Why We Became a Certified Women Owned Podcast Agency

By Joelle Nole, Larj Media Managing Director

This June, Larj reached an exciting achievement by becoming a Certified Women-Owned business. As soon as we began spreading the word, the question everyone asked was “Why did you need to get certified?” Fair question.

The most obvious answer is that certification comes with benefits, like increased access to government and corporate contracts, lending visibility and credibility in an increasingly competitive market.

Businesses owned by economically disadvantaged entrepreneurs are typically boot strapped and don’t have the resources to invest in marketing campaigns that spur the kind of growth their competitors typically have access to. So, it helps to be listed in places where clients are looking.

But better than asking “Why certify?” is asking the question, “Why should I do business with a Certified Woman-Owned company?”

Larj Media Managing Director Joelle Nole and Founder & Chief Creative Office Tina Nole

Diversifying your vendor list by adding women and minority-owned businesses is wise if you’re interested in remaining competitive in an ever-changing market because they bring perspective and experience that makes your business more resilient as you adapt and innovate.  And, diversity is being increasingly sought after by larger brands needing to demonstrate how they’re walking their talk when it comes to mission and values – both to their customers and their employees.

But why a “Certified” woman/minority owned business?

First, businesses aren’t prevented from claiming that they are woman or minority owned, even if that’s a stretch of the truth. Plenty of highly well-funded white-male boards are happy to make a few token hires and claim that status by labeling it so on the website using images of teams and employee headshots. Gross, but “all’s fair in war and business,” as they say.

The certification process itself is very rigorous, requiring businesses to meet specific standards and criteria around financials, operations, and customer service. The process includes reviews of tax filing, balance sheets, security, legal and insurance compliance documentation, notarized affidavits of net worth, as well as examples of client contracts and work. Not to mention the actual birth certificate of the business owner and a lengthy in-person interview.

That means you can expect an inherent level of high quality right out of the gate from any certified business. It also means that the business can support the work and deliver on the contract, and that the business has financial solvency to handle the loss of a large contract without having that deal wipe them out.

All this to say, working with a Certified woman/minority owned business is not just doing good, it’s doing smart, savvy, good business.