Why WBENC Matters to Us

Why WBENC Matters to Us: An In-depth perspective from CFW Founder & President, Brenda Loube

This year’s Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) Conference was a memorable one. We were pumped to get participants moving through our HealthTrails challenge – which tracks how active you are – and share the Corporate Fitness Works story with people we met along the way.

But what is WBENC? For starters, with 14,000 members, it’s the largest certifier of women-owned businesses in the U.S. The group also provides programming, networking and education, all designed to help women business owners grow and succeed.

But to us, they’re much more than that. Brenda Loube, our co-founder and president, explains why:

Q: How long has CFW been a member of WBENC?

We’ve been certified with WBENC for 18 years.

Q: Why did you get involved with WBENC in the first place?

We first learned about WBENC during a monthly meeting with other Women Business Enterprises (WBEs). They talked about the value WBENC brought to them because it’s a community of like-minded women who were eager to make connections and grow their businesses. It piqued our interest, and we felt supported. So, we joined.

The WBENC certification has led us to invaluable connections ever since, but it’s also helped us to grow and stay competitive because we’re able to get in front of other WBENC members and tell our story. In fact, 25 percent of our revenue comes from WBENC members.

Speaking of the WBENC certification, what is it, and why is it important?

The certification validates that our business is at least 51 percent owned, controlled, operated and managed by a woman or women. It proves we are who we say we are and gives us credibility.

We also learned early on that the certification is important to the companies we do business with. Now more than ever, our clients strive to have a diverse workforce to drive innovation, stay competitive and just do the right thing. The same holds true for the suppliers they choose to work with.

When they choose Corporate Fitness Works, they know they’re on board with a certified, diverse business that also believes in diverse people and solutions.

What’s the best thing about WBENC events?

It comes down to the connections we make. The networking aspect of WBENC is so powerful. WBENC events give us a forum to meet other women-owned companies and ask questions, share struggles and learn from each other. They also give us the opportunity to get in front of companies across the globe and see the best way to do business with them and gain their trust.