Few Nevada women-owned firms using SBA program

Heather Avila, owner of Las Vegas-based Live Electric Inc., said she is interested in becoming certified, but she hasn’t been able to complete the application.

“We’re not aggressively seeking any (federal contracts), but if the opportunity came up and it’s something that worked well for us, I’d like to have the opportunity. And for us, being certified would be the only way to have that opportunity,” Avila said. “We’re a small, small shop. Being in construction, I mean, we can’t compete with all the big boys for some of these contracts.”

The Small Business Administration has several programs, like the Women Owned Small Business (WOSB) Federal Contracting program, designed to give small businesses a leg up in competing for federal contracts. Businesses are self-certified but verified by the administration. Federal executive agencies have a goal of awarding 5 percent of all prime and subcontracts to womenowned small businesses.

The process of selfcertifying to become a WOSB and the process for a federal contracting officer to award a WOSB a contract are equally daunting, said Amy Kim, WOMEN, Free local resources to help women-owned small businesses self-certify with the Small Business Administration:

Nevada Procurement Technical Assistance Center (702) 486-2700

Nevada District Office of the Small Business Administration (702) 388-6611 Paid third-party certification agency:

Women’s Business Enterprise Council-West (WBEC-West) (602) 541-0720 Paid business development consultants:

Paragon Development Group (702) 839-4647

Certify My Company (702) 289 4229