Federal Minority Owned Certification

With the economy taking a serious downturn, there is one customer that is actually increasing their spending- the US federal government. Fortunate news for small minority businesses as there are advantages that they can use to help make the sale. The federal government has a number of programs that a business which has minority owned certification can utilize for more federal sales.

Named after the legislative provision that birthed the program, the SBA certifies a business as a socially and economically disadvantaged business. The socially disadvantaged part is satisfied by coming from a predetermined list of ethnic minorities. The economically disadvantaged part is satisfied if the business owner(s) does not have a net worth above $250,000. Once 8(a) certification is attained, the business holds the minority owned certification for nine years.

HUBZone stands for Historically-Underutilized-Business Zone and is a geographic designation. The SBA takes the census and parcels the country out into zones. The zones used for a HUBZone are areas that have a high percentage of people at poverty levels and/or areas that have a high unemployment rate. Historically, most areas of dense minority populations are in HUBZone areas. Should your business exist in one of these zones then minority owned certification can be yours. An exciting feature of HUBZone certification is if the business does not exist in a HUBZone, it is permissible to move the principal office into a HUBZone for certification.

Now, there are more little nuances to getting minority owned certification, should you be more interested visit the SBA's web site for more details.

Also be aware that there are certifications for:
Veteran Owned Businesses
Women Owned Businesses
Disadvantaged Small Businesses

These too may help you secure more business.