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Even if you're not a federal contractor, there are many lessons to be learned from the 11-year struggle to make the Women-Owned Small Business Federal Contracting Program a reality.  It is, among many other things, a lesson in perseverance, finding your voice, and the importance of having a strategy.  The Late Spring 2011 issue of The Exchange, the Women's Leadership Exchange newsletter, featured an article by Barbara Kasoff, WIPP President, "Why You Should Celebrate the Women's Procurement Program Even if You Are Not a Federal Contractor."  Follow the link, or read the article below:

I was having dinner with a friend recently and she said "enough already" about the women's procurement program.  She doesn't want to be a federal contractor and so all of WIPP's attention to this program seems a bit much to her.  Not at all surprising, but I would submit this "case study" is applicable to every woman business owner even if you never plan to be a contractor.  Below is a list of lessons learned from this 11-year journey, which I hope you will find helpful in your business or policy organization.

•    Women Business Owners Won.  If there is ever any doubt in your mind whether the Congress listens to women business owners, think no further.  Women business owners are the sole reason behind this program from passage of the law to implementation by SBA.  If you are a woman business owner, this victory is yours.

•    The Importance of a Strategy.  While passion is required for good advocacy, strategy makes the difference between success and failure.  In the case of this program, we had to know how to play the Congressional rules to our advantage.  We had to build a record, know when to mobilize, when to push and put in place a program to increase the number of women interested in contracting.

•    A Lesson In Perseverance.  It took eleven years to make this happen.  This goes to show that even though making changes in government are not necessarily fast, persistence will result in change.  This lesson applies to anyone running a business.

•    Mobilizing Many Voices Works.  If you want to affect change in your community, state or national level, assemble a large coalition of supporters.  While one or two people can make inroads, a coalition will make change possible.  In this case, millions of women spoke out and many, many organizations registered their support.

•    Take Criticism With A Grain of Salt.  Someone once wisely stated that if you are an effective leader, you will be criticized.  In this case, while we did everything we could to minimize animosity, pushing for change subjected us to criticism within the government.  But that just comes with the territory.  Don't let it derail you.

•    Find Your Champions.  In the case of this program, women Members of Congress really stepped up to the plate.  A majority of women in the House supported implementation of a good program and every single women Senator supported us.  Even though women are not the majority in Congress in terms of numbers, they pack a mighty punch.  There were also many unsung heros that worked behind the scenes to help. Elected officials are not the only ones who will step up to be champions.

•    Repeat Your Message Often.  Even though you think the whole world knows your message and can recite it word for word, think again.  Studies show that it takes in the range of 25-40 repetitions to learn.  WIPP and its coalition partners repeated the message that women needed this program to succeed in government contracting and we kept repeating it to Congress, federal agencies, and the White House for 11 years.

•    It Takes Leaders - Are You One?  There is no question that without leadership within the women's business community, this program would simply have died due to unanswered opposition.  Women who head women's business organizations provided leadership at the national level. Individual women business owners who are influential in their communities provided leadership at the local level.  Hundreds of thousands of women business owners responded to action alerts, sent letters when asked, visited their legislators and supported organizations like WIPP who provided the united voice.

Now That We Have the Program, We Need Your Help To Make It Work.  Getting this program in place is just the first step although it took 11 years.  Now the challenge lies ahead- making it work.  That will require visits to the federal agencies and local SBAs to promote the program.  It will require identification of contracts which could be utilizing this program.  It will require educating women on the specifics of the program.  If you don't want to become a contractor, consider supporting the women who do.  They will be there for you when you need their voice on your issue.  And don't forget to celebrate- you won.

Barbara Kasoff is the President and CEO, and Co-Founder of Women Impacting Public Policy, Inc., a non-profit, nonpartisan public policy advocacy organization with over half a million members including over 50 business organizations, educating and advocating on economic issues for women in business.  For more information visit www.wipp.org.

Recently American Express OPEN launched a new OPEN Insight Guide to help women business owners secure government contracts.

The OPEN Insight Guide, Government Contracting: Women in Procurement offers tips, advice, and suggestions for women business owners. Within the guide, you'll find:

 - Excerpts from a roundtable discussion with government-contracting experts and small business owners who have experience in government contracting

 - A list of eligible industries

 - Interview with Ann Sullivan, head of government relations for Women Impacting Public Policy

 - List of resources for women in government contracting

 - Checklist for the program's eligibility requirements

A recent study from American Express found that more than two thirds of the women-owned companies that secure federal contracts generate more than $1 million in sales. Whether you're new to government contracting or an experienced contractor, the information in this new OPEN Insight Guide will help you grow your business through government contacting opportunities.
 

I know you have all heard the great news on the long-awaited Women's Procurement Program. We've been spreading the word - and I hope you all have as well.

Let me be blunt about this victory. It would not have happened without WIPP and it would not have happened without you.

Over 11 years you lobbied your elected officials and you made countless calls and sent dozens of emails - and it worked! Together WE made this happen.

• This victory is why you must support a professional government relations team
• This victory happened because WIPP is organized and because we have an Agenda, the Economic Blueprint, that keeps us focused exclusively on small business issues.
• This victory is why the women's business community must work together if we are to progress.

WIPP is now part of every major business discussion taking place on Capitol Hill. Our challenge is to strengthen the seat by surrounding it with millions of women business owners who will take action to effect change.

WIPP needs many more voices to be informed, to listen carefully and thoughtfully to different viewpoints, to get involved and to focus like a laser beam on problem solving.

We solved a huge problem this week. If you haven't already, now is the time for you to add your voice.

If you are not a WIPP member - join today. We need you. Contact Oriana Camacho at ocamacho@wipp.org - and she will help you.

For Immediate Release
Contact: Ann Sullivan
WIPP Government Relations
202-626-8528
asullivan@madisonservicesgroup.com

Washington, DC - October 5, 2010 - Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP) applauds the release of the final rule which will implement the Women's Procurement Program, enacted into law in the year 2000. When enacted, contracting officers will have the ability to restrict competition to women-owned small businesses if the procurement falls within one of the eighty-three (83) North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes. 

"For eleven long years, we have anxiously awaited final implementation of the Women's Procurement Program. Thanks to Administrator Karen Mills and her team, the program is finally underway," said Barbara Kasoff, President of WIPP. "WIPP's efforts led the way to ensure that women contractors have the opportunity to receive their fair share of contracting dollars.  We believe that increased federal contracting opportunities will give women business owners a chance at growing their business," added Kasoff.

Since 2008, our Give Me 5 Program (www.GiveMe5.com) has helped increase the number of women-owned businesses registered on the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) by over 30%.  The CCR is the government database that was used to determine the number of eligible industries in the new program. Along with advocacy for passage and implementation of the Program, WIPP's educational initiatives have worked to build the pool of women-owned businesses ready to bid on federal contracts.

Important to the program's success is a change made in the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 which restored "parity" among all of the Small Business Administration's (SBA) small business contracting programs. The program will be considered equal to any other small business contracting program. This issue is highlighted in WIPP's Economic Blueprint: The Women Business Owners' Platform for Growth, unveiled during the WIPP 2010 Annual Leadership Conference. The Blueprint serves as WIPP's voice regarding challenges unique to small businesses that require action by our elected officials.

To read the final rule, click here.

Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP) is a national nonpartisan group with over half-a-million members. WIPP is the collective voice in Washington, D.C., for 51 national women and small business organizations. WIPP advocates for and on behalf of women in business in the legislative process of our nation, creating economic opportunities for members and building alliances with other small business organizations. 

This morning, the Senate voted for cloture - a procedure where the Senators vote to limit debate on the Small Business Jobs Bill H.R. 5297. If cloture is achieved, the bill would have been set for a final vote. In order to achieve cloture, sixty (60) votes must be achieved.

Today, only fifty-eight (58) Senators voted for cloture. What this means is that the debate for the bill will continue.

WIPP continues to express support for this bill. This bill contains a number of provisions that stand to benefit small businesses, such as:

·         Restoring parity to the Small Business Administration's (SBA) small business contracting program

·         Addressing contract bundling and subcontracting in federal procurement

·         Increasing loan limits and available capital for small businesses

·         Providing tax incentives for small business owners

·         Repealing the 1099 reporting requirement enacted after the healthcare law

We need your help in expressing your support for this bill. Contact your Senators and tell them to support this bill!

To read WIPP's latest letter of support for this bill, please click here.