Getting Certified as a Women Owned Business 

A guide to the importance, process, and benefits of WBE Certification, plus resources for women entrepreneurs.

Becoming certified as a Women's Business Enterprise (WBE) is about so much more than being able to attach the colorful "women owned" logo to your business card. It's about opening up doors to a network of thousands of other women entrepreneurs and hundreds of corporate and government partners looking to work with women-owned businesses. We'll show you how to gain this prestigious certificate and use it to build your business!

We will cover:

• The eligibility requirements so you can know if certification is right for you
• The process, costs, documents required and what to expect
• The benefits and opportunities available to certified women owned businesses

Who should attend:

• Established women-owned businesses (brand new businesses welcome!)
• Businesses interested in obtaining corporate or government clients
• Anyone interested in certification, whether you are unfamiliar with it or already certified

About the Presenter

Colleen LaCoss is the certification manager with the Women’s Business Enterprise Center – East, leading a team that certifies and serves over 1,500 women owned businesses each year, and growing! Colleen began her career working with the Girl Scouts, and since has managed numerous non-profits and associations, helping them to grow membership and engagement and achieve their missions. She is a jack of all trades, having successfully lead efforts across all aspects of non-profit management, including strategic planning, education, marketing and branding, special events, membership growth, process management, and committee and board of directors coordination. Her strategy includes a lot of creativity, and she’s not afraid of a little chaos. In her own words, “I love coming to work every day to a place where women are empowered to change the world.”