Starting a business is a great accomplishment for anyone. For veterans, especially, these entrepreneurial pursuits can be an excellent way to get the most out of life after service. Owning a business really helps you integrate into the community and gives you a healthy sense of self-worth. AFBA has listed some useful resources for veteran business owners.
VetBiz
Established by the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization, VetBiz helps former servicemembers get their businesses verified for eligibility to participate in the Veterans First Contracting Program. It provides counseling, self-assessment tools and training webinars.
Boots to Business
The U.S. Small Business Administration partnered with the Department of Defense's Transition Assistance Program to create this two-step program to help train veterans to run their own businesses. In this program, former servicemembers will learn the basics of entrepreneurship, such how to develop a business plan and organize business methods.
Veteran Entrepreneur Portal
This website was designed to make running a business easy for veterans. Here, former servicemembers will have access to training materials, financial guidance tools and business expansion tips. The Veteran Entrepreneur Portal also provides links to government sponsored funding for small businesses.
National Veteran-Owned Business Association
Veterans who are interested in federal contracting opportunities would find this resource most useful. This organization's main goal is to work with the government to encourage partnership between Federal projects and veteran-owned businesses. Former servicemembers who own their own business can read up on the latest policies and find tools to make a more efficient government contract.
Victory Spark
Veterans who have created their own start-ups should look into Victory Spark. This program allows participants to interact with business mentors in a 12-week learning course and offers the opportunity for grant funding. The Global Entrepreneurship Collective runs this veteran-targeted training program.
21 Gun Salute Initiative
Former servicemembers who were injured or disabled in their time with the military and are interested in starting their own business should look into this program. The group serves as advocates for disabled business owners and works to ensure that the government meets its 3 percent requirement in contracting with disabled veteran-run businesses.
Owning a business is something to be proud of, and veterans have the skills, training and leadership that would make them excellent small-business owners. By utilizing the resources available to them, former servicemembers have the potential to lead the small business arena and establish successful operations. To see a complete list of veteran entrepreneurial resources, click here.