From Military Duty to Entrepreneur

OPPORTUNITIES FOR VETERANS AFTER RETIREMENT

Is there life after the military? Yes - in fact, chances are good that after you leave the military, you're in business. Literally.

The estimated military veteran population in the United States is over 20 million; and of those, approximately 2.4 million veterans own businesses. Most are self-employed veteran businesses with no employees. Additionally, the success rate of veteran business startups is high in comparison to other business startups. We think it's because veterans bring a vast depth of experience, confidence and a winning attitude that so many veterans gain as a result of their years of strong service in the Armed Forces. It could be that veterans are entrepreneurs at heart, making it a logical step for so many veterans to start their own businesses.

Today, there are a number of services to help veterans with business education and loans. It started in 1999, when Congress implemented a full array of services to help support veterans determined to succeed in the commercial market place, just as they had in the military.

During and after the Persian Gulf War, in the early 1990's, Congress was faced with military reservists whose businesses were harmed, damaged, or even lost when they left and went to serve their time in the military. Congress vowed to change this for the better and provide all the technical, financial and procurement assistance needed by veterans to support their small businesses.

OFFICE OF VETERANS BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

The Veterans Business Outreach Center (VBOC) Program is designed to provide entrepreneurial development services such as business training, counseling and resource partner referrals to transitioning service members, veterans, National Guard & Reserve members and military spouses interested in starting or growing a small business. The SBA has 22 organizations participating in this cooperative agreement and serving as Veterans Business Outreach Centers (VBOC).

The role of VBOCs is to:

• Conduct entrepreneurial development workshops dealing specifically with the major issues of self-employment. An important segment of these workshops entails the usage of the Internet as a tool for developing and expanding businesses. Each client is afforded the opportunity to work directly with a business counselor.
• Assist clients in assessing their entrepreneurial needs and requirements.
• Assist clients in developing and maintaining a five-year business plan. The business plan includes such elements as the legal form of the business, equipment requirements and cost, organizational structure, a strategic plan, market analysis, and a financial plan. Financial plans include financial projections, budget projections, and funding requirements.
• Provide assistance in identifying and analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of the business plan to increase the probability of success. The results of the analysis are utilized to revise the strategic planning portion of the business plan.
• Target entrepreneurial training projects and counseling sessions tailored specifically to address the needs and concerns of the service-disabled veteran entrepreneur. The do this by working with other SBA resource partners.
• Conduct, as appropriate, on-site visits with clients to ensure adherence to their business plans. Additionally, VBOCs review monthly financial statements to determine whether a revision of the business plan is warranted or that desired results are being attained.
• Provide assistance and training in such areas as international trade, franchising, Internet marketing, accounting, and more.