Veterans and Small Business

By Bob House, President, BizBuySell –

The transition from combat to business owner isn’t always easy – luckily hundreds of organizations and groups are eager to assist veterans and help them succeed.

Veterans are an incredible asset to our country. Not only do these brave men and women sacrifice years of their lives to serve the United States, but after returning to civilian life, they bring unmatched strength, skills and perseverance.

Leaving the military holds a number of unknowns, but for nearly a quarter of veterans, entrepreneurship is the clear next step. According to the most recent data available from the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2012 an estimated 2.52 million businesses were majority-owned by veterans, employing more than 5 million workers. While these numbers are down from the post-World War II business boom, entrepreneurship is still a popular second career option for our nation’s veterans. (more…)

The New Jersey SBDC at the Rutgers School of Business in Camden, New Jersey, has been conducting the “Boots to Business” Entrepreneurial Program at the Fort Dix/McGuire Air Force Base in Lakehurst, New Jersey for the past two years. Partnering with the Small Business Administration Office of Veterans Business Development, Americas SBDC and the New Jersey SBDC, the Rutgers Camden SBDC has lectured hundreds of returning soldiers seeking to start their own businesses.

“Boots to Business” enables military service members and their spouses to explore careers in business ownership and self-employment, by showing them how to apply their military skills to start and grow a business. It helps them evaluate the feasibility of their business concepts and connects them to SBDCs and other SBA resource partners. (more…)

By Mark L. Rockefeller, CEO, StreetShares

I’m one of the 2.5 million veterans who served in Iraq or Afghanistan. I’m also an entrepreneur. And I’m not alone. The men and women of today’s armed services are uniquely positioned to become successful entrepreneurs.

To my fellow veterans:

You have what it takes. By nature of your military service, you possess the skills that are required to run your own business. As a Soldier, Sailor, Airman, or Marine, you learned the importance of communication, focus, and drive to accomplish the mission at hand. You’ve encountered problems that need to be solved on the fly and you’ve done so instinctively. Recall one of the earliest reports from Operation Enduring Freedom: U.S. special operations forces in Afghanistan coordinated precision airstrikes from laptops on horseback—21st Century technology met old-fashioned creativity to get the job done. That’s called entrepreneurship.

You are a leader. You’ve already acted with more poise under pressure than most people do in a lifetime. You’ve shown bravery in the most daunting situations one can face. These experiences will naturally yield positive results in a position of leadership; people around you will seek your guidance and direction, knowing they can trust your judgment. Use this to confidently build a team and lead them to success.  (more…)

Helping America’s servicemen and servicewomen make the move from military service to business ownership is an important mission of the America’s SBDC network, and we are proud that one of our own has been named a “Boots to Business Instructor of the Year.” That honor goes to Robin Stephenson, Business Advisor at the Watertown, New York SBDC.

Robin has been working to help our men and women in uniform transition to civilian life as business owners since before the creation of the Boots to Business program, and when Boots to Business came into being, Robin quickly got the program up and running for the Watertown SBDC at Fort Drum. (more…)