How to get a Women-Owned Business Certification?

For your business, getting the Women-Owned Business Certification might be the next big step. Becoming a certified supplier can open many doors for a growing business. More and more corporations around the world have ambitious diverse supplier goals and will prioritize women or diversity-owned vendors.

We have been certified since 2020. If you want to get certified, we will tell you, what you need and how we did it!

 

Who qualifies for a Women-Owned Business Certification?

Firstly, you need to know whether you meet the requirements for getting certified. The general and most important criteria is that at least 51% of the business must be owned and managed by one or more women.

 

Where can you get Women-Owned certified?

At this point, once you are sure you are eligible for a Women-Owned Business Certification. You will have to decide where to get certified. If you are in the US, for example, you can apply for government certification and become a diverse supplier in that country.

But if, like Win & Winnow, you are a global company, applying for an international certification might be a great option. That is why we decided to start our certification process with WEConnect. Because, along with many other perks, its seal allows us to operate as a Certified Women-Owned Business globally.

 

What do you need to get the Women-Owned Business certification?

As with any certification process, you will need lots of documentation. Exactly what might change depending on both the organization giving you the certification and the characteristics of your business.

But surely you will need to fill a form with general information and details on your business. Added to this questionnaire, you will be able to prove ownership and management of the company. And leases, tax returns, and business sheets might be required too. For this, the certifier will provide a detailed list of documents.

 

The basic information you might need is:

• Business registration documents
• Owner and or manager’s documents
• The legal structure of the business
• The main industry in which your business operates
• Products and services you provide
• Financial documents such as annual revenue, tax returns, and business sheets.
• Leases and other contracts
• Description of your Company’s capabilities
• Your website and social handles

 

What is the Women-Owned Business certification process like?

The certification process is an in-depth review of the business to ensure the requirements are met. Therefore, the process might be quite long. And only the review of the application might take up to 90 days to complete. But you also need to consider that gathering all the needed documents might take you some time, you may need to reach out to an accountant or professional to figure out some steps.

Given that, don’t panic or lose enthusiasm, this is a long process, but it is worth it! A certification like this will set you apart from other businesses, not to mention the new networking doors it will open, and how it allows you to have an awesome angle to work on brand awareness.

 

The process will have a few steps:

• Find out what documents you need
• Fill out forms and present the documents
• Certifier reviews the application
• Some extra documents or meetings might be asked for depending on the case.
• Final formalities
• Get the Women-Owned Business Certification!  
• Depending on the procedure, every few years you will need to get re-certified.