To qualify for 8a status, there are certain qualifications that must be met.

1. The woman must own 51% of the business. She must be the highest paid employee.  She must be “in control” able to make decisions as the owner and not have to rely upon the male owner. The woman must be working full-time in the company for at least the past two years. And the woman must have skills to run her business.

2. If the second business owner is a minority or service-disabled veteran, then a second narrative must be sent in with the application.

Submit your SBA 8a related questions to The8aMentor.com  website.  We are here to serve you.

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You can’t complete your SBA 8(a) application without a disadvantage narrative!

How many federal contracts have you missed out on this year?

Looking for a proven affordable option to get your narrative done?

The Good News is… You are at the right place.

Take Action! No more excuses! Get started on your narrative today.  Hello, I am Karen Miller, The 8a Mentor. My company has been 8a certified since 2005.  From my own personal experience, I created an affordable option to help others.  I know the SBA 8(a) application process, and can help you to quickly prepare your narrative to get your 8a application completed.

Create Your Narrative Without Lifting a Pen! My proven process works!  I have helped hundreds of small business owners nationwide to successfully prepare their 8a narratives for five years. Ready to take your company to the next level? Let me help you navigate the 8a maze and get your 8a disadvantage narrative completed!

Questions?  Call Toll Free: 888-802-9620

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Attention: Women, Minorities, Service Disabled Veterans
We have successfully written narratives for women, minorities and service-disabled veterans. Each narrative receives personal attention to detail in telling the right incidents to meet the preponderance of evidence sought by the SBA reviewers.

So now you know who we are and why we are here. Have you been putting off applying for 8a because of your narrative? Give us a call, let’s talk. Call toll free: 888-802-9620 (M-F: 9am – 4pm Central)

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1. Employer Identification Number (EIN) - The EIN is a permanent tax number and can be used immediately for many business needs, including: opening a bank account; applying for business licenses and filing a tax return by mail. > http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=102767,00.html

2. Business Registration – DUNS Number - Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) provides a unique nine digit identification number, for each physical location of your business. The D-U-N-S Number assignment is FREE and is a requirement to register with the US Federal government for contracts or grants. It can be created within 1 business day. Note: After you register with Dun & Bradstreet they will start calling or emailing you to sign-up for additional services.

Note: It is NOT necessary to sign-up for these services. It will NOT affect your ability to get government contracts. > http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform

3. Central Contractor Registration (CCR) – To do business with the Federal government and to be certified under the 8(a) Program or as an SDB, you must
register in the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) database. CCR is a government-wide single point of vendor registration. CCR is a key aspect of
streamlining and integrating electronic commerce into the Federal procurement process. > https://www.bpn.gov/ccr/default.aspx

Note: If you are a new registrant to CCR and/or updating your profile, expect a 24 to 72 hour waiting period before you can access to the SBA 8(a) application.

4. General Log-in System (GLS) – SBA supports a single log-in point for all services called the General Log-in System. It will take about three days for your
login information to be available. Recommendation: While you are waiting for the registrations to become active, go ahead and start writing your narrative.
> https://eweb.sba.gov/gls/dsp_addcustomer.cfm

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How Do You Meet the Preponderance of Evidence?
You must provide incidents demonstrating when you have experienced discrimination and harassment in your personal and professional life. Your story will be unique to your circumstances.

When you choose The Narrative Writing Service, we ask probing questions to uncover the events that shaped your life and help you address the preponderance of evidence. These incidents demonstrate how your life events meet the social and / or economic disadvantage requirements of the SBA 8(a) program criteria. Complete your narrative rapidly with confidence, and meet the preponderance of evidence criteria with the Narrative Writing Service.

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Remember that the social disadvantage narrative is based upon negative experiences, I call this the “lemon story” versus the “lemonade story”, so there is no need to add good news to make it appear you have “overcome obstacles”.

2. Keep the quotes short – While it is good to include quotes to reinforce and enhance your narrative, keep them short, no more than a couple sentences. Be sure to give basic reference information,but you do not have to prepare a bibliography, again it is your story, not a report.  Do not include more than seven quotes in the total narrative.  Normally my client narratives range from six to ten pages in length.  The quotes should be reinforcing specific issues, for example: If you graduated from a high school with a very high dropout rate or if your community has a very high crime rate.

3. Be specific and detailed about incidents - When you are describing incidents from your personal or professional life, be as specific as possible.  Be sure to include:
-the month/year of the incident
-the name of your supervisor
-any witnesses to the event
-a summary of the event
-and most important the economic or financial fallout from the event. This is especially important if you do not have court documents to support your claims.

Here is an example:

In 1999, I met with John Smith of Acme ABC Prime Contractors in Houston, Texas to talk about partnering on the upcoming NASA contract. While he was intially interested in speaking with me on the phone, I noticed that in our face-to-face meeting he avoided making any promises to partner with my company. And he kept speaking directly to my assistant, John Jones even though John reminded him that I was the owner of the company.  It was apparent Mr. Smith would rather work directly with a male salesperson than a woman.  Not getting this partnership cost my company approximately $100K per month for five years.  See attached: A notarized statement from John Jones on his description of this failed sales meeting.

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In 2002 the CCR became the single repository of vendor data for the entire federal government. If you are serious about doing business with the federal government, you must get your company registered in the CCR.

There is no need to pay someone to register your company. Registration is free. Save your money and take time to get registered by yourself. Before you go to the CCR website, gather this information so you can quickly fill out the form:

Company Identification Numbers

• Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number
  A unique nine character number provided by Dun & Bradstreet. If you do not have a DUNS number, you can contact them via the web or using a toll free number to register your business. Be prepared to provide them with your business name, address, phone number, business start date and type of business. There is no charge for getting a DUNS number.
• Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) Code
  Commercial and Government Entity is a five digit number used primarily by the Department of Defense to identify specific companies. If you do not have a CAGE code, one will be automatically assigned and filled in for you as part of the CCR process. This is a free registration.
• U.S. Federal Tax Identification Number (TIN)
  The U.S. Federal is a nine-digit number used for income tax purposes. This is also known as the EIN number – the Employer Identification Number. Contact the IRS to for your number. Note: If your company operates as a sole proprietorship, you must enter your social security number in the provided space.

Note: when entering any of the above codes, enter the numbers only, not the dashes.

Classification codes for your products and services

• North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes
  Enter at least one NIASC code to identify your company products and / or services. It is ok to list multiple codes. This is how government buying offices identify your company as one that provides needed goods and services. The NAICS code is a six-digit code that you obtain free from several websites. Do a Google search on “NAICS” to locate a website.
  Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) information
  As of Fall 2003 all payments from federal agencies are made to contractors (your business) using electronic funds transfer. EFT information can be obtained from your bank. You will need to provide:
  ABA Routing Number - the 9-digit routing transit number for your financial institution. This number normally appears as the first nine digits in the lower left hand corner of your business check.
  Account Number – your unique checking account number, normally located at the bottom of your business check. Or you may choose to enter a Lock Box Number, which you must setup with your bank.
  Authorization date - The effective date when the EFT information is valid and in effect. If you change banks, you need to resubmit an authorization form.
• Business Point of Contact information
  Enter the name of the person responsible for making business decisions, along with an alternate contact, the name of the accounts receivable and owner information. In some cases, one personal companies enter the same name in each of the four contacts.

Once you have gathered the information, it is time to go to the http://www.CCR.gov website and start filling out the information. If you have questions, there is a 800 number to call for help listed on the website.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Karen_Miller

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Government contracts include specific quality standards listed in the Request for Proposal (RFP). The level or type of quality standard will depend upon the product or service they seek. One of the best ways to assure government purchasing agents is to present a well documented qualify assurance (QA) program. A good QA program should include these elements: company overview, product specifications, product evaluation, inspection, testing, calibration and monitoring.

By preparing a well written quality assurance manual your government customer will examine it to determine your product meets specific contract requirements. As a business owner, your manual will attract and assure government purchasing agents and save you money by helping you to identify problem areas that need be to corrected. A good QA manual will make you examine every aspect of your manufacturing and operating processes as well as the results of the processes. The information you receive will help you make changes necessary to improve your product to meet acceptable standards.

For example, a manufacturing company can improve by y products by implementing a quality control process that ensures that the end product meet all government factors. By setting up a good quality control system and committing to an ongoing process will pay for itself by reducing operational and material costs. Improving your processes will also impress customers and help grow your bottom line.

A high quality QA program will also assure the reliability of your product. Companies seeking to do business with the government need reliability data as well, since part of quality is the ability of a product to remain in service to meet certain criteria. The government agency will assure quality by reviewing the contractor’s inspection system, QA process or any other method used to assure contract compliance.

Be aware that quality assurance programs can be viewed in Part 46 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). Any language used in an RFP to related to quality control consists of FAR language. Invest in quality assurance and reap the benefits of more acceptance in federal contracting opportunities.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Karen_Miller

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Is your question….
Are you wondering if your company is qualified for SBA 8a certification?
Do you have sufficient information to meet “the preponderance of evidence”?
What is the “preponderance of evidence”?
Has your application been rejected by the SBA and you don’t know what to do?

The 8a Mentor offers a free 15-minute phone consultation to business owners seeking individual help. No sales pressure, just the facts. Get answers to the questions you want answered.

It is easy to get the help you need. Visit The 8a Mentor website and sign up for the free narrative consultation.
> Click here www.The8aMentor.com

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The Narrative Toolkit contains three documents: A comprehensive guide, the Personal Journal questions and the Narrative Template.  This proven do-it-yourself product takes the guesswork out of trying to figure out how to meet the elusive “preponderance of evidence” or criteria that the SBA 8a Reviewer looks for as evidence of discrimination and harassment.

The Narrative Toolkit has been on the market since 2006 and has successfully helped people get organized to write their narrative.  To learn more about the SBA 8a application process and narrative requirements download the free Special Report at www.the8amentor.com

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