Cincinnati, OH – The National Minority Supplier Development Council, Inc (NMSDC) selected The Voice of Your Customer, a marketing consulting firm in Cincinnati, and RCF Services, a facilities management firm in West Chester, as 2009 Regional Minority Supplier of the Year winners. The businesses were selected from more than 15, 000 certified minority businesses and 80 nominees from across the country.
Benefits of a Minority Business Certification
NMSDC-certified Asian, Black, Hispanic and Native American businesses are evaluated on the basis of business growth, development and performance, community service and the ability to overcome challenges brought on by the company owner’s heritage or background. Sixteen regional winners are divided into four classes based on annual sales, and are nominated by their corporate customers.
“Small business is the engine that drives the economy and these regional winners are proof of that,” said NMSDC President Harriet R. Michel. “Despite the challenging economy, corporations have counted on minority businesses to deliver great products, cost savings, quality service and innovative solutions. This performance will be valuable to corporations as the economy recovers, based on the strength of outstanding small and minority-owned businesses.”
Become a Certified Minority Owned Business
The Voice of Your Customer represents Category I, with annual sales of less than $1 million. RCF Services represents Category III with annual sales between $10 million and $50 million. Both firms are active members of NSMDC’s local affiliate, the South Central Ohio Minority Supplier Development Council (SCOMSDC) and competed against minority businesses from Connecticut, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and West Virginia for the regional honors.
One regional winner from each of the four classes will be named a National Winner at the Awards Banquet on Wednesday, October 28, at the 2009 NMSDC Conference and Business Opportunity Fair in New Orleans, Louisiana.
About Minority Owned Businesses
According to the 2007 Small Business Research Summary released by the SBA Office of Advocacy, in 2002, minorities owned approximately 18 percent of the 23 million U.S. Firms.
Using a proxy for measuring minority business growth for several measures between 1997 and 2002, Blacks owned 5.0 percent of all U.S. firms (almost 1.2 million), 45.4 percent of the total number of minority owned firm, and 24.5 percent of total receipts for minority owned firms.
The 2007 report also indicated that more than half of Black-owned businesses had less than $10,000 in business receipts in 2002, compared with one-third of White-owned firms and 28.8 percent of Asian-owned firms. What is more, on average, for every dollar that a White-owned firm made, Pacific Islander-owned firms made about 59 cents, Hispanic-, Native American-, and Asian owned businesses made 56 cents, and Black-owned businesses made 43 cents.
Percentages of minority women owning businesses rose from 1997 to 2002. In 2002, 29 percent of Black employer firms and 47 percent of Black non-employer firms were women-owned. In contrast, women owned 17 percent of White employer firms and 31 percent of White non-employer firms.
About The Voice of Your Customer
Crystal L. Kendrick is president of The Voice of Your Customer, a Black-owned marketing and consulting firm that assists clients to penetrate niche markets using survey research, focus groups, secret shopping, business training, and media campaigns. For more information, call (513) 281-3228, visit www.thevoiceofyourcustomer.com, or email info@thevoiceofyourcustomer.com.
About RCF Services
Carl Satterwhite is the president of River City Furniture, a Black-owned distributor and facility service provider. The company is an NMSDC Corporate Plus(R) member that offers a number of services, including commercial furnishing, design, space planning, delivery and installation, warehousing, move and asset management and landscaping. For more information, call (513) 612-7303 or visit www.r-c-f.com.
