The total military veteran population in the United States is estimated to be about 24 million. Of the approximately eighty million small businesses in the United States, four million (about five percent) are veteran-owned, more than one would expect given the number of veterans in the population as a whole. Moreover, the success rate of veteran business startups is high in comparison to other business startups, partially due to the experience the veterans have gained in the Armed Services. Upon retirement many veterans choose to start their own businesses rather than take another job. While there are a number of services to help veterans with business education and loans, and many organizations to help them find a job, until 1999 there were no services specifically focused on helping veterans enter and compete in the commercial market place.
During and after the Persian Gulf War in the early 1990's, congress heard from many reservists whose businesses were harmed, severely crippled, or even lost, by their absence. In investigating remedies to help such reservists, congress discovered a number of inequities to veterans that needed remedy. Testimony indicated that technical, financial and procurement assistance was needed by veteran-owned small businesses. Based on their findings Congress enacted Public Law 106-50, the Veterans Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development Act of 1999, in August of 1999. Initially designed to cushion the impact on small businesses when their owners or essential employees who are reservists are ordered to active duty during military conflicts, the bill was expanded to provide assistance to veterans who are entrepreneurs and to service-disable veteran entrepreneurs. Loans, loan payment deferrals during time of call-up, technical, and managerial assistance were mandated.
The following provisions were contained in this law:
Establishes of an office of Veterans Business Development (OVBD) to be administered by an Associate Administrator for Veterans Business Development (AANBD) within the Small Business Administration. The AANBD is responsible for the formulation, execution, and promotion of policies and programs of the SBA that provide assistance to small businesses owned and controlled by veterans and service-disabled veterans.
Establishes of the national Veterans Business Development Corporation to expand the provision of and improve access to technical assistance regarding entrepreneurship for veterans and to work with and organize public and private resources and the business development staffs of each Federal department and agency to assist veterans and service-disabled veterans with the formation and expansion of small businesses.
Establishes of an Advisory Committee on Veterans Business Affairs to serve as an independent source of advice and policy recommendations concerning veterans' business affairs.
Directs the SBA Administrator to work with the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) to provide a variety of training and counseling services to veterans.
Provides for financial relief for reservists ordered to active duty during a time of conflict.
Based on the congressional mandate a number of services and options are being developed to encourage and support entrepreneurism in veterans.
Services Available
The Small Business Administration (SBA) provides a number of services specifically for veterans. The Veterans Business Outreach Program is designed to provide entrepreneurial development services such as business training, counseling and mentoring to eligible veterans owning or considering starting a small business. Currently the SBA has defined for regions for Veterans Business Outreach Centers. The centers provide pre-business plan workshops, concept assessments, business plan preparations, comprehensive feasibility analysis, entrepreneurial training and counseling, mentorship and other business developmental related services such as international trade, franchising, internet marketing and accounting. The center locations and areas of coverage are:
Region II: New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands
Veterans Business Outreach Center
41 State Street
Albany, NY 12246
Phone: 877-875-8387
Fax: 518-443-5275
Email Contact: veterans@nyssbdc.org
Region III: Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington, DC, West Virginia
Veterans Business Outreach Center
Robert Morris University
600 Fifth Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15219
Phone: (412) 397-6842
Toll free: (866) 929-6243
Email Contact: vboc@rmu.edu
Region IV: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee
The Veterans Business Outreach Center
2500 Minnesota Avenue
Lynn Haven, FL 32444
Phone: (800) 542-7232
Fax: (850) 271-1109
Email Contact: vboc@knology.net
Region VI: Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico
Veterans Business Outreach Center
1201 W University Drive
Edinburg, TX 78539-2999
Phone: (956) 292-7535
Fax: (956) 292-7561
Email Contact: vboc@panam.edu
Veterans Affairs Officers are provided in all SBA District Offices to help prepare and plan for entrepreneurial ventures. An online map is available to help locate this representative.
Procurement, the SBA Procurement Veterans Business Development, is available to Veterans who own and operate their own businesses. It is an online, interactive, electronic gateway of procurement information that is for and about small business. The SBA procurement office makes small business profiles available to federal, state and local government contracting officers, as well as to private-sector businesses looking for contractors, subcontractors, teaming arrangements, or partnerships.
The Veterans' Prequalification Program was created to help all small businesses owned and operated by veterans with the small business loan application process. The program helps prepare the loan prequalification application, provides an SBA-guaranty commitment letter upon application approval, allows for a SBA guaranty of up to 80 percent for loans less than $100,000 and 75 percent for loans above $100,000, provides up to $250,000, and speeds lender consideration of your loan.
Some of the federal and state government agencies also have special programs to encourage veteran involvement in business. Check out the Federal Government and State Government pages to explore what might be available for your specific business.
