Baltimore entrepreneur receives MB certification

14 November, 2008

Becky Gregory, an entrepreneur from Baltimore has received city certification as a Minority/Disadvantaged Business Enterprise, which she hopes will keep her company afloat. Her firm is now certified to compete for government contracts.

JUST WEEKS after Graduate Virtual Assistant Becky Gregory of Baltimore, considered closing down shop, she received the best encouragement she could have ever imagine: official state and city certification as a Minority/Disadvantaged Business Enterprise. Meaning, Gregory’s business Virtual Administrative Services is now certified on a local and state level to compete for government contracts.

Plus, her firm’s name and the areas in which the company is certified will be listed in the MDOT Minority Business Enterprise/Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Directory, a directory used by prime contractors and consultants who want to do business with minority subcontractors.

The whole process took about six months to complete from when Gregory submitted paperwork on May 8, 2008, but Gregory believes it is well worth considering these tough economic times. “This is really a sigh of relief for me. I believe this double certification gives my business legitimacy and credibility in the larger marketplace and represents a real opportunity for business growth and expansion,” Gregory explained.

Gregory received city certification as a Baltimore City Minority and Women’s Business Enterprise (M/WBE) and State Certification as a Minority/Disadvantaged Business Enterprise. Maryland’s Minority/Disadvantaged Business Enterprise programme is run by the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT).

This certification entitles entrepreneurs like Gregory, to do business with the MD Department of Transportation MBE/DBE based on NAICS Industry Codes: North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) is the standard used by federal statistical agencies in classifying business establishments for the purpose of collecting, analysing, and publishing statistical data related to the American business economy.

This type of work is exactly what Gregory’s business, Virtual Administration Services, specialises in. Since 1992, she’s been doing word processing and desktop publishing projects, for friends, family and anyone who asked. Then in 2004, she took a leap of faith and started a formal business geared toward assisting other small businesses with administrative services.

Now just four years later, thanks to this certification, Gregory looks forward to winning contracts she most-likely wouldn’t have been able to compete for. “This certification will allow me to compete for larger, long-term contracts and will expose VAS to a wider audience of potential clients,”Gregory said.