Women Business Owners: Pushing the Industry Forward

WTS International's DBE and Entrepreneurship initiatives promotes a vision of full equity and access for women in transportation, including business ownership. Diversity and inclusion have always been at the core of WTS; this aims to form strategic goals and actionable solutions to attain equity and access. For transportation to be diverse, inclusive, accessible to all people, we must make being a woman business owner accessible first.  “We are working to remove the obstacles for women to become entrepreneurs in the transportation industry and to better support existing business owners,” Stickler stated. “Some of that work is about eliminating stereotypes about what an owner looks like, but much of it is providing guidance and best practices for the technical, legal, financial, and business challenges that are a part of entrepreneurship.” The initiative is led by the DBE/Small Business Subcommittee of the Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion Committee of the International Board. 

DBE/Small Business Subcommittee 

WTS DBE/Small Business Subcommittee
WTS International has formalized its program for women business owners and DBE organizations with the Entrepreneurial Program. In 2020, the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Committee (DBE Committee) was formed at the International Board level in conjunction with the President & CEO and staff, to research, learn, and support DBE and women entrepreneurs. A subcommittee of the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee, this subcommittee works to provide a support network for women business owners to learn, grow, and promote their businesses and leadership careers. 

Entrepreneurship
In 2021, WTS formed an Entrepreneurship Committee to sustain and grow women business ownership and provide a support network for business owners to learn, grow, and promote their businesses and leadership careers. 

The Entrepreneurship Mentorship Subcommittee kicked off the first webinar in a three-part series on Business Ownership on September 16, 2021. The session was geared towards those with an entrepreneurial spirit who considered starting their own business, or were in the first 5 years of business ownership. Panelists discussed the right time is to branch out on your own, financial considerations of business ownership, and how to identify your sphere of influence. 

The second webinar, held on November 3, 2021, focused on the growing pains of business ownership. Participants learned how to maintain a unique culture, the importance of making operational investments, and how to create and maintain an institutional library.  

Additional Resources:  SCORE is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping small businesses launch, grow and achieve their goals through education and mentorship.

DBE and ACDBE Program Implementation Modifications
 

2022 Modifications Submission

In 2022, WTS International submitted formal comments for the proposed rule to the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise and Airport Concession Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program Implementation Modifications. 

Recommendations included:

1. Consolidation of the DBE Certification process
2. Assistance for successful DBE ownership succession plannings
3. Increasing Personal Net Worth (PNW) limits for owner certification
4. Updating the current North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code usage and allowing firms to expand into new areas of business with additional NAICS codes
5. Raising revenue caps for non-construction NAICS codes
6. Consideration of pass-through costs in revenue caps G. More frequent updates on financial caps based on inflation

WTS International's submitted comments can be viewed here. 
 

2024 DBE and ACDBE Final Rule

On April 9, 2024, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) issued a final rule that modernizes the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program and Airport Concessions DBE (ACDBE) program regulations. 

The major objectives of this final rule include modernizing existing principles to: improve provisions for the benefit of program participants, reduce burdens on firms and recipients, grow firm capacity and owner wealth, and improve program integrity, visibility, and data collected by the USDOT.

Nationwide, the program is implemented by 53 departments of transportation (including the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands), over 500 transit agencies, and 3,200 eligible airport sponsors, of which nearly 400 also operate an ACDBE program. There are nearly 50,000 certified DBEs and 3,500 certified ACDBEs, and many participate on federally assisted aviation, highway, and transit projects as well as airport concession opportunities in nearly every jurisdiction.

Key changes made to the DBE and ACDBE programs include several provisions that will have a direct impact on eligible firms and the contractors that hire them, such as:    

• Streamlining the DBE and ACDBE certification and eligibility process
• Adjusting the personal net worth (PNW) cap for inflation for small business owners, including excluding retirement assets from the calculation.
• Formalizing guidance establishing successful COVID-19 flexibilities such as virtual on-site visits, to conserve certification and firm resources
• Modernizing the rules for counting participation by DBE material suppliers and clarifying terminology
• Addressing specific distinctive issues with the ACDBE programs involving FAA recipients including holdovers in the definition of “long-term exclusive leases” in the ACDBE program, 
• Replicating the DBE program’s small business element requirements for the ACDBE program
• Making technical corrections and other updates such as expediting interstate reciprocity.
• Expanding recipient reporting requirements to USDOT to gain greater knowledge of DBE/ACDBE characteristics, bidding/solicitation practices and utilization and overall program impact 
• Strengthening monitoring and prompt payment requirements
• Enhancing ACDBE goal setting and reporting requirements

A summary table of the final rule can be accessed at:  https://www.transportation.gov/DBEFinalRule, and a summary of the final rule can be accessed at Final Rule Summary | US Department of Transportation. 

Women's Business Owners Roundtable (WBORT)

During the annual WBORT roundtable, a select group of leading women business owners in the transportation industry share successful experiences and best practices, and learn from others about starting and running a business in today's world. Sessions may cover topics such corporate value and ownership succession, improving profitability, and attracting and retaining staff. Applications for the 2024 WBORT are now closed.