While leadership is described in many ways, it is defined by actions. Taylor Oswald, a full-service insurance brokerage, specializes in assisting organizations that endeavor to develop a broad and strategic view of their insurance programs. Today, together Oswald Companies and Taylor Oswald continue to remove the barriers for employees, clients, and partners in maximizing the opportunities in the risk and insurance industry.
As the U.S. becomes a more diverse nation, companies recognize that inclusion and diversity are significant business assets.
How valuable is diversity and inclusion to your business? A Harvard Business Review study found that companies with above average diversity had 19 percent higher innovation revenues, and 9 percent higher EBITA margins.
Besides the economic benefits, there are several intangible benefits to working with a Minority Business Enterprise (MBE), according to a report from the business consulting group Zempleo. An MBE may offer more adaptability, flexibility, and balance in comparison to non-MBE suppliers.
MBE suppliers can offer cost-saving strategies due to diversity spend requirements and taking advantage of numerous federal and state tax incentives, tax breaks, and potential rebates. Partnering with an MBE can also strengthen your brand recognition, community outreach, company culture, and marketing efforts.
Large and small corporations are seeking minority-owned businesses due to policies that require the company to meet their supplier diversity goals. The benefits are only growing over time, and meeting your diversity spend as a corporation cannot only help your business but allow you to expand into the government (state and or federal) realm as well.
By meeting compliance requirements and partnering with an MBE, companies can expand their revenue by acquiring larger purchase opportunities that mandate a specific amount of spend through an MBE. Domestic growth opportunities will also increase due to the strength of each supplier.
The value an MBE might give is crucial for a company’s culture as well. Diversity is high in value — by partnering with an MBE, it shows that your business supports the broadening of minority communities. MBE’s are well-connected in local businesses and can bring more opportunities through various networking events.
Minorities own an estimated 29 percent of classifiable businesses, which are growing at twice the rate of non-minority businesses. They employ more than 6.3 million Americans. (Source: Department of Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agency)
Risk management is a solid outlet for companies seeking to partner with minority-owned businesses.
“Within risk-management there are opportunities to establish continuous, sustainable relationships with a diverse cross-section of companies,” says Taylor Oswald.
Government and business leaders in the Cincinnati and northern Kentucky region identified business development as one of the biggest needs for minorities, and Taylor Oswald are right in the middle of these efforts
With several Fortune 500 companies calling the region home the horsepower is there for both for minority-lead business and some of the biggest names in the business world to come together.
According to the Ohio Minority Supplier Development Council, companies that focus significantly on supplier diversity generate a greater return on procurement investments than their counterparts. The difference is typically attributed to MBEs’ ability to deliver equal value at a lower operating cost than their competitors.
Minority business owners face unique challenges that require them to adapt to their industries and markets. As a result, MBEs also tend to be at the forefront of innovation and creativity in their respective fields. This presents corporations with an ongoing opportunity to make cost-effective business decisions that have the added benefit of positively impacting minority communities.
Taylor Oswald says these companies and others in the business community have committed to dedicated spending and economic development efforts for minority businesses.
“Taylor Oswald can help build bridges between minority business and the larger Cincinnati and northern Kentucky business communities,” says Taylor Oswald. “Companies are proud to be diversifying and opening doors to new business ideas and partners.”
There are 8 million minority-owned businesses in the United States with $1.4 trillion in annual gross receipts, according to research from the U.S. Minority Business Development Agency, and the numbers continue to grow.
Fourteen percent of those businesses are owned by African Americans, while 8 percent are owned by Latinos/Hispanics. There are an estimated 11.9 million small businesses in the United States owned by women that account for 9 million employees and generate around $1.7 trillion in total.
Over the course of 20 years, the number of female entrepreneurs has grown by 114 percent, and startup statistics show women-owned businesses make up 39 percent of all US companies.
With all this statistical growth, why don’t more companies pursue business relationships with minority-owned businesses and vice versa?
Taylor Oswald says it is often a lack of resources and awareness of the opportunities that exist.
“The refrain we hear most often is ‘I don’t have a connection or know who to contact,’” says Taylor Oswald. “Most minority-owned businesses have small marketing budgets and fly under the radar. They don’t have a champion and that’s where we can help.”
Taylor Oswald has cultivated partnerships with clients in a diverse number of industries including:
This is where Taylor Oswald can make the most impact and serve as the conduit between minority-owned businesses and the larger business community.
“We have the ability to host events, facilitate connections and open the doors of opportunity,” says Taylor Oswald. “Cincinnati is a city with a community feel to it and everyone benefits when they work together.”
When it comes to leadership in economic inclusion in the risk management sector, Taylor Oswald is a clear leader in its field.
(Sources: Harvard Business Review, Zempleo, The Hill, Ohio Minority Supplier Development Council, U.S. Minority Business Development Agency, Small Biz Genius)
