Resources for a Home Business: Helping Vets Succeed

Home Business Helping Vets: Don’t Go It Alone

Veterans seeking to start a home business are able to get assistance from the government and other organizations with their entrepreneurial endeavors. Starting a home business can be somewhat of a daunting task, but it doesn’t have to be if you take advantage of the organizations in place that are designed to help you do so.

It is estimated that there are 80 million small businesses in the U.S. and that approximately four million of those are owned by veterans. Furthermore, the rate of success for veteran owned businesses is high when compared to other start up efforts, primarily due to the skill sets, responsibility, and courage the Armed Services instill in its people.

One last note for my fellow vets would be to point out that there are plenty of entrepreneurial folks out there that are making money, hand over fist, who never did so much as a push-up for their country. I’m not saying there is anything wrong with that but, you should recognize that you earned way more than your fair share of a piece of that pie ever since the day you held up your hand up and swore to defend the tenets of the constitution, knowing full well that the price could be your life. Take all the help you can get to start a business, our government owes you at least that much.

Image Credit: Daniel P. McGoldrick

Military Veteran Small Business Resources

Veterans Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development

The Veterans Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development (OVBD) Act of 1999 provides for the availability of loans, loan repayment deferrals (specifically when Reservists are called up for duty), counseling, managerial, and technical assistance to small businesses started and operated by veterans and service-disabled veterans. This agency is responsible for organizing public and private resources for business development endeavors. For more details and a great deal of useful federal links, visit www.smallbusinessnotes.com.

The Veterans Business Outreach Program

The Veterans Business Outreach Program of the the Small Business Administration (SBA) is there to provide services to vets including business training, mentoring. This agency is broken down into regions around the nation that have Outreach Centers which will provide pre-business plan workshops, business plan preparations, concept assessments, comprehensive feasibility analysis, and other business developmental related services such as international trade, internet marketing, franchising, and accounting. For all the locations and contact information, visit here.

Disability.gov

For those who paid a high price for their service, be sure and take advantage of the government services available at Disability.gov. disability.gov. Once there, you will find information on tax incentives, financial aid, business plans, technical support and training. On the left side of this web page, you will find “Information by State” for links to more resources in your area.

Start-Up USA

Start-Up USA Veterans with Disabilities and Self-Employment Training Series is a private sector resource that has a highly successful entrepreneur, blinded in Viet Nam, leading the charge with valuable information about everything you need to know to help you win at the game.

Local Help in Your State

Many states offer assistance programs through various state agencies. The thing to do is check with your local VA to find out or the local version of the Small Business Administration. Do a little homework and find out what they have to offer. Hopefully you’ll find, as did I on many occasions, that people are happy to assist veterans. Even town halls have veteran liaisons that can put you in contact with the right people. Best of luck to you and remember, now that your term of service is over to this great nation, it’s time to reap the benefits of being a capitalist. Finally, if you’re a vet that has experience or knowledge of any other useful resources regarding this matter, do your fellow vets a solid and write about it in the comment box below. Never leave your buddies behind.