WBENC – Croixstone

Croixstone has been recertified by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC)

We did it again: Croixstone is excited to share the news that our firm has been recertified as both a Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE) and Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) by the Greater Women’s Business Council (GWBC), a regional certifying partner of the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC). Croixstone has received these certifications annually since 2020.

Why it matters: Croixstone’s certification as a WBE and WOSB fuels our firm’s access to supplier diversity and procurement executives at hundreds of major U.S. corporations and federal, state, and local government entities that accept WBENC certification. Businesses with inclusive procurement strategies widen their pools of potential suppliers and promote competition in their supply base, which can improve quality and drive down costs. Inclusiveness can also make supply chains more resilient and agile. Additionally, supplier diversity programs offer selling points to businesses when hiring.

How we did it: WBENC certification is the gold standard for women-owned business certification in the USA. The WBENC standard of certification implemented by GWBC is a meticulous process, and included an in-depth review of Croixstone’s business planning, operations and a site visit.

Learn more: Read our Press Release here.

Croixstone Consulting Celebrates 7th Business Anniversary

“On our lucky number 7 business anniversary, I offer the deepest thanks to our consultants, search professionals, clients, leadership team, business partners, friends and family to whom we owe the ongoing success of our unique firm.”

– Patti Weber, CEO

Where it began: 7 years ago this month, our founders Patti Weber (a former leader with Accenture and public school educator) and Mark Weber (a serial entrepreneur, consulting industry veteran, and former staffing industry executive) launched Croixstone Consulting in a former photography studio loft in Charlotte’s vibrant South End neighborhood.

The inspiration: The conventional consulting industry is notorious for recycling PowerPoint decks and burning out its consultants. These practices, along with other systemic issues in the consulting industry, contribute to the delivery of subpar services to clients. The Webers believed there was an opportunity to build a high-performing, boutique firm around consulting industry mavericks (known as constructive noncomformists) who could deliver their expertise and passions in a better way, while concurrently fueling innovation and solving problems for clients.

The name: Rivers are an indispensable part of our lives, and they are wonderful gifts from nature that have the power to teach us. The inspiration for Croixstone’s name is the St. Croix River (French: Holy Cross), a tributary of the Mississippi River that forms a border between the states of Wisconsin (the home state of the Webers) and Minnesota (where the firm’s founders each began their careers).

The right way to say our name: “kroy-stone.”

Our achievements: We’ve packed a lot into our 7 years in business. As a small but mighty firm, we not only survived, but thrived, amidst the global pandemic. We owe a huge thank you to all those who believed in our ability to deliver a differentiated business model for our consultants, clients and internal leadership team. Here are some of our key achievements over the past 7 years:

• 2016 – Croixstone was launched in Loft 309 of the former Lance Crackers building on South Boulevard in Charlotte’s trendy South End neighborhood.

• 2017 – Inspired by a future of work conference that Mark Weber attended in NYC, Croixstone relocated to the One South tower in Uptown Charlotte and is a founding member of the Industrious coworking community.

• 2019 – Croixstone launched the firm’s human capital and executive search practices.

• 2020 – Croixstone received national certification as a Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE) by the Greater Women’s Business Council, a regional certifying partner of the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC). Additionally, Patti Weber was accepted a part of a competitive application process into FORTUNE magazine’s “Rebuild Program.”

• 2021 – Patti Weber was selected as one of only 25 women in the USA to participate in the “Accelerated Growth Program” sponsored by Wells Fargo and hosted by the National Association of Women Business Owners. Additionally, Patti was also named to The Charlotte Ledger’s 2021 “Forty Over 40” list in recognition for her contributions in making Charlotte a better place to live, work and play.

• 2022 – Croixstone landed on the Charlotte Business Journal’s “Fast 50” list as the Charlotte region’s second fastest-growing private company.

• 2023 – Croixstone was ranked #11 on Inc. magazine’s fourth annual “Inc. 5000 Regionals: Mid-Atlantic” list, the most prestigious ranking of the fastest-growing private companies in the District of Columbia, Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Learn more: Checkout Croixstone’s Linktree to learn more about unique firm.

The Power of Women-Owned Companies and Supplier Diversity

The big picture: As a woman-owned and certified firm, two of Croixstone’s leaders (Patti Weber, CEO and Lisa Cahill, Senior Talent Leader) are joining more than 4,000 fellow participants at the annual WBENC National Conference taking place this week in Nashville. The conference is the largest event of its kind for women business owners, welcoming thousands of women entrepreneurs and corporate executives ready to make connections and do business.

A quick look back: In 2020, Croixstone celebrated a milestone moment in achieving national certification as a WBE (Women’s Business Enterprise by the Greater Women’s Business Council, a regional certifying partner of the Women’s Enterprise National Council (WBENC).

The power of women: According to Fundera, the USA has 12.3 million women-owned businesses, with 40% of all US businesses being owned by women. Businesses owned by women general $1.8 trillion a year to the US economy. Women are starting new businesses in droves – – they started a net total of 1,821 new businesses every day last year.

The benefits of supplier diversity: Croixstone actively promotes the benefits that come with robust supplier diversity programs. As Harvard Business Review shared in its August 2020 article entitled “Why You Need a Supplier Diversity Program”, there are sound commercial reasons for creating supplier diversity programs. These reasons include:

• Inclusiveness is great for innovation. Diverse suppliers bring diverse ideas, viewpoints, backgrounds and knowledge to companies.

• Inclusive procurement strategies widen the pool of potential suppliers and promotes competition in the supply base, which can improve product quality and drive down costs.

• By providing more sourcing options, inclusiveness can make supply chains more resilient and agile.

• Supplier diversity delivers numerous channels from which a business is able to acquire goods and services.

• Inclusiveness allows a business to benefit from new prospects from business growth with the rise of new customer requirements based upon shifting demographic certainties.

• The “feel good” factor associated with supplier diversity programs can also reflect positively on brands.

Yes, but: There are several common obstacles that challenge companies in building and sustaining robust supplier diversity programs. Common challenges include:

• Supplier diversity professionals find it challenging to secure cross-functional buy-in from managers and senior-level executives.

• Capacity. According to one study, 54% of corporations dedicate one staff person or less to supplier diversity.

• A lack of supplier diversity data and insights.

• Difficulties in identifying suppliers who also meet procurement criteria.

• Challenges and/or inability to verify supplier diversity claims.

Moving forward: Croixstone is committed to promoting the benefits of supplier diversity, and to helping corporate America navigate the ongoing challenges and obstacles that face corporate supplier diversity professionals.

Let’s talk: To learn more about the benefits of supplier diversity and how Croixstone can help, contact our CEO, Patti Weber, at pweber@croixstone.consulting.

WOSB Recertification

We are continuing to celebrate a memorable week at Croixstone Consulting! In follow-up to our news on September 26, 2022 that we have received national recertification as a Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE), Croixstone is proud to announce a second achievement this week.

Our CEO, Patti Weber, announced today that Croixstone has been granted recertification as a Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB). The certification was granted by the Greater Women’s Business Council (GWBC), a regional certifying partner of the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), who serves as an approved third-party certifier for the U.S. Small Business Administration’s WOSB Federal Contracting Program.

This latest achievement fuels continued growth opportunities for Croixstone by allowing the firm to compete for federal contracts set aside for the WOSB Federal Contracting Program.

Read our Press Release here.

WBE Recertification

The Croixstone team is excited to announce that we have received national recertification as a Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE) by the Greater Women’s Business Council, a regional certifying partner of the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC).

Croixstone was first certified as a WBE in 2020. The enterprise certification is a powerful tool that enables Croixstone to expand the firm’s visibility among decision-makers in supply chain diversity and procurement.

Read our Press Release here.

Croixstone Consulting Turns “5”

We are celebrating! Founded by Patti Weber and Mark Weber in 2016, Croixstone Consulting celebrates its fifth business anniversary this month. Launched in a loft in Charlotte’s South End neighborhood with the aspiration to provide a highly-differentiated business model in management consulting, Croixstone has grown rapidly thanks to the deep expertise, talents and support of our consulting team, internal staff and partners/supporters.

As all entrepreneurs understand, the art of the start-up is filled with times of both great exhilaration and sleepless nights (hello global pandemic)! We are fortunate in that our five-year ride at Croixstone has been one of tremendous positivity.

Here are some of our favorite special moments over the past 5 years.

Launch: Croixstone began operations in June 2016 in Loft 309 in the former Lance Crackers building on South Boulevard in Charlotte’s booming South End neighborhood.

Hello Uptown: Croixstone relocated from the start-up loft to the new Industrious Charlotte Uptown co-working community in the Bank of America Plaza tower at Trade & Tryon in December 2017.

TABL: Croixstone introduced TABL, the firm’s unique culinary team building experience, with a playful social media launch in January 2018.

New Practice Area: Croixstone announced the launch of its new human capital solutions practice and a new executive search offering in June 2019.

FORTUNE Magazine: Croixstone announced in May 2020 that Patti Weber (CEO) had been accepted as part of a competitive application process into FORTUNE magazine’s Rebuild Program that was inspired in response to the global pandemic.

Hello NoDa: Croixstone relocated into larger offices in the newly-opened Industrious Charlotte NoDa co-working community in June 2020.

Supplier Diversity Certification: Croixstone received national certification in July 2020 as a Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE) by the Greater Women’s Business Council, a regional certifying partner of the Women’s Enterprise National Council (WBENC).

Accelerated Growth: Croixstone announced in January 2021 that Patti Weber (CEO) was one of 25 women across the USA accepted in the NAWBO (National Association of Women Business Owners) Accelerated Growth Program sponsored by Wells Fargo.

Forty Over 40: Croixstone’s CEO Patti Weber was named as a “Forty Over 40” award recipient by The Charlotte Ledger in May 2021.

Croixstone Earns 2nd National Certification!

The past couple of business days have been celebratory ones at Croixstone. Last Friday, our CEO Patti Weber announced that Croixstone has received national certification as a Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE) by the Greater Women’s Business Council, a regional certifying partner of the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC).

The world-class WBENC certification is accepted by more than 1,000 corporations representing America’s most prestigious brands, in addition to many states, cities and other entities. Croixstone’s new WBENC certification enhances our ability to help clients meet their diversity supplier objectives.

Today, Croixstone is pleased to announce that we have been granted certification as a Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) by WBENC, who serves as a third party certifier for WOSB certification as part of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA’s) WOSB Federal Contracting Program. This certification provides Croixstone with greater access to federal contracting opportunities.

Read our Press Release for Croixstone’s WOSB Certification here.

Big News from Croixstone!

We are THRILLED to announce that Croixstone has received national certification as a Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE) by the Greater Women’s Business Council, a regional certifying partner of the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC). This new certification fuels continued growth opportunities for Croixstone in terms of revenue growth, jobs growth, and our ability to help our clients meet their supplier diversity spend objectives.

Read our press release!

Learn more!