|
Can Women Owned Businesses become 8(a) Certified?
We have heard plenty of myths involving the 8(a) program involving women who are not members of one of the 5 SBA “designated minority groups.” Even though these businesses are one of the fastest growing categories of 8(a) business, there is still a number of myths we wish to refute. Some of the more prevalent ones are:
Women who do not belong to one of the “designated minority groups” cannot be certified in the 8(a) program.
- This statement is inaccurate. Being a member of a designated minority group only means that you are recognized as being socially disadvantaged. While women are not commonly recognized as being socially disadvantaged, the SBA certainly knows that gender based discrimination is still present in the United States, and grants 8(a) certification to women-owned businesses quite regularly.
You must be able to show hard evidence or testify in court regarding incidents of discrimination.
- While you are required to provide the SBA with both a Social and Economic Disadvantage Narrative, the SBA is NOT looking for hard evidence or court rulings. When the SBA reviews your narratives, they are looking for what is referred to as the preponderance of evidence. To quote the SBA, “Generally, preponderance is evidence of a quality and quantity which leads the decision maker to objectively conclude that the existence or truth of the fact(s) asserted is more probable than not.” In other words, you simply have to demonstrate sufficient discrimination in your narrative.
The SBA gives women owned businesses a hard time, and it takes too long to get through the process.
- Many people feel that this statement is true simply because they do not understand the process of proving your disadvantage status. When applications are submitted to the SBA without evidence supporting both a Social and Economic claim, the SBA will request the information or even return the application as incomplete. We work with our clients to ensure that both areas of discrimination are included and presented in your application.
8(a) certification is not worth the trouble of going through the application process.
- While it is true that the application process to become 8(a) certified is a tedious process, the benefits of the program make the application process worthwhile. As an 8(a) certified company, you will have access to both sole source contracts (no bidding required), as well as contract set-asides that aren’t available to companies outside of the program. From the moment that you receive your acceptance letter, you and your company begin a nine year journey into a business development program that is structured to teach you to grow your business; not just to be financially “stable”, but to be 100% successful in your industry.
We offer application preparation services to streamline the process to make it as quick and painless as possible, so that you can focus on your first priority, your business. Call us at (571) 222-4170, or email us at sales@8arightaway.com for a free, no obligation analysis of your eligibility for the 8(a) program.
|
