News

Certification For Your Women Owned Small Businesses?

Quite often one of the topics of discussion among small business owners is “certification”. To push the thought process a little further, I will usually ask; “What type of certification are you seeking and who are you planning to do business with?”.

For example, if you are seeking to grow your business with federal contracting you should explore certifications with The Small Business Administration (SBA). Yes, you can certify with the SBA as a Women Owned Small Business, Economically Disadvantaged Business and Veteran Owned Small Business. The certification process with the SBA is free and you can do it yourself. Since the federal government has ‘set asides’ for both contract and bid opportunities, certification may be quite beneficial for your small business.

If your goal is to work within the private sector, perhaps with a major corporation, you may want to consider a national certification. However, there are fees associated with third party certification councils including fees for annual renewals.

Your certifications should align with your business strategy. I always stress to business owners that it is important to do their research related to the types of certifications that would best support their business strategy.

Prior to making any investment of your time or money in pursuit of certification, I cannot stress the importance of doing your research. Also, as a contractor or supplier, you should become familiar with the terminology of contracting. If you are pursuing federal contracting, you should become familiar with acronyms. For example, if you are seeking contracts in the private sectors understand the agency’s meaning of terms such as vendor, supplier diversity programs and contracting tiers.

Utilize online information and websites to equip you with vital information related to the company, its goals, its commitment to diversity, and any other strategies that can help you prepare for contract opportunities.

View their “Supplier Diversity” programs specifically targeted toward women and minority owned businesses. Leveraging your status as a women owned small business can have its advantages. The Federal government, corporations, state and local governments have established goals that commit a certain percentage of business for women owned companies. This commitment provides you with the opportunity to leverage yourself as a women owned business.

A word to the wise, make sure you are an informed business owner as you enter the world of contracting, there could be a range of opportunities available to help you compete for contracts that can grow your business.

 

Trip

Tours of St Petersburg – Must Do Activities on a Trip to St Petersburg Russia

Boat trip through the canals
Take a small boat through the canals – they can be found in various places such as next to the Winter Palace and along Nevsky Prospect. You can either take a boat trip during the day or at night. During the day you can see the features of the buildings a bit better and get a sense of the beauty of the architecture. If you want a romantic time with your significant other, I’d recommend the night cruise. You can still see all the famous buildings and the lights of the city really make the time slip away making for a memorable occasion.

Climb the colonnade of St. Isaac’s Cathedral
St.Isaac’s cathedral contains the third largest cupola in the world. Its a harrowing climb to the top but well worth the beautiful views of St Petersburg that can be had up there. The cathedral itself is beautiful but the views from the top are spectacular as well.

Go shopping
Russian souvenirs are recognized around the world for their uniqueness and make a great gift. Matryoshka dolls or nesting dolls can be found in all different styles – the iconic beautiful Russian woman, political leaders, sports stars – whatever your interest you can probably find a matryoshka to reflect your personality. Also among the popular gift items is Russian caviar which is well known for its quality (and sometimes its price – be careful and shop around a bit). Another item that is widespread is cheap DVDs and Software – though technically not legal and the Russian government has been cracking down on this lately it can still be found.

Visit Peterhof and ride the Hydrofoil
Near the Winter Palace you can find strange looking boats that seem to glide on top of the water – these are the hydrofoils that can take you to one of the most beautiful places in St.Petersburg – Peterhof. The fountains of Peterhof are well known for their extravagance and beauty – this is a place you definitely must see.

Russian banya
Russia is a cold place for the most part and during the winter it is especially important to keep warm. Taking things to the extreme is literally in the Russian blood in this case – the Russia banya is a sauna where they prefer really, really hot temperatures and being beaten with birch tree branches followed up by jumping into extremely cold water. This one is not for the faint of heart but afterwards you feel spectacular.

St Petersburg Metro
There is not a better place to get a feel for what life is like for the majority of people that live here unless you take a ride in the metro. The fares are pretty cheap and the stations often contain beautiful artwork and sculptures. There are 5 lines now and you can get almost anywhere in the city efficiently and quickly.

Russian food
Russian food is filled with tradition and flavor. Russian ‘pirogi’ or pies are very tasty and come with many different fillings – meat, potatoes, fruits, etc. Russian ‘blini’ or pancakes are the best type of Russian fast food you can find with similar fillings to the pies but blini with Russian caviar is exquisite. Russian ice cream is popular year-round, even during the winter you will see Russians eating ice cream on the street – it is just that tasty. Pelmeni is Russian style dumplings filled with meat and best eaten with sour cream.

Travel

What to Look For With Your Cheap Travel Insurance

In 2009, a major financial survey brought some rather worrying figures to light…

Even though only 14% of holidaymakers will need to make a claim on their travel insurance, around three-quarters of us do not bother to take any out at all!

Now this is all a little strange… There are plenty of cheap travel insurance packages to be found online. Perhaps it must simply be put down to laziness?

But taking out insurance to protect you whilst you are travelling overseas is a must!!! It is just as important as remembering to take your passport!

Here are a few things to be aware of when you are organising your cover…

• Higher Prices for the Over 65’s

A traveller over 65 years of age is thought to be three times more likely of making a claim on their policy… and these claims are normally three times the size of one that is made by someone younger. These figures come from The Association of British Insurers and all insurance companies will take them into consideration…

So you can understand why insurance will be more costly for the older traveller. However, some insurers will still be far cheaper than others… So it is still worth shopping around for cheap travel insurance, even when you are a senior citizen!

• The Merits of Price Comparison Sites

Don’t be fooled into thinking that travel agents will provide the lowest holiday cover! This isn’t the case at all.

Taking out your policy at the same time as you book your holiday can result in you paying around 90% more than a cheap travel insurance company!

It is always worth looking for your holiday cover on price comparison websites! This will normally result in you paying a great deal less for your insurance. And if you take out a policy from a company you are already using for something else, then you stand to make an even bigger saving!

• The ‘Multiple Policy Excess’ Danger

You should always make a point of checking the small print in a travel insurance policy. One of the biggest reasons to do this is because some insurers will turn one claim into two separate ones…

Imagine if you fell down a flight of steps and broke your mobile phone. Would your insurance company see this as one claim or two??? It’s your job to find out because it could save you a great deal of money!