By Samantha Ferm
If you’re a Woman-Owned Small Business (WOSB) and have applied for the SBA’s WOSB certification in the past, you might have been aware of the odd requirement a limited number of NAICS codes were even applicable to be considered as a ‘woman-owned small business.’ This eliminated hundreds of possible NAICS codes across multiple industries for many possible WOSBs in the United States, forcing WOSBs to either not apply for certification, or choose a NAICs code that didn’t adequately represent their work.
That, however, has now changed.
Every 5 years, the SBA does a study on industries and how they’re represented in the Federal marketplace. The results of the most recent study, released just this spring, have now led to a 70% increase in the industries that can now be incorporated and represented within the SBA’S WOSB program, going from 444 to 759 different industries. New industries incorporated into available NAICS include Home Health Services, Temporary Help Services, Air Transportation Support and many more. For a list of updated applicable NAICS, click here.
If you are a Woman-Owned Small Business, or an Economically Disadvantaged Woman-Owned Small Business here in the state of Iowa, and would like a PTAC counselor to help you explore if the WOSB program and application is something you’d like to learn more about or like help navigating, feel free to reach out! Working with our PTAC is completely free and confidential, and we’re happy to help you with these processes. If you’d like more information, check out what documents are needed for the WOSB/EDWOSB application, and also read about what federal contracting guidelines are followed in reviewing applications.