EZCertify.com

September 1999 - Hispanic Magazine

Certified Success

Many minority business people don't know that the Small Business Administration offers programs that could help them secure lucrative federal contracts. And even those who know don't invest the time or money to apply for them because the application process is so arduous.

But now a new software development company aims to demystify federal, state, and municipal programs for minority contracting, and in the process make them more accessible to Latino and other minority entrepreneurs.

EZCertify.com, based in Edgewater, Maryland, is releasing software that the company says will cut the time required to fill out an SBA application from two months to one day, while reducing the accompanying consulting fees from thousands of dollars to hundreds, according to company founder Richard Otero.

"We truly believe the certification process discourages minorities," Otero says.

EZCertify.com has plans to launch seven software products within the next year. EZCertify SDB helps users with the Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB) program, which allows government agencies to grant contracts to certified minorities, as long as their bid is within 10 percent of the lowest bidder, Otero says.

EZCertify 8(a) lends users a hand with the 8(a) Business Development Program, a government program that lets agencies award contracts to minorities without bids for $3 million for services and $5 million for manufacturing, Otero says.

Otero, a founder of the National Federation of 8(a) Companies, has helped more than 100 applicants qualify for the SBA's 8(a) program in the past twenty years. "We are here to encourage people. There are $200 billion in federal contracts to be had and twice as many in state and municipal contracts."

EZCertify's software walks users through the certification process by asking a series of questions and transferring the answers to the applications. The software, available only on CD-ROM, alerts users against an answer that would disqualify them, Otero says.

In addition to the CDs, EZCertify.com provides free on-line advice from certification experts. Users can ask three questions at a time and will receive answers within 24 hours, Otero says. Also free is a quick on-line interview to determine if a minority business qualifies for certification, Otero says.

"We take horribly complicated process and make it easy-just like Turbo Tax did for filing taxes," Otero says. "You just answer our EZinterview. It takes a day. If you fill out the application yourself it takes two months."

Terri Dickerson, associate administrator for the SBA's office of SDB certification and eligibility, says she has visited EZCertify.com's Web site, but she is not familiar with the company's software. Still, Dickerson says she welcomes any product that helps minorities certify.

"Anything that helps people access and better use government programs is a positive step in the right direction," Dickerson says. "If it helps people fill out their application then we're all for it."

Kimberly Garcia

Testimonials

Please click on the image to view the testimonial!