A Colorado Tech Blog: Stay In The Loop | Better With Bacon

Thinking Big Picture With Diversity & Inclusion– Who Are Your Vendors?

Written by Bailey Crumpton | Jun 16, 2021 4:52:31 PM

Have you heard of supplier diversity? During the ongoing journey of implementing DEIB at BWBacon, the idea around vendor or supplier diversity comes up time and again. While companies can (and should) focus time, effort, and cash into hiring diverse individuals and building more inclusive internal cultures, the partnerships that exist outside of our organizations also matter.

How Does Vendor Diversity Grow Businesses?

So why should companies prioritize vendor or supplier diversity? Growing in business vernacular, the principle behind supplier diversity aims to create a more equitable, competitive market. For this reason, examining your partner and vendor relationships is walking the walk of valuing diversity. Eventually, the end game of including partnerships and your supply chain in that thought process is that your business can proudly say it works with an intersectional range of diverse vendors. This may be anything from website designers to payroll vendors to legal services, and even food and entertainment vendors.

Diverse Vendors and Suppliers…

  • Acknowledge shifting demographics, giving companies access to broader consumer markets.
  • Help form relationships with more innovative, creative, and inclusive business practices that we all can benefit and learn from.
  • Can introduce new or unexpected products, services, and solutions.
  • Create varied networks and channels from which to procure goods or services, in turn growing networks for more diverse suppliers and partners.
  • Drive competition between the company’s existing and potential vendors.

Consider the numbers. If you were to lay out a sheet a paper for every vendor or supplier outside of your organization, side by side, what percentage of those vendors are minority owned? What percentage are owned by women, veterans, or those with disabilities? What percentage are small businesses or locally operated?

From this exercise, we can identify gaps and start to make more intentional choices. Minority, women, and LGBTQ owned businesses contribute 12.5 million jobs to the national economy, according to Dun & Bradstreet. This factor gives us an idea of the economic impact supplier diversity can have. Simply put, choosing minority owned businesses uplifts communities and local economies in a big way.

Ditch Performative Allyship With This List Of Diverse Vendors & Partners

In an effort to increase our support of the community we value so deeply, we’ve implemented a diverse supplier initiative here at BWBacon Group. Through this initiative we are supporting minority and women-owned businesses, and also encourage all of our partners to explore opportunities to support diverse vendors! In partnership with Simone D. Ross Consulting (Canopy Advisory Group), we’ve curated a list of some of the vendors operating in Colorado that we’re proud to partner with.

Catering:

CME Catering

May-I Personal Chef Inc

Mimosa’s Denver

Konjo Ethiopian Food

Rocky Mountain Microfinance Caterers

Office Supplies:

EON Office

Entertainment:

JoFoKe - Jazz vocalist & band

Monique Brooks-Roberts - Soul violinist

Rajdulari - Vocalist

SuCh - Vocalist & band

Pg6ix - Band

Soul School - Band

Ron Miles & Derrick Hodge

Maestro Hughes

Web Development:

Pretty Pages

The Ripal

J’Sharlon Jones

Legal & Professional Services:

HR Consulting: The HR Shop

Attorneys: The Halliburton Law Firm

Accounting & Bookkeeping: Cheri Mason

Business Coaching & Support: Sistahbiz, BBI Professionals


 

Resume Writing & Interviewing:

Rock Career

Miss Write On Time

Jobing With Jas

 

Printing & Marketing:

Artistic Apparel Graphics and Designs

KSW Social Media

LV Jones Consulting

KEO’s Marketing

Brand With Kreda

ZoZo Marketing Group

Bornespro Media

Payne Creative Agency

$15 Flyers

 

DEI Consulting:

Simone D. Ross Consulting - Operationalizing workforce equity 

ESD Consulting - Emily Shamsid-Deen, equity consulting 

The Equity Project -Nita Tyler

Aaron Green Consulting - Anti-racism in social work

 

Publications:

Five Points Atlas

Denver Urban Spectrum

El Semanario

La Voz Movil

 

Eateries:

LeFrench

Outworld Brewing

Mimosas Denver

Welton Street Cafe

Looking for even more resources? Organizations like the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC)the National Minority Supplier Diversity Council (NMSDC), the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC), and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Vets First Verification Program ensure businesses are appropriately categorized by offering nationally recognized third-party certification services. Often time, local governments also offer certification services and lists of local diverse vendors, like this one that is Denver specific.

Diverse Suppliers Are The Gift That Keeps Giving

If you went to your boss with a bonified idea that would increase sales by 10-15%, would they go for it? From research conducted in 2020, The Hackett Group found that businesses that allocated 20% or more of their budget spending to diverse vendors attributed 10%-15% of their annual sales to that supplier diversity. On the other hand, businesses spending less than 20% could tie less than 5% of sales to their supplier diversity initiatives.

This, and countless other examples, support the case for vendor diversity. Being vocal about equity and inclusion means actively looking for places where diversity is not, and then speaking up about your observations and ideas. That is to say, approaching DEIB holistically goes beyond internal hires and representation in leadership, and includes a full, blooming network of diverse consultants, developers, attorneys, entertainers, event partners, venues, and everything in between.

Here at BWBacon Group, we know and live what you are experiencing as an employer or job seeker in Denver, Boulder, Dallas, San Francisco, New York City or any of the other cities we work in. We believe great recruiting starts and ends with understanding people.

If you have any questions about living, working or playing any of the areas we serve, please contact us. We are happy to help. Seize the day, every day, that’s what we say!