Episode 4: Meet Heather Cox!

We have a very special episode for you RPB nation! The amazing Heather Cox (@certifymyco on IG) chats with us about business certification.

Heather Cox, President and Co-Founder of Certify my Company, speaks on the importance of supplier diversity certification for minorities, veterans, those with disabilities, and others on the  show. Certify my Company aids businesses in obtaining certification and works with Fortune 100/1000 companies to incorporate certified businesses in their supply chain. She discuss the difference between certification and incorporation and how certification can tip the scales in a company's favor. She also stress the importance of relationship building, follow-up, and personal touches in supplier diversity management.

Listen in as they discuss how you can certify your business in this part one of two!

Questions? We can help you with that. Email us at richpeoplesbusiness.com/contact

Follow us on Instagram Twitter and TikTok

Transcript

Hello, thank you for joining us Rich People's Business Podcast.

I am Dana Haley and I'm co-host Reginald Ballard.

Today. We have the amazing Heather Cox. She is here to bring us a lot of information on what we need to know, to grow our businesses. If we are minority, running on a minority owned business, we are disability, veteran owned, so on and so forth. She'll get into the, the nitty gritty of it. She can tell it better than I can. So I'm gonna let her do it.

But first I wanted to just share why I brought, why I wanted Heather, why I brought her here today. when I first started my business, someone told me to get certified, I didn't understand what it was. I did it, I still didn't understand what it was, it was. I, I just, why would a business want to do business with me? Because I have a piece of paper, a certification.

And so I, I got certified and then I went to this event and they had all these corporations with tables and I walked up and I pitched my business and I walked away, walking in the door is $35,000 that year to, to date at that point. And eight months later, I had made another 100,000 from that event. So then I learned very quickly what it was and how and, and how to navigate it.

But I think coming in, someone like Heather who is amazing and passionate about supplier diversity and and all and bodies can share with you the ins and outs and then how to get to to understand the process a little bit faster. So thank you so much for joining us today.

Very much for coming in and joining us. So let's find out a little bit more about Heather and you know, who are you and what do you do and how can you benefit everybody for what you do?

All my, all my knowledge and expertise.

Yes.

First tell us about your business, the name of your business.

So I am president and co-founder of Certify my company. We are a supplier diversity consultancy. We specialize in facilitating diversity certifications. We work with both the Fortune 100 as well as other entrepreneurs to not only help them get the right certification for their business because that is crucial to

know the right one for your business. But also we work with the Fortune 100 Fortune 1000 to make sure everyone in their supply chain that should be certified is certified.

Right.

Right. Right. Ok. Very very, very good. And so I know that I am woman. I'm a woman. I have a, I have a business. I am African American. I have a business. So I check, I check a couple of boxes and, and now recently I am working on disability, my disability certification because of my ad D which has, it's, has taken on its own life and, and I found out through Heather how I can utilize this certification in so many

different ways. So she's a, she's a plethora of knowledge first. Please tell me your, why, share your why with them. What made you, what, how did you end up in this business?

So really how I got into it, there was really not a whole lot of why. So why was I needed to have a job? Because I have, I was having my first baby and that was the why I need to make some money, right? So, of course, I can say I had like this, this whole philosophical angle to it, but really, it was, you know, I was trying to figure out what I want to do next.

I was with that first baby and that's when I met you too. Was that? No, it was part number two and I OK. Number two. OK. So it's part number one and I was like, I knew I had to work. I didn't know what that was gonna look like, but I but I was asking a lot of questions to a lot of women, women who were executives, they were business owners, they were, you know, all across the map as far as working.

And so I said, tell me your story. And I loved the entrepreneurs like their passion. Like there was just something about them that I was like, I love these women and they were just amazing to me. And I had never, I was never someone who grew up saying like I want to run my own business. It wasn't something that I was looking to do, but I just kind of fell into it and it happens, it happens, right?

And so when I eventually during these conversations, a few of the women were saying the business owners, oh, my client wants me to get the certification and I can't get it done. And I'm like, you run a $10 million business, you run a $2 million a $20 million business, whatever it is. Like, what do you mean? You can't do an application? Right. And so I started researching it and the supplier diversity, the diversity certification that they were trying to get. It has a lot of documents

that are required and it's been through it a few times. And so, and what something is called in Texas is not what it's called in New Jersey. It's not what it's called in California. So you're looking for your certificate of formation but you have an article as an organization where you live and you're like, I don't

know what I'm looking for. So you put it to the side and six weeks, six months, six years later you're still not certified. And I was like, hm, I can do that. No, no, I, I trust me.

Right.

Right. Right. So, why is it so important for minorities to get certified and you know, what's our benefits?

Well, so that is a great question. Like what's in it for me? Everyone wants to know which is a great, is a very important question. So look, companies started out, it did come out of the civil rights in the 19 sixties and then it became more of a, of a government requirement. They were trying to kind of level the playing field, but it really was just for minorities and women and it was just in the public sector and then 4100 companies are realizing, wow, they have access to different

demographics that we do. Well, they can bring in these ideas. They understand people that we don't understand because what happens in your supply chain, the same old, same old breeds, the same old, same old. So by having a different perspective, diversity of thoughts is a big buzzword out there. But it really does bring in diversity of perspective, diversity of thoughts. And there are so many things that we take for granted now that were brought to us by somebody with a

different perspective. And so these companies realize that it just, and, and really bottom line is, it's about the bottom line. And companies study after study realize it makes them more money. How so I'll give you the perfect example, the very tangible example. You're familiar with the Walmart study, maybe, maybe not share, share, share.

So I didn't understand the study part but at Walmart, but what a study, you know,

so about, let's see about 767 years ago. So women control about $20 trillion of global consumer spending. And I send you all the where these all come from and we can put them in the notes, right? And women make about 83 to 85% of all consumer decisions. So Walmart was saying, I want more of that money in my pocket. Now I'm paraphrasing do not google these words.

So I come for you, come from me. I'm paraphrasing what they're going after. So Walmart said more, more money, the more of that money in our pockets. So they asked their female customers if you were going in to buy shampoo, for example, and you could easily identify a bottle of shampoo as women owned. Would you be more likely to buy it? So, what percentage Reggie do you think of women? Consumers said they'd be more likely to buy a bottle of shampoo if they could easily identify it as

women owned 100% 90% it was. But you wanna know, the interesting side note is that every single person that they asked this question to men and women alike assumed it was better quality when it was women owned. So, so Walmart's like, I would like a little more, I think we should make it easier for them to identify as women partnered with the women's business enterprise. National Council created a retail logo.

It's kind of like a multicolored, almost like a peacock women, women, women owned and you can find it on products across the spectrum, right?

And so you can easily find that it's a woman owned product. So that is an example of how it makes them more money, right? Because now that's, that's a great tangible, easy example. But I think about pharmaceutical companies, ok. Pharmaceutical companies have to test their products now as a well known fact that minorities oftentimes are less like to trust some of the, the larger pharmaceutical companies, right?

And so they, they want to test them if I'm going, I'm like, hey, let me give you this drug to try, like trusting me is a little bit different than trusting Reggie, right? If you don't know me. And so they found that they had minority owned testing. What do the companies call that? Do the testing for the drug trials like, right, those type of companies that the different demographics were more willing to participate in them if they were coming from somebody who looked more like them.

Right. So that is how, and drug companies, that's how they make money. Right. Yeah, they gotta sell their wares. So they were able to, to do that faster because they do drug trials faster, whatever it is. But they were able to get that done. So, there's so many different stories and examples of how it makes companies more money. The bottom line is, it's about the bottom line.

It's about the, it's about the almighty dollar dollar down to.

Yes. All right.

So walk me through. I now open my business. I, I go get a certification. What is my, what do I do with it?

That's such a good question. And one, so many people think like million dollar contracts. I saw raining from the sky and I will tell you it's not, and you know, I, I, I think it's really important to also say that I don't care how many certifications you have. If you're not good at what you do and you're not competitively priced, you are not getting the gig, ok?

You have to be just as good as everybody else and then that certification is gonna help tip the scales in your favor, right? So what did you, you asked me a question? I forgot what I was saying.

So I got my certification. What are you doing? What do I do with it now?

And there was a reason I was going down that you have so much information, you have so much information that you want to get out, you know? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I, I, I just don't understand the difference, you know, like when you, when you start a business, so, is it beneficial or should you get certified first or, what's the difference between that and incorporated? You know, and, and the L ac, all that kind of stuff?

What's the difference between certification and, and yeah, so you have to have a business, you have to have a business and you have to at least really one sale.

Now, that's for the private sector. And again, I don't wanna go down the rabbit hole and that's right now because there are, there are a plethora of certification options. They are not all created equal. I would like to focus on the private sector just because I think that's probably more of the, but we can talk about the state.

Well, let me ask you this, but there are five, there are, there are five, there's five demographics that we certify.

Ok. So there's women, ethnic minorities, which is Black, Hispanic, Asian, Indian, Asian Pacific and Native American. Then there's LGBT, OK. Then there is veteran and service, disabled veteran and the last is the disability own. Now, that's the newest, if you will and the most unknown as we discussed when I was like, why are you disability owned a business?

And it really is not just that you can't see here and walk. The dis disability owned certification is for any business owner. And there's more than just ownership because it's 51% or more owned, operated and controlled the company, that has a diagnosis that the ad a has identified as a disability. So, people are often like, well, I mean, I have Crohn's disease. I'm not a disability.

Ok. Well, what happens if you don't manage that disease? Oh, I, I can't do anything. That is why I like, oh, I have diabetes. That's not a disability. Ok. What happens if you can use Willy nilly? Go out. No, you have to bring your, all your, you know, your stuff with you. That is why you have to manage it in order to continue to run your business on a day to day basis.

The list is pretty, the list is pretty extensive sleep apnea. There's so many things on the list. So, yeah, that certification seems like it covers, it runs the gauntlet.

But see, I'm still not understanding the deal between certification and people think they, they get the business. I gotta to incorporate myself in that and I'm, I, I'm running the business.

Is that right? Well, you can't, so I can own a business and never work a day in it. Ok. But you have to run. So, and the same person doesn't have to, but it has to be ownership operation and control. So let's say I start a business and I know I'm like, selling promotional products. Ok. All right.

And so I'm selling these products and I want to sell to the Fortune 100. I want to sell to the Fortune 1000. It is really hard to get in the door because you're like, hello? Do business with me. Hello? Do business with me. And they're like, we don't want any right. Or you get it.

And they're like, especially if it's a promotional product. I don't want any. Right. Nobody wants it.

They all want it. But there's, you know, until they wait, wait until they need it until they need it. Exactly. And so you have to be able to get in the door and that's what the certification is really so crucial because it's kind of that side door access where, where, you know, like, you're like, hey, let me in, you know, hey, you know, when you go to the club and you're like, I want to go to the VIP line, I want to be in the regular line at the club.

All about the VIP line. The certification puts you in that VIP line and someone's like, hey, come, come over here now, once you're in that door, you have to sell, like, you have to sell, like any other, sell, sale you're gonna do. But then let's say it's you and someone else and they're like, oh, both these companies are so amazing.

How am I ever going to choose between the two of them? Oh, they have it in your favor. But you have to already be in business. You can't be like, I'm getting certified because I'm in the, certified until you have a business.

So, it's two, so it's two different things. So, you know, you can have your business formed, and be, and run it as a LLC or incorporated. But you have to have a working business which is some in some states.

It's just a DB A, you could be a sole prop.

Yeah. Right. Right. Right. So whatever structure you want to do is totally fine.

That, that, that's what happened to me.

I, I became, you know, incorporated Incorporated myself and then I let it go and I have like tons of checks at home residual checks that has just chilling and I can't, I can, you can because that's a bank situation still cash them as long as that more than six months old.

So, no, no, no, no.

Is, is no, no. Yeah. Yeah.

So you can, but the bank will usually ask you for your updated information periodically. Depends on the bank you have. Yeah, because your legal entity is, there's always different facets of your business, right? Running your business. So your legal entity is one, your tax structure is one, right? You could be an LLC and tax as an escort. There's all these different structures and your business bank account. You will need the initial organization paperwork.

That's what I have. So, I, I guess I have to go and redo all that stuff. Yeah, because I'm telling you I could be like 1000 there right now. I have a whole lot of the $20. I know. Exactly. Exactly. So, you're at least, at least, at least about 10,000 there.

We gonna work on getting those.

That's right, baby. Yeah.

So I have this certification and now how do I gain access? How do I get in that line?

What are some of the ways that people can be seen, person get noticed?

But that logo, if you are certified as a woman on business, as a minority of business, you put that logo on your business card, you put that logo on your website, you go to the conferences because when you go to these conferences and I know you've seen it. Ok, there's one thing to send an email. Hey, hey, I'd like to do business with you or you're calling, hey, I like the business.

It's nothing to walk up to the company you want to do business with and say hi. My name is Heather Cox. I'm president and co-founder of Certify my company. Here's what we do. Here's how I'm gonna rock your world. Oh, and by the way, we're both women and disability owned business enterprise. Right? That's a very different conversation you can have for business.

Development, but I don't think it's just business development because there's company development. Ok. If you want a mentorship opportunity, you want to go to the, to the Dartmouth School, the Tuck Business School and get an executive M B A, you can get a scholarship from these organizations that will pay for your entire executive M B A to go get one of these. Now, it's a, it's a, you know, in a smaller one, it's a week but you go there and you have these unbelievable professors

teaching you or you can take part in things like the Toyota, a mentorship program. My mentor was the cio of Toyota North America. I mean, like having a sea perspective or someone who sells to the Fortune 100 that's an invaluable opportunity that I was, that was granted because of my diversity certification. Now, that's not business development in the way we think about it, but it sure is company development.

Absolutely. Absolutely. And I think for me, I, I, I'll share a little bit about, about how I walked in and it really did did it, did such a, a number on my numbers for the first year as I mentioned earlier. But what it did for me as as a company in the development stage, Honda took it, took, it took me under their wing and they really, really mentored me for two years.

I met them at the same conference I went table to table and I just told my story and I remember the year after that, one of my biggest clients, one of the biggest orders I got that first year I, I was talking to my vendor or to my client and he said, oh, I have to go to that conference. I met you at and he sounded so sad and I asked him, you know why, you know why?

And he said, you know, I might sit at that booth for eight hours and I might meet only one of you. And he, and I said, what does that mean? And he said, somebody really ready to do business with our company. And so it's not just the certification, it is also preparing yourself, you know, that fit that. What is that, that, that 32nd pitch, that elevator pitch, you understanding what you're selling and then walking up to the table or walking up to that booth and understanding what you

bring to the table, how you can serve them. You know what it is you have that complements what their need is. I always like to do my research before I go to conferences. Yes, you have to have your, have your list and then go prepared. You have to go prepared because there are so many people coming up to that table to talk to them. They need to know that you care about what their plight is and what they and what their need is.

And I always like to also register all of these companies have portals. So they have a, if you Google target supplier diversity portal, you can register as a business within that portal. And then we'll talk about the codes and things like that and and how you and how you register and what you'll see once you get in that portal, but you want to get registered in that portal.

I remember there was one client, I sat in their portal for probably five years. I would go update it year after year with the new certifications as I would as I would renew them. And on the fifth year, we got in and we became one of their preferred of four. So it pays off.

you know, we do offer that service by the way you do for our clients.

That is a service.

It's a pain. I know it is not.

But now I have you on speed dial.

Yeah, I mean, but what you said is, is so true. You have to go knowing what you offer them, don't go and be like, so what do you do?

Like you have to know what they do and how like set up the Google alerts. So, you know, their version is another company or they're buying that or they're, you can strengthen that company, you know how you can make their company stronger than Yeah, that's what you want to do so and, and, and both of you guys, business people, you know, and I know this business women have the gift of gab.

You guys can talk real well. No, no, it's almost like eating a honey bun just listening to the way you speak about it. Sweet. But I like, I like it. That, that's, that's, that's ok. That's, that's all right.

And I think, I think it is important to once we, once we enter the door and we go booth to booth, can you share with them how they are supposed to approach how they're supposed to approach the supplier diversity manager. And what the supplier diversity manager's job is once they leave that once they leave that conference and go back to their their corporate offices.

So supplier diversity managers typically sit within the procurement part like the part of a company that buys goods and services, their role is to find qualified, capable, certified diverse suppliers that they can bring back. But remember it's a business decision. So they have to like know and trust you like any other relationship that they're going to have.

And let me tell you if you mess it up because you're like, yeah, I can do that and you can't, you don't only mess it up for yourself. You mess it up for a lot of other diverse businesses. So make sure when you build that relationship. So you said something very important a minute ago that you said, that they brought you in as a preferred supplier and not everybody's ready for that.

That responsibility. There are tens of thousands of other diverse suppliers that you can do business with. We're both businesses, right? We buy websites, we buy makeup artists, we buy office supplies, we buy computers, we can buy from other diverse businesses. Ok. Don't be afraid that you're not yet working with a Fortune 100. It is not necessarily be all the, the insurance requirements alone, right?

Can be cost intimidating for a, a lot of companies. So there's a lot of ways you can use the certification outside of just selling to the Fortune 100. But when you approach the, the supply diversity managers again, know what they do know how you were gonna be, be amazing to them. What benefits are you bringing to them? Because they had to then go sell you to the person, the other organization that actually buys what you're selling.

Now, one mistake that people make all the time is they're like, just let me talk to my, the decision maker. Ok. Let's be, let's be clear that they may not be the decision maker for what you buy, but they can make a decision to bring you in and they can make the decision to keep you out. Ok? So make sure you build those relationships and to your point, you know, I chased one of the large pharmaceutical companies for six years because they already had someone who did what we did.

They didn't see a need to change. You know, Kenya Lewis. She's, works at M G M Resorts and she has a great analogy. She says, treat it like you're dating someone. Remember when you were in high school? And you're like, oh, this is so cute. And then they find out they're going to Disneyland. They're like, oh my God, I'm going to Disneyland too. You're like, oh my God, I like red too. You have to court them, like, you're courting anybody else. You have a crush on.

It's, you have to appeal to them. Right? Because what is it that people work with? Who they know they, like, know and trust 100%. And so I've heard the horror stories where people come up to them and, come up to the supply diver city manager and say I called you. I called you to call me back.

You never call me back.

Yeah, that's a bad, that's a bad day.

Bad. Yeah.

No engagement in the bathroom. So we're not doing that. That turns out all that. But it happens a lot. And I think, I think what a lot of people think is that because they get certified, it, it, they, it entitles them to business and so then they get, there's a feeling and there's an anger, or animosity for, for not getting business. With a company and I think I hear that a lot from a lot of supplier diversity managers because they can't help everybody.

No, no, that's in any business what I do and some don't get the job sometimes. And he, he's very certified. No, no, no, no, no, I just let him talk to me say, hey, man, I didn't get the job. Somebody else got a job. I mean, it's because you, like you say, you certified doesn't mean that that's now if you don't fit the tight, you don't fit the tight, you know. So yeah, I mean, you know, some people and, and, and, and then you can't be, you can't be afraid to make that pitch.

You can't be afraid to walk into this and say, look, this is what I can do for your company. Yeah. Boom, boom, boom. If you don't, if you don't work out, hey, you didn't have it going in anyway. So when you come out, you're still the same as you went in.

I agree. And I think the thing about it is too is you gotta make sure that your business is evolving every year. And then when you are evolving, even if someone doesn't, doesn't work with you or doesn't have a place for you yet. You keep saying, hey, I just, you know, email them from time to time. I just, you know, added a new initiative or a new product, a new service within my company.

I hope one day to serve you if there's ever anything I can do, let me know, handwritten cards. I know people are starting to come back into the office. Those are there. Those are, oh my gosh, they're gold. People don't receive them anymore. And it shows, it shows that you went over and beyond and it creates a connection.

But it's also, you know, I talk about this a lot when people say they say, how do you connect, how do you find out about your targets if you like who you're looking to do business with? And they're always like, Linkedin, linkedin is great for business. But if you want to know what's important to me on a personal level, Linkedin is not necessarily the place to go for that, right?

I mean, if I want to know that, that Suzie Smith has a son that plays soccer and that's gonna be important to her, right? So that's not on linkedin most of the time. That might be on her Instagram right now. Don't stalk that. OK. Don't stop. No, let's be, let's make that they're not stalking people. But if they, if they have a, you can see they search what they're looking for.

Their life is like, like, hey, I saw your son doing, they won the championships in soccer. Congratulations. Now that means a lot to them. I know, you know, Brian Hall, our friend Brian Hall. when I first met him, I noticed and this happened to be on linkedin, but he had another job on his linkedin resume. And it said, it said Friday Harbor. And I said, oh, tell me about this other company you work for.

He said, thank you so much for asking. It is a nonprofit. I started to help families who have a sick family member and can't afford hotel stays. And I part of his hotel and that was a passion for ever since then. The relationship has been completely different because he sees that I want to know about it. It's relationships, right. But that is the most important part of supplier diversity certifications.

Yes, that's step one. But then it's relationships, right? Everybody needs to leave the table satiated. If one person starving after the meal and one person super full, that's not a ok. So I often tell our clients they're like, oh my client to get certified. And do you want to be a transaction or do you want to be in a relationship?

And that's what you're showing them because then they'll think they'll think of you when, when the need arises.

And I, I, I love that if somebody else has the need, it's a small world that they, they talk and refer constantly.

So that's definitely something to keep in mind when you're navigating the world of supplier diversity. And just remember, I love this thing. People don't, don't know what you know until they know how much you care, they don't care. So you have to make that connection and make sure that you guys are caring about the same things. It's, it's passion, it's connection and it's about growth and people want to be aligned with people that have passion. They want to fight for someone

within their organization that they can believe in and that has the passion to go to the next level because once you make a mistake, like she said, it messes it up for everyone. And so they have to align themselves with people who are going to fight and exude that passion that they sell. When they walk up to that table at that conference, it's very important. Thank you so much for joining us. Is there anything else you want to share before we go?

I would just say get certified now because once, if you don't do it now, once you need it, it could be too late do it now with your company, do it. Of course, of course, which is certify my company.

Thank you guys, Rich People's Business Podcast.

I am Dana Reginald Ballard.

You can find us on Facebook, Instagram, tiktok and the rest of the social media.