A question that comes up frequently is, “What's the difference
between diversity versus minority owned business?”
In the United States, minorities are African-American or Blacks,
Mexican-Americans, Indian-Americans, Asian-Americans, Native Americans. In
other countries, such as South Africa, it means something slightly different. In
Australia, New Zealand, it means something different. In Canada, it means something
different.
In general, minorities, as a group, are country-specific and are considered to be underserved when compared to the majority.
In general, minorities, as a group, are country-specific and are considered to be underserved when compared to the majority.
Originally women were lumped in with this group, which confused many people. They were eventually classified as a specific group so people understood women were a
minority group. To avoid confusion, we identified women as Women Business
Enterprises to distinguish this group from Minority Business Enterprises. You've probably heard of acronyms such as MBE/WBE or M/WBE to indicate these two distinct groups.
As we've evolved, we've moved away from MBE and WBE and have transitioned
to diverse and or disadvantaged business enterprises (DBE). This transition allows the expansion to include other groups.
Diverse now includes LGBTQ, veterans and the disabled as well as women and
minorities. Of course, as you go from one country to another country,
diverse may have different groups included, but clearly the intention is to
create business opportunities for companies that have been underrepresented and underutilized in the corporate purchasing contracts.
And this all makes sense right?
Here's where it gets crazy, businesses that have a widespread of diversity both within their organization AND as business partners always perform better.
Here's a practical example of how a corporation sees diversity.
Let's begin with a large city: London. Let's say that within London, only 15% of your business partners fall within the diversity category and 75% of your customers fall within the diversity category. This means only 15% of your resources represents what 75% of your clientele want.
Does that sound like an efficient strategy?
I'll tell you- it's not. (and if it does sound efficient to you, you may want to rethink pursuing a corporate contract).
This is exactly why corporations are looking for diversely owned business owners (like yourself) to create strategic alliances.
Here's where it gets crazy, businesses that have a widespread of diversity both within their organization AND as business partners always perform better.
Here's a practical example of how a corporation sees diversity.
Let's begin with a large city: London. Let's say that within London, only 15% of your business partners fall within the diversity category and 75% of your customers fall within the diversity category. This means only 15% of your resources represents what 75% of your clientele want.
Does that sound like an efficient strategy?
I'll tell you- it's not. (and if it does sound efficient to you, you may want to rethink pursuing a corporate contract).
This is exactly why corporations are looking for diversely owned business owners (like yourself) to create strategic alliances.
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