403: Supplier Diversity Certification with Heather Cox and Liz Whitehead

If you've been interested in learning about Supplier Diversity Certification, you are a Certified Diverse Business and you want to better leverage your certification for corporate opportunities, or you are an organizational leader who wants to understand the benefits of supplier diversity, you're going to love my guests on Moxielicious® episode 403. Heather Cox is an award-winning entrepreneur, speaker, and consultant. She brings her tireless energy to the cause of making the business world more closely resemble the real world. Heather champions diversity and inclusion through her work as an entrepreneur, giving business leaders the tools to improve their numbers and advance their companies. As Co-Mastermind of Diversity Masterminds®, Heather assists all diverse owned businesses to increase their visibility in markets and make creative connections that accelerate growth. Liz Whitehead is an award-winning business development consultant that specializes in guiding diverse businesses to leverage their certification and benefit from corporate supplier diversity initiatives. Her clients include Fortune 500 companies as well as certified business enterprises who are invested in making the most of their certification. She supports her clients in reaching their goals through facilitation, consulting, and one-on-one coaching. In late-2020, I embarked on the Supplier Diversity Certification process, and I'm so glad I did. Heather Cox, the Co-Founder and President of Certify My Company, shepherded Steve and me through the process. Through Heather, I met Liz Whitehead, the CEO of 12PointFive, and Liz's partner in Diversity Masterminds. Diversity Masterminds helps Certified Diverse Business Owners make the most of their certification once it's granted. I invited Heather and Liz onto Moxielicious® to demystify Supplier Diversity Certification. As I share in episode 403, I first learned about the opportunity in 2012 or 2013 from a corporate client – and it took me almost a decade to go through the process because of a lot of the myths of Supplier Diversity Certification I bought into. During our conversation on Supplier Diversity Certification, we discuss: What Supplier Diversity Certification is (and isn't) as well as the big 5 Supplier Diversity Certification categories The types of companies that most benefit from Supplier Diversity Certification (Hint: most coaches, consultants, and trainers who want to win more corporate work DO benefit – if they understand how to leverage their certification once it's granted) The top myths that keep women entrepreneurs from getting certified – including that the paperwork is overwhelming and certification is only for companies who want to work with the government How to actually get business after Supplier Diversity Certification – from large companies and from fellow Diverse Business Owners The importance of a proper Capabilities Statement when marketing to organizations – and how to differentiate yourself from others in your space without being vague or making false claims   Resources Mentioned in This Episode:   Learn more about Heather and Liz's program, Diversity Masterminds, that picks up where Supplier Diversity Certification ends – and join me in the Fall 2021 cohort Sign-up for my free virtual workshop – Amplify Your Voice, Visibility and Influence While Getting Paid to Show Your Clients (or Employees) How to Do the Same Please leave a review and subscribe to Moxielicious® via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Play, or Spotify so you never miss an episode!