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Buck Roofing, LLC

Buck Roofing has been a mainstay roofing company in Hawaii for decades, founded by Buck Schipa in 1976. After graduating from school in the late-2000's, Hina Schipa took over her father’s business.

Thanks to her work in construction management and contracting, she had the experience to continue and strengthen her father’s legacy. However, she wanted to gather every tool she could to break through the barriers disproportionately plaguing many women-owned businesses in the construction industry, where only 1.5 percent of businesses are women-owned. That’s when she connected with MBDA’s Hawaii-based Enterprising Women of Color (EWOC) Center, operated by the O’ahu Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA).

YWCA helped Hina hone not only her confidence closing deals and expanding her network, but also her business development skills and certification portfolio.

What I appreciate most about the EWOC Program is being introduced to all these women in high areas of the industry and in the community, learning from them, and creating relationships with them...

I found about the women-owned business certification process through the YWCA. They knew exactly what I needed to turn in...I don’t think we would have gotten it done anytime soon without the EWOC program.

The Small Business Administration (SBA) women-owned Small Business (WSOB) certification makes businesses like Buck Roofing eligible to compete for contracts specifically set aside for certified women-owned businesses.

The EWOC Center experts and consultants on staff helped Hina navigate the process as efficiently as possible to open opportunities never before available to Buck Roofing.

Even if you don’t know what you need, [EWOC] can steer you in the right direction...

The connections you can make there are a huge benefit. I would encourage who has a small business and is woman-owned business to contact them, and they will be a huge asset to your company.