By Larry Dandridge
According to an article titled “What women Veteran-owned business entrepreneurs need to know” by Tatjana Christian, a public affairs specialist for VA’s Office of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs, found at https://bit.ly/3QOt1zh and VA YouTube video titled “VR5: Women Veteran Owned Business Opportunities,” found at https://bit.ly/40r2dZ0, “the government wants to do business with veteran-owned and women-veteran-owned businesses. The Veterans Administration (and the other departments of the federal government) are increasing their goal to do more business with women veteran-owned businesses. The majority of these opportunities are with federal government agencies such as the VA and Department of Defense, (and their large business contractors).”
Demographics on women veteran-owned businesses
Today, about 15% of all veteran-owned businesses are women veteran-owned. Opportunities for women-owned small businesses, and especially women veteran-owned small businesses are growing rapidly. Today, there are about 2 million women veterans, and approximately 9% of veterans are women.
About 30,000 women transition from military service back to civilian life each year. Approximately 48% of women leaving the military are women of color. In recent years, there has been an almost 300% growth in veteran women-owned businesses.
Read these web pages first
If you are a woman and are transitioning out of the military and are interested in starting a business or already own a business and would like to do business with the federal government, you can find resources through the VA’s Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization web page, the Women Veterans-Owned Small Business Initiative (WOSBI), the VA Small Business Liaison Officers, and the Small Business Administration (SBA), and by reading the information on the following web pages:
- VA Office of Small & Disadvantaged Business Utilization web page, https://www.va.gov/osdbu/
- VA Office of Small Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) Commitment to Diversity and Women Veterans in Business web page, https://bit.ly/3u7imXK. WVOSBI aims to help more women-owned businesses become prime vendors and assist the VA in achieving its 5% WOSB contracting goal.
- The VA NEWS article titled “VA supports women Veteran entrepreneurs in how to obtain government contracts,” dated March 3, 2022, https://bit.ly/469wbSx.
- Executive Order 13985, dated January 20, 2021, titled Executive Order on Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government, https://bit.ly/40tV76f. Covers underserved communities like women veterans.
- U.S. Small Business Administration S.C. District Office web page, https://bit.ly/3QrdiFa. This office provides help with SBA services including funding programs, counseling, federal contracting certifications, and disaster recovery. We can also help you by making referrals to our partner organizations, lenders, and other community groups that help small businesses succeed.
- Women-Owned Small Business Law, Public Law 106-554, Section 811(m), https://bit.ly/467ZdSC.
- Creating a National Women’s Business Enterprise Policy and prescribing arrangements for developing, coordinating and implementing a national program for women’s business enterprise Executive Order 12138, https://bit.ly/49mW1p3.
- SBA Eligible NAICS for the Women-Owned Small Business Federal Contracting program and contract industries where women-owned businesses are severely underrepresented the Federal Government, https://bit.ly/40ritcK. These contracts are for specific industries where women-owned small businesses are substantially underrepresented. Some contracts are restricted further to economically disadvantaged women-owned small businesses (EDWOSBs). SBA maintains a list of those eligible industries and their North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes. Of the 733 eligible industries, 626 are designated for limited competition among all WOSB Program participants, and 107 are eligible for competition among only SBA-certified EDWOSBs.
- VA Office of Small & Disadvantaged Business Utilization, https://bit.ly/40INJnP. VA Small Business Liaisons (SBLs) are located nationwide to offer advice to Veteran-owned and other small businesses on doing business. The VA Southeast Network SBL is James Wallace Edmondson III, and he can be contacted at 404-414-6305 or wallace.edmondson@va.gov.
Women veterans the fastest-growing part of the veteran community
VA spokesperson Michelle “GI” Gardner-Ince says, “Women veterans are a national treasure and women are the fastest-growing demographic in the veteran community. The VA has the mandate to award contracts to veterans first but not veterans only. The VA has a women-owned small business goal of 5% to meet.”
Steps to become a certified business with the federal government.
The first step: The first place a veteran should go to get help with learning how to do business with the VA (and other U.S. Government Departments) is the Small Business Administration (SBA), specifically the Office of Veteran Business Development. The SBA will take a veteran through how to develop a business plan and the other steps a veteran needs to take to become a certified business with the US Federal Government.
The second step: Become a certified veteran-owned business owner. The VA and other government departments want your business to be ready for business as a veteran-owned business, a business with a business license, a business ready to sell and receive electronic payment from the government, and a business registered to do business with the government under specific NAICS (North American Industry System) codes. The government wants your veteran-owned business to be procurement-ready.
Veteran-owned small business certification: Veteran-owned and women-veteran-owned are two separate certifications. Veterans can go to the VA Office of Small Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) where they will find counselors who will walk them through the veteran-owned certification processes. Once the veteran’s business is certified, their business will be entered in a VA database that VA (and other government) contracting officers use to select your business for a possible contract award.
The third step: Women veterans will need to go to the Small Business Administration (SBA) for a Women Owned Small Business Certification. The process for women-owned certification is similar to the veteran-owned process.
Grants, loans, and resources: Veterans will find out about federal grants and resources at the SBA, GRANTS.GOV, and VA’s OSDBU. The SBA has a loan program but the VA does not give loans or grants to businesses. The VA does provide businesses with forecasted business opportunities.
The bottom line
So, what are you waiting for? The economy is booming. The government wants to give you lucrative contracts. Do your homework, ask the SBA, VA, and other veteran-owned small business owners for help, and start your own business!
Disclaimer
The process of starting a business and getting certified to do business with the government is complicated. The more “before opening” planning you do, the less risk your business will fail.
Larry Dandridge is a Vietnam War wounded warrior, disabled veteran, ex-Enlisted Infantryman, ex-Warrant Officer Pilot, and retired Lt. Colonel. He is a past Veterans Service Officer, a Patient Adviser at the RHJ VA Hospital, the Fisher House Charleston Good Will Ambassador, and the VP for Veteran Affairs for the local Army Association Chapter. Larry is the author of the award-winning book Blades of Thunder and a contributing free-lance writer with the Island News. Contact him at LDandridge@earthlink.net or 843-276-7164.
