The Unfound Door, a Denver-based a creative consulting agency specializing in the design and construction industry, recently achieved several distinguishable certifications at the local, state and federal levels including MWBE – Women Business Enterprise; DBE – Disadvantaged Business Enterprise; EBE – Emerging Business Enterprise; SBE – Small Business Enterprise; and WOSB – Woman-Owned Small Business.
Ely Hemnes, owner of The Unfound Door, commented, “One of the tenets that I built my company on, was to not only become a designated woman-owned small business, but to also be an active participant in this community. I utilize the education, training, and tools available to me through these certifications and supporting organizations to be a better leader and ally to both other woman-owned and minority small businesses and to our clientele.”
According to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA’s) 2020 Small Business Profiles of the States and Territories of Colorado, there are 653,639 small businesses in Colorado, representing 99.5 percent of all the businesses in the state. Of those businesses, only 2,000 are registered with the Denver Economic Development & Opportunity’s (DEDO’s) Division of Small Business Opportunity (DSBO), according to the City and County of Denver’s Small Business Vendor Directory.
This distinct list of vendors, that includes The Unfound Door, offers firms looking to hire these certified small businesses financial and cultural benefits. Financial advantages for larger firms that hire MWBE certified firms include tax breaks and tax incentives, especially at the federal level. The Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) established a tax incentive that thereby reduces overall tax liabilities for firms that hire MWBE certified firms for projects funded with federal and/or state grants or loans. In addition, hiring MWBE firms for design and construction teams that pursue public projects that require a diversity fulfillment goal could assist those firms to win more public projects.
In addition to the financial benefits, according to a January 2018 McKinsey & Company study Delivering Through Diversity, “Companies have increasingly begun to regard inclusion and diversity as a source of competitive advantage, and specifically as a key enabler of growth. Yet progress on diversification initiatives has been slow. And companies are still uncertain about how they can most effectively use diversity and inclusion to support their growth and value-creation goals.”
If 2020 has demonstrated anything to businesses, a key takeaway is that being transparent about who companies work with and expanding the cultural make-up of their vendors and suppliers is essential to making an impact buyer’s brand loyalty. According to Hemnes, achieving these valued certifications allows The Unfound Door to distinguish itself as a company actively increasing the knowledge of potential client needs, industry trends, project updates and the constantly changing landscape of Colorado.
“We are also continually garnering support and connections within our community and the industries in which we work. Especially during these uncertain economic times, we want to make accessing our services and products easier and more seamless by participating in the bidding systems utilized by client companies and government entities that include MWBE designations,” concluded Hemnes.
