Veteran Entrepreneurship Opportunities Application

How can transitioning veterans start a small business?

Veterans leaving the military face a wide variety of career possibilities. Defense and IT jobs, along with various other positions, need filled at military-friendly companies. Some veterans often overlook the strikingly lucrative opportunity of owning a small business. Many veterans content themselves with a low-risk job at a well-established company, but some veterans choose not to shift into a position involving taking orders from non-military personnel. In fact, many veterans take advantage of the opportunities available through entrepreneurship. Today, according to the Small Business Administration, veterans own 14.8 percent of small businesses across America.

A number of opportunities may arise when you look to start your own business. An entrepreneur may found a company, buy a franchise, or participate in a startup. Starting a business offers several overwhelming facets, but many assistance programs exist specifically to assist veterans staring a business. Post-military entrepreneurs may take advantage of numerous government and private sector initiatives designed to help military men and women shift into civilian life.

The federal government currently provides significant assistance to veterans interested in starting companies. Federal programs provide start-up resources, loans, counseling and training, and business opportunities to veteran and service-disabled veterans. The Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Labor, and Small Business Administration represent the major administrators of veteran entrepreneurial assistance programs.

The Department of Veterans Affairs created the Center for Veterans Enterprise, a department solely dedicated to assisting veterans starting and building businesses. The CVE offers free business coaching, networking, and outreach opportunities. Disabled veterans may also gain assistance from OSDBU, the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization. OSDBU serves to assist and support the interests of small businesses. OSDBU provides small business with support and also acts as liaison support to businesses with acquisition-related issues. Veterans interested in entrepreneurship may register with the Center for Veteran Enterprise to discover a variety of assistance programs as well as qualification information.

Small Business Administration created the Office of Veterans Business Development. The division hosts programs which provide business training, counseling, and assistance to Veteran and Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned small businesses. Some loans accessible through the Office of Veterans Business development include the Patriot Express Pilot Loan and the Veterans Transition Franchise Initiative. The Patriot Express Pilot Loan provides members of the National Guard and the reserves debt relief of up to $500,000.Veterans Transition Franchise Initiative offers up to 20 percent off initial franchising fees at over 350 companies.

The SBA hosts the Veterans Entrepreneurship Program. The VEP offers first-hand training in entrepreneurship and small business management to veterans. The program works to provide veterans with the skills necessary to launch a small business. After a business is established, the VEP works to provide veterans with a strong and reliable foundation of support, as well. The VEP also trains veterans in business expansion. A veteran in the program goes through three different stages of training. Training consists of a 45-day online curriculum, 8 days of residential on campus training in Stillwater, OK, and nearly a year of ongoing mentoring and support.

The SBA recently added two more entrepreneurial assistance programs. The SBA now offers the Women Veterans Igniting the Spirit of Entrepreneurship program and the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities. These training programs hold a similar format to the Veterans Entrepreneurship Program, but the operators tailor skills taught to specific student types and needs.

The Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities, also stylized as EBV, trains service-disabled veterans. The program, created by the Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University, operates through Whitman and several other prominent schools. The EBV exists at UCLA Anderson School of Management, Florida State University’s College of Business, Mays Business School at Texas A&M, The Krannert School of Management at Purdue University, The University of Connecticut School of Business, and E. J. Ourso College of Business at Louisiana State University.

The Women Veterans Igniting the Spirit of Entrepreneurship program, also known as V-WISE, provides aid to all female Veterans and the spouses and partners of business-owning veterans. The program accepts applicants with time served in any branch of the military. Courses include business planning, marketing, accounting and finance, operations, production, human resources, and work / life balance. The Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University offers the V-WISE program.

With numerous opportunities available to servicemen interested in entrepreneurship, several programs exist to help the business needs of most any veteran. Join the growing number of veteran small business owners now. Veterans interested in entrepreneurship should contact the SBA or the Department of Veterans Affairs to discover the qualifications for available loans and programs.