By Maureen Werther
Roberta Berkowitz started Prendo Forensics LLC in 2010 after a 25-year career in sales and management. Since that time, the company has received several Woman and Minority Owned Business Enterprise (WMBE) certifications on the state and national level, allowing her business to be eligible to bid on state and federal contracts.
Prendo Forensics LLC, in Bolton Landing, provides forensics and digital-related supplies and equipment to local, state and federal government agencies, as well as to colleges, universities, high schools and BOCES training programs. Berkowitz describes her company as a “sole source provider,” which means that clients can order a broad range of equipment and supplies from a variety of manufacturers through a single distributor.
She sells law enforcement supplies and forensic products for crime scene investigations and training.
Berkowitz called WMBE certification a “hunting license.” But she cautions that having a WMBE certification doesn’t automatically guarantee that her company, or other WMBE-certified companies, will win more business because they have received certification. She said it is necessary to be registered on certain local, state and federal bidding platforms in order to be seen by purchasing agents who are responsible for buying for various law enforcement agencies or training programs.
“You have to make sure that you are registered under the right codes so that you can be found. The bids don’t just come to you.”
She said women-owned businesses are “looked favorably upon” but “they don’t just knock on your door” in handing out contracts.
WMBE certification is not a simple process and applicants must complete thorough documentation proving that they are at least 51 percent woman or minority-owned, as well as being compliant with other components. But Berkowitz recommends going through the process.
Berkowitz wears all the hats in her business, from sales and marketing to filling orders, managing accounts receivables and accounts payables and setting up relationships with key suppliers. She admits that she is on call 24/7 and she must be available on a moment’s notice to fill a customer’s order. But, she said, it was “the best thing I’ve ever done, going out on my own.”
“It’s great to work for myself—so satisfying. You put your heart and soul into it when it’s yours and you’re doing it for yourself. If it’s successful, its because of all I’ve put into it. And if it’s not, that’s on me too,” she said.
Berkowitz sells nationally, and she is a member of several associations for women in law enforcement, including the National Association of Women Law Enforcement Executives.
She said forensics is an area that has attracted many women to careers in the field. She said that the healthy growth of women in and supporting the fields of law enforcement and forensics is evidenced by the number of associations for women police chiefs, sheriffs, forensic CSI investigators and others.
“Each state has its own women law enforcement association and colleges, high schools and BOCES are seeing a huge amount of interest from women in entering this field,” said Berkowitz.
She said she didn’t mind making hundreds of cold calls a week to grow her business early on. Some manufacturers and suppliers in the beginning had reservations about taking her on as a dealer or distributor of their products.
Berkowitz said she has proven herself and today Prendo Forensics is a distributor for dozens of leading suppliers of forensic equipment and training supplies. She is always looking to develop new relationships in order to provide her customers with all their forensic needs.
One of the other benefits of being a one-woman operation is logistics. Berkowitz divides her time between Bolton Landing and Florida. She does a majority of her business in New York and Florida and she has the ability to call on her accounts across both states and meet her customers in person.
Berkowitz was recently selected as a 2018 Enterprising Women of the Year Champions honoree from Enterprising Women magazine.