Tracking Down the Worth
Years ago, we wrote a Blog about the various certifications available to distinguish your business. Women Owned, Minoroty Owneed, Veteran Owned are the most common. But, as we have discovered, they may not be worth their cost.
There is a dog sport called Tracking. A dog ground scents for articles that have certain scents to them. It is often the first stage of training a dog for search and rescue work. Many breeds are naturals at it. Think Bloodhound or Golden Retriever or German Shepherd,, not really our breed of choice, the Barbet or French Water Dog. It was a lovely experience, you, your dog and just a leash between you searching or tracking for articles. We learned quickly our breed air scented not ground scented. We were not a fit for the sport. We graciously exited after a class and a seminar. There was no reason to do it to throw good money away.
Nearly 5 years later, Illuminate has seen no benefit from its WBENC certification that we are a women owned and operated business. And this certification costs $350 per year along with annual paperwork filing. We have crossed the paths of many other women owned firms that are not certified due to this annual cost. I am not clear why there is not a simple Affodavit of No Chamge in Ownership with a nominal renewal fee. And for our region, everything is out of New York City. Even sponsored events are all downstate. The cost of travel alone makes attendance economically not worth it.
Certifications that charge such fees can be well worth it if you attract business based upon them. If you do not, there is little value to be had by a business like ours in our experience. Year after year one tires of having to prove we are still a woman. And the paperwork and interviews are simply too much. So, this year we are not renewing.
Much like our experience in Tracking mentioned above, we are recognizing this is not of value to us Professional firms, manufacturers, distributors may experience a different result and it iswell worth the annual fee. Know what works best for your own firm. Evaluate the options and make the choice that is best suited to carry on your business. For us, we will just add a tag line to our email signature and website - A Women Owned Business.
Be well.
