{"id":30678,"date":"2018-03-15T15:10:55","date_gmt":"2018-03-15T19:10:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/?p=30678"},"modified":"2018-03-15T19:09:41","modified_gmt":"2018-03-15T23:09:41","slug":"roberta-berkowitz-provides-forensic-supplies-equipment-customers-across-u-s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2018\/03\/roberta-berkowitz-provides-forensic-supplies-equipment-customers-across-u-s\/","title":{"rendered":"Roberta Berkowitz Provides Forensic Supplies And Equipment To Customers Across The U.S."},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Roberta Berkowitz started Prendo Forensics LLC in Bolton Landing in 2010.
Courtesy Prendo Forensics<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By Maureen Werther<\/p>\n

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. <\/span><\/p>\n

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 \u201csole source provider,\u201d which means that clients can order a broad range of equipment and supplies from a variety of manufacturers through a single distributor. <\/span><\/p>\n

She sells law enforcement supplies and forensic products for crime scene investigations and training.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Berkowitz called WMBE certification a \u201chunting license.\u201d But she cautions that having a WMBE certification doesn\u2019t 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.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to make sure that you are registered under the right codes so that you can be found. The bids don\u2019t just come to you.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She said women-owned businesses are \u201clooked favorably upon\u201d but \u201cthey don\u2019t just knock on your door\u201d in handing out contracts.<\/span><\/p>\n

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.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u2019s notice to fill a customer\u2019s order. But, she said,\u00a0 <\/span>it was \u201cthe best thing I\u2019ve ever done, going out on my own.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s great to work for myself\u2014so satisfying. You put your heart and soul into it when it\u2019s yours and you\u2019re doing it for yourself. If it\u2019s successful, its because of all I\u2019ve put into it. And if it\u2019s not, that\u2019s on me too,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 <\/span>Berkowitz sells nationally, and she is a member of several associations for women in law enforcement, including\u00a0 <\/span>the National Association of Women Law Enforcement Executives. <\/span><\/p>\n

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.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEach 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,\u201d said Berkowitz.<\/span><\/p>\n

She said she didn\u2019t 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.<\/span><\/p>\n

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.<\/span><\/p>\n

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. <\/span><\/p>\n

Berkowitz was recently selected as a 2018 Enterprising Women of the Year Champions honoree from Enterprising Women<\/i> magazine.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":89,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\r\nRoberta Berkowitz Provides Forensic Supplies And Equipment To Customers Across The U.S. - Glens Falls Business Journal<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2018\/03\/roberta-berkowitz-provides-forensic-supplies-equipment-customers-across-u-s\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Roberta Berkowitz Provides Forensic Supplies And Equipment To Customers Across The U.S. - Glens Falls Business Journal\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Maureen Werther Roberta Berkowitz started Prendo Forensics LLC in 2010 after a 25-year career in sales and management. 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