ALTA Consulting has and always will be a woman owned business, but now we are officially certified as a WBE, DBE, and an ESB!!! We are excited to grow the pool of highly qualified small businesses to support our clients' objectives!
There are a lot of acronyms in construction, and seemingly even more in the certification space; here are what these three mean:
WBE: Woman Owned Business
DBE: Disadvantaged Owned Business
ESB: Emerging Small Business
If you are less familiar with these programs, you may be asking why hire someone with one of these certifications? Here are four great reasons:
4 Great Reasons to Hire a WBE/DBE/ESB:
Faster Turnaround Times. Since most diverse businesses are small businesses, companies like ALTA are typically more adaptable, nimble, and move faster than our competitors. As a smaller organization, this agility helps us to be more responsive to our clients’ needs, providing bespoke services, and offering faster turnaround time when required.
Commitment to Diversity. Owners seek contractors who work with DBEs and WBEs. As a supporter of diversity, your business becomes more attractive to owners who are seeking contractors that work with women-owned businesses. When you partner with ALTA, let your customers, employees, boards, and stakeholders know that you partner with a WBE. Include this in your presentations, quotes, and sales conversations. It may give you the competitive advantage in the decision-making process.
Tax Incentives. Working with a certified WBE can provide your company many tax benefits. The federal government provides tax incentives to those who conduct business with minority and women-owned businesses. Also, tax liabilities are reduced for projects funded with federal or state grants or loans when the supplier is a woman-owned business. At the state level, additional tax incentives may also be available.
Hiring DBEs is a requirement. On federally funded projects, the US DOT aims to increase the participation of minority and women owned businesses in state and local transportation projects that are funded by the Department through the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). They do this through:
Requiring that state and local agencies overall DBE participation goals.
Establishing contract-specific DBE subcontracting goals with Prime Contractors.
Ensuring only eligible firms participate as DBEs.