GWBC LACE Awards 2023: Matielyn Jones with GWBC

Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia, it’s time for GWBC Radio’s Open for business. Now here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:18] Lee Kantor here, broadcasting live from the Georgia Aquarium Oceans Ballroom for 2023 GWB Lace Awards Gala, Ladies Achieving Continuous Excellence. So excited to be talking to my guest right now. Matielyn Jones, Director of Operations at GWBC. Welcome.

Matielyn Jones: [00:00:38] Thank you so much. Thank you for having me.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:39] Now, are you excited about tonight’s event?

Matielyn Jones: [00:00:42] I am excited, I’m always excited to spend time with our women, business owners and corporate sponsors, so it’s going to be great.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:48] So what can people expect? What are some of the things that you’re looking forward to this evening?

Matielyn Jones: [00:00:53] Well, I am responsible for the team that manages the certification process. And so we have tons of applications that come through every single week, every day of the year. And I’m looking forward to putting faces with the names of all the.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:07] That’s right, because you’ve probably seen them or heard through email and over zoom or something like that. But you may not have met him in person.

Matielyn Jones: [00:01:14] Right, exactly. And so I we received their actual documents. So that would be all of their legal documents. And so we literally feel like we know them. Exactly. So, you know, the history of the business. Who started it. Where were they? You know, we’re looking at, you know, financial documents. We’re looking at who the owners are, all their resumes, all the things, the criteria for certification. So I literally feel like by the time an event like tonight comes around, I’m so excited because we get to put these faces with the names of people who, again, we memorize the details in our head of who these people are. So I’m excited.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:49] Now what for somebody who isn’t certified, what, like, what can they expect to go through the certification process? Like what are some of the things that they need in order to, you know, get through this process because it is arduous, because they’re it’s important to get it all right. And you can’t no one just because you say I’m a woman owned business doesn’t mean that you are really you got to jump through some hoops, right?

Matielyn Jones: [00:02:10] That’s right. And so we certify women owned businesses that can legally demonstrate that they are at least 51% woman owned, controlled, operated, and that they operate in a way that’s independent of any other business. And so we look through those legal documents to make sure that they are legally woman owned, 51% minimum. We my team, the certification team, does all the vetting of those applications. So we do the initial intake of those applications. We do the auditing, which is the line by line of every single piece of paper that comes in, which is which is very, very rigorous and tedious. However, we want to make sure that there is integrity in our process and that if we give someone that seal of approval saying they are a woman owned business, that we’ve gone through the process of making sure that they are legally so, and that process takes 60 to 90 days. Part of the reason why is because we do look at every single sheet of paper for every business that submits. Right now, we sit at around 1245 applications or certified businesses between Georgia and North Carolina and South Carolina. And we’re looking for ways to continue to make the process more efficient so we can certify more women do more outreach, things like that. So, yes, the process it takes about up to three months, but usually once people have submitted their applications and they’re good to go, we roll right along.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:30] And it’s important because a lot of the value that you’re going to get from being a certified business is that you’re going to have access to maybe some enterprise level organizations that are looking for these specific types of people to do business with, right? So you get fast tracked, and this could really change the trajectory of your business if you do this.

Matielyn Jones: [00:03:49] Absolutely. One of the things that is important to remember is that our certification process does not guarantee that anyone will secure a contract, but what it does do is it makes them competitive in the market for the contract. And so we are looking to certify because there are companies, corporations and the government that are both looking to spend money with women owned businesses, also with minority owned businesses, also with veteran owned businesses and whatnot. But for us, for women owned businesses, and they access our database to make sure that that vetting process is really done for them. And so they can search the database of all of our women owned businesses, because we this is a national certification that we process locally. And so they can use it nationally even though we process it locally. And so they look into our database to see who are the staffing agencies, who are the construction companies, who are, you know, whatever the business need is. And we take the vetting of that, you know, making sure that if they have this set aside for two to spend with women owned businesses, that at least this group of women owned businesses they know have been vetted as such.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:56] And that spend isn’t just a little bit of money, right? It’s. Billions and billions of dollars.

Matielyn Jones: [00:05:03] It’s billions last. Earlier this year in April, I went to the top corporations luncheon, and it was Maria and I who was the director of programs. It was our second day on this job. We both started in April. And you know the numbers in the room. 2 billion here, 4 billion there. It starts at 5 million money.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:22] Right.

Matielyn Jones: [00:05:22] It added up and I said, I said, I’ve never been in a room where it was like a flex. How much you spend with women owned businesses. It was exciting and it was a great welcome and introduction to the organization. But it was very exciting and I’m very proud of all the companies that come together to really support women owned businesses in this way.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:41] And for people who want to learn more about getting certified themselves or getting re certified, if maybe they have done it in the past, what’s the best kind of way to connect with you?

Matielyn Jones: [00:05:51] Sure, I think the best way is to go to our website. It is for the Greater Women’s Business Council. So that is GW, BC. Org, our certification team. Photos and pictures are there. You can email us directly at certification at GW PBS.org. You can also reach out to me directly at M Jones at GW PBS.org. But we would love to hear from you. I’m always open to questions and walking you through as best I can, high level through your application, but just know that our goal is to make sure that we audit these documents well, and that we really set people up for success who want to compete in this market.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:28] Well, congratulations on all you do. I mean, you’re doing such important work and we appreciate you.

Matielyn Jones: [00:06:32] Thank you so much. And thank you for having me.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:34] All right. We’ll be back in a few at GW. Bc Lace Awards Gala 2023.