Women-owned business certification moves online

Teresa Emerson: The amount of information required is a problem.

The Missouri Office of Equal Opportunity is working to speed up its certification process for Minority/Women-owned Business Enterprises, opening further the once tricky door to government contracts.

The Office of Administration, which oversees the OEO, announced last month a new online application system for minority and women-owned businesses with the hope of reducing time to review and track submitted materials.

Designed to help minority and female business owners secure government contracts, certification can help companies gain projects with general contractors that often need proof they are working with M/WBEs. According to OEO.Mo.gov, all state agencies should “make every feasible effort to target the percentage of goods and services procured from certified M/WBEs to 10 percent and 5 percent, respectively.”

Dianna Devore, owner of steel manufacturer Design Fabrication Inc., said she worked to become WBE certified five years ago, shortly after buying the company. Design Fabrication specializes in structural steel fabrication for commercial construction projects across Missouri.

“I felt like I should take advantage of every opportunity I could coming in new to this industry,” said Devore, who sold her stock in Springfield Remanufacturing Corp. to buy the business that had been hit hard following the recession.

Devore is one of 35 listed business owners in Springfield. Statewide, there are 1,324 certified businesses, with 603 MBEs, 532 WBEs and 189 holding both certifications, according to Office of Administration spokesman Ryan Burns.

However, not everyone is sold the online move will meet the OEO’s goal to increase participation in the certification process.

Mountains of data
Teresa Emerson, owner of Clearview Window Cleaning, last year received the Governor’s Woman-Owned Small Business of the Year Award. But her Springfield company is not certified as a WBE.

“I have looked into it several times. It is an arduous process,” she said by email. “In the end, I have always concluded that for a small company it is too cumbersome.

“If the government wants more participation in the program, they will need to greatly reduce the amount of paperwork and ongoing work that is required.”

It took Devore a couple of months to gather the paperwork.

“There was just mounds of paperwork I had to copy and send off with the application,” she said. “Once I sent it off, they came on site, and that was painless. We do annual updates and every three years another certification, but once you’re set up, it’s a lot easier.”

Started in 1997, the program was established two years after a state disparity study recommended the certifications. While Emerson believes the move online is good, she still won’t be applying.

“The problem is the minute level of detail required and volume of the data required – not the method of delivery,” she said of the application, which requires specifics such as the type, make, model and current dollar value of each piece of equipment held and/or used by the firm.

Burns acknowledged the front-end process is time-consuming and said the switch to an online system would largely benefit workers who handle the applications.

“The new online system saves OEO considerable time by eliminating the need to scan documents, and it allows easier access to uploaded documentation when reviewing the application and communicating with applicants,” he said via email.

Unclear results
Kristi Fulnecky, an attorney and owner of construction management and consulting firm Fulnecky Enterprises LLC, is certified with the state of Missouri as the owner of an MBE and WBE. The Springfield City councilwoman said all three of her firms are certified, with her main business – Fulnecky Enterprises –  on the list for the past six years.

“The reason I got into it was to try and expand my business opportunities,” she said. “It is quite a process.”

Fulnecky, a Comanche Indian, said attaining certification took her three to four months.

“I had to show them my card. I’m an enrolled member of the tribe,” she said. “Also, they want to make sure you’re not a front for another business. Especially with women, they want to make sure you’re not a front for your husband’s business. They really want to know the extent of your involvement, how you started the business. They go through all your contracts, your financials, all your business records.”

According to the OEO, a business must meet the following requirements to become M/WBE certified with the state:

• At least 51 percent of the company is owned by a minority and/or a woman.

• The minority and/or woman owner is a United States citizen or lawfully admitted permanent resident of the U.S.

• The owner must hold the highest position in the company and be capable of exercising direct control over the daily operations, such as long-term decisions regarding the firm’s management and policies.

• The entity must be organized as a for-profit business.

Burns said certification has taken an average of 45-90 days in the past, and now is on track to average 30-45 days for business owners.

“It gives me a competitive advantage, not only in the government sector, but also in the private sector,” Fulnecky said. “As an attorney, people call me all the time and want to know if they can get the MBE or WBE, and I always tell them, it’s worth going through the process, but it is a government process. You have to meet all the requirements.”

Devore said it’s difficult to connect the job earned through the certification.

“I think it has helped me on a few projects, but when I’m awarded jobs, I’m not told, ‘You got this only because you’re a WBE,’” Devore said. “I don’t know how many times it’s helped me.

“I think we still have to be low bidder.”