Veterans employ more than 5 million Americans and generate more than $1.3 trillion in total sales, reports the head of the Small Business Administration (SBA), Isabel Casillas Guzman, in her National Veterans Small Business Week message. November 11 through 15 marked the eleventh year during which the SBA paid tribute to the contributions made by veterans and their families who, Guzman notes, “are vital to our economy.”
Throughout the agency's 70-year history, the SBA has supported the military community. In 1999, the Office of Veterans Business Development was established specifically to assist veterans and their spouses through training, counseling and education, access to capital, contracting opportunities, and disaster assistance. Programs and services include:
Veterans Business Outreach Centers that provide transition assistance, pre-business plan workshops, comprehensive feasibility analysis, entrepreneurial training and counseling and mentoring.
Boots to Business, an entrepreneurial education and training program offered by SBA as part of the Department of Defense Transition Assistance Program, provides participants with an overview of business ownership and is open to service members (including National Guard and Reserve) and military spouses.
Military Spouse Pathway to Success ensures the same flexible resources for spouses as for veteran business owners.
Funding and capital are available through SBA-guaranteed loans, and a list of authorized lenders can be sourced through the Lender Match tool.
Through these and various grant-funded programs, the SBA helps veterans access the development resources, capital and counseling they need to succeed. As Guzman states, “Members of the military community have one thing in common – they are trained for entrepreneurial leadership. They are hardworking, agile, resourceful, team-oriented and committed to mission with unstoppable dedication. They do what it takes to get the job done.”
AUSN is proud to share these resources with our members and to celebrate National Veterans Small Business Week, as well as the entrepreneurial accomplishments of our members and their spouses. Last month, AUSN Executive Director LCDR Steve Rogers (USN, Ret.) interviewed LCDR Dennis Maida (USN, Ret.), who discovered a passion and talent for photography which has evolved into The Covert Collection Gallery, a family-owned business located in downtown Boonton, N.J. Read his story.
If you have an entrepreneurial story to share, please let us know. We would like to talk with you!