Alaska Operator

Free official certification

Certify your business as AK Owned.

Certification verifies that your business is independently run and owned by people who live in Alaska. It helps customers who want to keep their money in this state find you, and it costs nothing.

Get certified
AK Owned verified badge

Always free for owners

Why get certified?

A decal for the window

A die-cut vinyl decal for the front door or the truck, plus a digital badge for your website. In Anchorage we drop it off ourselves. Everywhere else it comes in the mail.

A profile customers actually read

Built from a thirty-minute conversation with the owner. Who started it, what year, what almost killed it, who works there now. Not a directory listing.

A place on the Alaska Owned map

Found by customers who are deliberately looking to hire and buy from businesses owned by people who live here.

Group benefits as the registry grows

Buying power is a numbers game. A few hundred businesses can negotiate what a handful cannot, and that is what the registry is for.

What we are building

A membership for Alaska-owned businesses.

The goal is local discounts and benefits for member companies and the people who work for them. Buying power is a numbers game, so the first job is getting enough Alaska businesses in one place to negotiate with.

Signing up is free today and will stay free while we build it. When there is a paid membership, the fees go to Alaska nonprofits, starting with Food Bank of Alaska, where our founder serves on the board of directors.

Get certified

Join the Alaska businesses already certified.

About five minutes. Nothing here needs looking up except your Alaska business license number.

  1. The business
  2. Ownership and size
  3. Contact and consent

Step 1 of 3: The business

Only if you operate under a different name than the entity.

AK Owned certification confirms where ownership lives. It is not an endorsement of a business’s work or a rating of quality, and it cannot be represented as one. Alaska Operator also advises on business transitions and occasionally acquires businesses. Membership carries no obligation of any kind.

Questions

The things owners ask us.

Is it really free?
Yes, and it stays free while we are building the membership. Alaska Operator advises Alaska owners on succession and transitions, and that is what pays for this today.
How do you verify we are Alaska owned?
Three objective criteria, checked against public records: Alaska registered, Alaska headquartered, and more than half of ownership held by people who live in Alaska. We confirm at signup and again every six months. If a reconfirmation lapses the listing goes dormant until you confirm. Nothing is deleted.
How long does it take?
About five minutes to apply. Verification usually takes a couple of days. Then a thirty-minute conversation with the owner, which becomes your profile.
Who qualifies?
Any Alaska business that meets the three criteria, at any size and in any industry. One location or twelve. If your ownership structure is more complicated than the form allows for, say so and a person will read it.
How do I get the decal?
If you are in Anchorage we bring it out when we come to talk. Anywhere else in the state, it goes in the mail at no cost to you.
Does this put my business in front of a buyer?
No. Alaska Operator advises on transitions and occasionally acquires businesses, and you should know that. Being in the registry does not start a sale conversation, does not share your information with anyone, and gives us no claim on anything. Certification confirms where ownership lives. It is not an endorsement or a rating of the work, and it cannot be represented as one.