Ready, Set, Deal : How a Small Minority- and Women-Owned Company Can Win Big Business from Corporate America

Ready, Set, Deal depicts how small companies owned by minorities and women can take advantage of the supplier diversity movement and sell themselves to Corporate America. Many small and medium sized MWBEs start with jumping on the tradeshows and networking train and end up with no contract signed after multiple events. Discouraged, the companies often give up. With years of experience in working with MWBEs and witnessing their triumphs and failures, the author contends that while winning business from Corporate America and multinational companies is a must for a small MWBE company to grow, the starting point is not at the tradeshow and networking events, but at home. Like many other endeavors, to grow, a small MWBE needs preparation, markets right, meets and exceeds the high expectations of their big corporate customers.