownership must be direct and not conditional
● Day-to-day operations must be managed by a woman
● Long-term decisions for the business must be made by a woman
● The firm must provide documentation to prove that they meet the requirements
How Do You Become a Certified Women-Owned Business?
You can opt into SBA’s Small Business Federal Contracting Program and apply for certification through its online portal. The SBA application involves three steps:
1. Register in the System for Award Management (SAM)
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Your company must have an active SAM registration.
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Ensure that your company’s SAM profile has been accurately updated within the last 12 months.
Your SAM.gov registration should be set to “All Awards” and not just “Loans and Grants” to start the process.
2. Create Your SBA Account
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You need a Login.gov account to use WOSB Certify. Remember to enter the same email address in your SBA Connect profile.
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You must enter the business owner’s legal name in your SBA Connect profile.
3. Claim your business at WOSB.Certify
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You will be prompted to enter your company’s UEI, EIN, and MPIN from SAM.gov to apply for your company and start the WOSB Federal Contracting Program application.
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The Majority Woman Business Owner or other designated Woman Business Owners must claim the business.
The SBA online program is free to use, but you still have to pay the required fees. The Certify.SBA.gov website requires you to answer questions about your business (such as a sole proprietorship, limited liability company (LLC), partnership, or corporation) and upload documents based on whether you have previously participated in SBA programs. As you plan, check out the SBA Preparation Checklist, which tells you everything you need to know during the certification process.
Benefits of Obtaining WOSB
1. Helps in Generating Leads
After you receive your WOSB certificate, you can look for opportunities and bid on competitive contracts to award. You may also be eligible for sole source contracts. The SBA helps small business owners and members of underrepresented groups navigate the convoluted federal contracting programs. WOSB certification opens doors for contracts that are set-aside specifically for this category, hence narrowing down the competition.
2. Tax benefits
There are several potential tax incentives available to certified women-owned businesses, affiliates, and investors. First, your company can receive tax relief and tax benefits for projects funded with federal or state grants. The federal government also tends to offer tax incentives to businesses and states that work with minority- or women-owned businesses. Finally, some local and central governments offer tax credits or relief to investors if they choose to operate as a minority corporation. Supporting women-owned businesses is a win-win situation for everyone.
3. New clients and profitable business partners
Once certified, your company will be considered a Preferred Provider for the Diversity Program. You may participate in contracts for specific industries and sectors of the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). If you are certified as a woman-owned small business. You can also sign up for accounts using various databases, such as the Department of Defense and the System for Award Management (SAM).
What Should Be Done After Certification?
After obtaining WOSB certification, you can use various marketing tools to show your presence. These tools can include social media, Newsletters, Capability Statements, Capability Presentations, and other marketing collaterals. You need to ensure that your WOSB Certification is present and clearly visible on all these materials. Moreover, you need to remember that this certification must be renewed every year.
Becoming WOSB certified can help many women-owned businesses increase their customer base and build new networks for knowledge sharing and networking. With the help of appropriate technology and a strategic plan, you can make the most of this process and open doors to new business opportunities. We at iQuasar are pleased to assist you if you have any inquiries about becoming certified as a WOSB. We can help you in finding out more about other socioeconomic set-asides that your company might be eligible for. Certifying as a small business set aside concern is simply one approach for small business contractors to access the resources available to them.