Early life:

Tiffany Latoi, how to start a government contracting business the owner of Certify My Biz, says many people start small businesses and fail very quickly because something wasn’t done right in the beginning. Dedicated to helping small business owners, Latoi has an excellent track record of getting minority-owned and women-owned businesses registered, certified, and started.

How to start a government contracting business Having been born and raised in Michigan City, Indiana, Latoi has always been an intelligent student and was naturally drawn to entrepreneurship. She has a bachelor’s degree in marketing and an MBA in leadership. Furthermore, she has a variety of certificates in diversity inclusion, showing that she’s passionate about certificates and government contracting. Before starting a career as a government contractor and in transportation, Latoi worked for a company that sold pharmaceuticals. She was a project manager of one of the two companies she worked for.

While working as a project manager in pharmaceutical sales, Latoi also started a trucking company. Due to the overlapping of both the business and her commitments at the job, she left corporate America in 2010 to focus on her business. Latoi says she knew nothing about the transportation business when she started. Her partner believed she could pull it off, although the company was not a conventional trucking company but a FedEx route when they started.

Interaction with TN’H:  

In an interview with TN’H, Latoi shares her experience on what it was like to start their company from a FedEx route instead of a more typical trucking company. Observing and looking at the problems to retain trucking company drivers, Latoi developed a business idea of helping small trucking companies, especially minority-owned ones and those owned by women, through consulting about registration and certification. Her company, Certify My Biz, is a consulting firm that helps businesses accelerate their business by taking it to the next level with the tactics Tiffany and her team have learned and applied over the last decade.

Tiffany drops plenty of jewels and talks about different certifications needed to start a trucking business. She also explains the process of getting certified and its minimum criteria. She noted that government certification could take up to 30-90 days for the certification, depending on the city. To become government contractors, certification could take up to 30 days.

Forbes Magazine says Black Women is one of the fastest-growing segments of entrepreneurs. Ironically, they make less money than other entrepreneurs. Latoi says this happens because there is a lack of knowledge, lack of resources, lack of government contracting, and certifications, and the women who are driving and passionate do not have the right opportunity or support. Latoi added that the purpose of her company is to improve the quality of minority and women-owned trucking companies.

Latoi said many things about the industry. One of them was how to become a government contractor. She insights the upcoming entrepreneurs on how to start and find work as a government contractor. Latoi also elaborated on this topic by giving away some challenges and downsides of the business. She added that one should pursue a business like this, for it is for a good cause.

Final thought:

At the end of an interview, Tiffany Latoi put her final thought into words of encouragement for women in the industry by saying, “Take your time. The resources are out there to do the research and make sure you’re making good decisions for yourself.” She also stated, “The educational piece is important in growing and advancing your business. Implement and execute.”

To know more about government contracting, Please view the Video Below.