General Blog Posts

In November 2021, President Joe Biden signed a much-anticipated $1.2 trillion infrastructure package to make new federal investments in a wide range of public systems over a five year period. According to an announcement made by The White House, this is considered a "once-in-a-generation investment in our nation's infrastructure and competitiveness." 

The law includes $550 billion in new spending for public transit, passenger rail, bridges, water and sewer systems, high-speed internet, electric vehicle infrastructure, and investments in the electric grid to support the expansion of renewable energy.

The law provides infrastructure support to municipalities in the form of direct grants as well as funds that would pass through existing state programs. New programs that will provide direct funding to municipalities include $5 billion for a Safe Streets for All program and $5 billion for a competitive National Infrastructure Project Assistance program to allow communities to complete critical large projects that would otherwise be too expensive.

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act was one of two major infrastructure bills before Congress. The second, a $1.85 trillion spending package known as the Build Back Better plan, is currently going through Congress and includes investments in areas including workforce development, climate change mitigation and resilience, and affordable housing. The plan includes funding for technical assistance to local governments through a new Rural Partnership Program that’s intended to help small and rural communities that are often excluded from federal grant opportunities.

What does all this mean for DBE-certified companies? Opportunity. 

With a concerted effort on investing in local infrastructure, there will be more project opportunites for state and DBE-certified companies to partner together to:

1. Repair and rebuild roads and bridges,

2. Improve public transportation options,

3. Build out a national network of EV chargers,

4. Protect current infrastructure against extreme weather events and climate change,

5. Develope a modernized infrastructure for airports across the U.S., and

6. So much more.

What does this mean for local DOTs? An infrastructure building boom. Which means resources will be needed, increasing the opportunity to invest in and partner with local DBE-certified companies to complete upgrades and the rebuilding of infrastructures.

Finding DBE-certified companies from state to state is not always easy but it is an area DBESearch.com specializes in. In fact, DBESearch’s mission is to solve this exact challenge by making it fast and simple to search, identify, and reach out to local, diverse subcontracting candidates.

DBESearch.com was launched earlier this year with a mission to combat and overcome the challenge of finding DBE-certified businesses – starting in New England and expanding across the U.S.

The two primary objectives we are hoping to achieve with DBESearch is to:

1. Make it easier for non-DBE businesses and government agencies to search for and find DBE-certified companies to partner with in their target, geo-location.
2. Provide DBE-certified companies with a new channel to promote their business and generate revenue.

Since its initial launch, The DBESearch database is now available in fourteen states and expanding fast.  The searchable state directories of DBE-certified companies include:

• Alabama
• Arizona,
• California,
• Colorado,
• Connecticut,
• Georgia,
• Maine,
• Massachusetts,
• Nevada,
• New Hampshire,
• Rhode Island,
• South Carolina,
• Texas, and
• Vermont.

Local government agencies researching how to apply their infrastructure budget can now leverage the searchable database to find desired partners within these states and their surrounding locations.

The directory enables you to narrow your search by:

• Zip code,
• Industry category,
• NAICS code,
• Search radius, and
• DBE type.

So, what are you waiting for? Search the online DBE directory and partner with new companies in your area.

Are you a DBE-certified business and don’t see your company in our directory? Submit your company to the directory here.

Our goal is to make this the easiest way for local companies to find and partner with DBE-certified businesses in the U.S. Your feedback on how to improve the experience is very important to us. Have ideas on how we can make DBESearch better? Email me at matt@dbesearch.com.

DBESearch.com publishes online, searchable directory in Georgia to make it easier for corporations to locate and partner with local disadvantage business enterprise companies.

DBESearch.com today launched its Georgia directory of Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) certified companies. The expanded directory includes more than 2500 companies across the state of Georgia. Industries included in the Georgia directory range from general construction to consulting services to transportation and much more.

In today’s environment, more and more corporations are realizing the value of partnering with DBE-certified businesses in their area and setting quarterly and annual goals as part of a larger supplier-diversity initiative. Supplier-diversity programs are a socially conscious effort by companies to practice an inclusive approach to procurement and, in some industries, it is even government mandated. In fact, according to an article by Harvard Business Review, companies like UPS and Coca-Cola are spending billions of dollars annually to do business with small, diverse suppliers and have goals to increase that spend year over year.

However, finding DBE-certified companies and other diverse suppliers is not always an easy feat within most U.S. states. DBESearch’s mission is to solve this challenge by making it fast and simple to search, identify, and reach out to local, diverse subcontracting candidates.

Georgia is the ninth state directory DBESearch has launched since its founding earlier this year. Other searchable state directories of DBE-certified companies include California, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Texas, and Vermont.

So, what are you waiting for? Search the online DBE directory and partner with some new companies in your area.

Are you a DBE-certified business and don’t see your company in our directory? Well, what the heck?! Submit your company to the directory here.

Which state should DBESearch.com launch next?

The power is yours! Let us know which state(s) you would like to see added to DBESearch.com by completing this one-question survey: https://bit.ly/3pYecgr

Our goal is to make this the easiest way for companies to find and partner with DBE-certified businesses. Your feedback on how to improve the experience is very important to us. Have ideas on how we can make DBESearch better? Email us at matt@dbesearch.com.

Good news – the decision could be yours.

Eight months ago, we launched our website, dbesearch.com. The idea for the site was born during a meeting when one of my business partners expressed how challenging it was to identify Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE)-certified companies across different states.

Many corporations today have a dedicated budget for partnering with local, diverse companies. However, due to how many states make this information available (e.g., static pdfs and spreadsheets), it can be difficult to identify and partner with DBE-certified companies from state to state. Our mission is to disrupt this experience…in a good way.

DBE Search has modernized the process for finding DBE-certified companies across the United States by creating an online, searchable database that can be filtered by:

• State
• Zip code
• NAICS code
• Service category
• Company name
• DBE type

Since April 2021 we have launched our database in eight states with a ninth coming soon:

1. California
2. Connecticut
3. Maine
4. Massachusetts
5. New Hampshire
6. Rhode Island
7. Texas
8. Vermont
9. Georgia – coming soon!

Our goal is to make DBESearch.com the fastest and easiest way for companies to find and partner with DBE-certified businesses in every state.  However, we have learned that the time it takes to get a new state database built and live varies depending on the information each state collects, stores, and makes available to the public. Because of this, we would like your input to prioritize which states to focus on.

The power is yours! Let us know which state(s) you would like to see added to DBESearch.com by completing this one-question survey: https://bit.ly/3pYecgr

We appreciate your input.

Your feedback on how to improve the experience on the website is very important to us. Have ideas on how we can make DBESearch better? Email us at matt@dbesearch.com.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) is defined as a for-profit small business where socially and economically disadvantaged individuals own a majority (at least 51%) interest in the company and control the management and day-to-day business operations. 

What constitutes a “socially and economically disadvantaged” individual? Good question.

In the context of DBEs, socially and disadvantaged individuals include:

• African Americans,
• Hispanics,
• Native Americans,
• Asian-Pacific and Subcontinent Asian Americans,
• Women,
• and Veterans.

However, as a business owner, falling into one or more of those categories does not automatically classify your company as a DBE. You must apply to your local state government to become listed as a certified DBE based on a uniform set of criteria provided by the Secretary of Transportation.

Going through the process and filling out the paperwork to get your business DBE certified is worth it. Here's why. 

In 1983, Congress enacted the first Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) statutory provision. From this provision the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) launched a program - The Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program - in an effort to combat ongoing discrimination and the continuing effects of past discrimination in federally-assisted highway, transit, airport, and highway safety financial assistance transportation contracting markets nationwide.

The primary remedial goal and objective of the DBE program is to level the playing field by providing small businesses owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals a fair opportunity to compete for federally funded transportation contracts. -DOT website

While a DBE certification is not necessary to bid on government work, it opens up the arena to certified small business owners to pursue contracts on federal roads, buses, rails, bridges, at airports, and more. It may also bump you to the top of the consideration list because, per the 1983 provision, at least 10% of the amounts made available for any Federal-aid highway, mass transit, and transportation research and technology program must be expended with certified DBE businesses.

The provision is also driving large non-DBE companies to seek out DBE-certified businesses. These larger, usually public, companies are looking to partner with DBE-certified businesses on government bids in order to meet their own internal mandates to ensure they are dedicating a portion of their budget to working with small, diverse, business owners.

Finding DBE-certified businesses isn’t easy.

Currently, local governments must provide a publicly accessible list of all certified DBE businesses. The format of the list varies from state to state and is often found as a not-easy-to-search pdf buried on a website.

Unfortunately, this often leads to a very small percentage of DBE-certified businesses in each state securing government contracts and makes it harder for new DBE companies to get their foot in the door.

Meet DBESearch.

In 2021, DBESearch.com was launched with a mission to combat and overcome the challenge of finding DBE-certified businesses – starting in New England and expanding across the U.S.

The two primary objectives we are hoping to achieve with DBESearch is to:

1. Make it easier for non-DBE businesses and government agencies to search for and find DBE-certified companies to partner with in their target, geo-location.
2. Provide DBE-certified companies with a new channel to promote their business and generate revenue.

So, what are you waiting for? Search the online DBE directory and partner with some new companies in your area.

Are you a DBE-certified business and don’t see your company in our directory? Well, what the heck?! Submit your company to the directory here.

Our goal is to make this the easiest way for companies to find and partner with DBE-certified businesses. Your feedback on how to improve the experience is very important to us. Have ideas on how we can make DBESearch better? Email us at diversebusinessenterprise@gmail.com.