By Tina M Kapral | Senior Director of  Education and Training
Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF) at Syracuse University

The Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities (EBV), is a program executed by the Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF) at Syracuse University in cooperative agreement with the US Small Business Administration (SBA).  This year, EBV proudly celebrates its 10-Year Anniversary, and is delivered at ten universities nationwide.  It’s more than 1,300 graduates have revenues totaling over $196 million and hire on average four employees (many of whom are fellow veterans). Of these graduates, 68% of the businesses started are still in operation today.

Although EBV didn’t start that way, it began as a social venture of Dr. J. Michael Haynie, an Air Force veteran of 14 years (1992-2006), who in 2006 joined the Martin J. Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University as a professor of entrepreneurship.  Dr. Haynie knew through his research that veterans were starting businesses at a much higher rate than civilians.  For example, after WWII, over 48% started business, and individuals with a disability were twice as likely to start a businesses (http://www.dol.gov/odep/pubs/misc/entrepre.htm) .  He realized the faculty of Whitman were teaching, training and inspiring entrepreneurs every day, so why not bring this opportunity of business ownership to the community that most deserved to live the American dream — veterans and their families.

Dr. Haynie developed the curriculum to include an online portion, followed by a nine-day residency on campus, with follow up resources and support. He wanted the EBV program to be offered at no cost to post 9/11 service connected disabled veterans with a passion for entrepreneurship. He presented his proposal to the Dean of the Whitman School. Dean Melvin T. Stith, a Vietnam veteran himself, immediately gave Dr. Haynie the approval to launch this program at Syracuse University.  Now came the difficult part — raising the funds needed to support the effort, as well as recruiting veterans to participate. Dr. Haynie found supporters among Whitman alumni, who financially supported EBV; the Whitman faculty, who volunteered to teach; and business students, who helped to execute the program.

The recruitment was more difficult; Dr. Haynie found himself traveling to wounded warrior units to present the program and encountered many challenging naysayers who felt that veterans should not become business owners.  Dr. Haynie would later find research proving the opposite.  He noted this in The Business Case for Hiring a Veteran, Beyond the Clique’, March 2015, stating many veterans possess the same characteristics as those who are high performing entrepreneurs. “Individuals who are drawn to military service, who then have military training and socialization have a common strong self-efficacy, a high need for achievement, are comfortable with autonomy and uncertainty, and make effective decisions in the face of dynamic environments. These attributes, as they are linked to entrepreneurship and an entrepreneurial mindset among military veterans, have been consistently demonstrated in practice.” (http://vets.syr.edu/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/The-Business-Case-for-Hiring-a-Veteran-3-6-124.pdf)

By Debbie Gregory.

With the theme “Dream Big, Start Small,” President Obama declared May 1^st -7^th  as National Small Business Week.

The president said that America’s small businesses are “responsible for creating nearly two-thirds of net new jobs in the United States each year and employing more than half of all Americans.” He added that “small businesses have always been a vital part of our country’s economy. Across America, small businesses support economies, employ local residents, and contribute to the vibrancy of their communities.”

Throughout National Small Business Week, events will be live-streamed and focused on a variety of entrepreneurial topics including: trade, business trends and resources to help you start and grow a business, cyber security, veteran support, targeting millennial entrepreneurs and innovation. In addition there will be workshops on ideation to commercialization, small business opportunities in the entertainment industry and exporting opportunities.

Small businesses support economies, employ local residents, and contribute to their communities.

“Our Nation does best when we help our startups and small businesses expand into new markets and offer goods and services to more people,” said Obama

In 2015, the Obama administration awarded an all-time high of more than a quarter of eligible Federal contracts to small businesses.

The annual event is hosted by the U.S. Small Business Administration and is designed to recognize the nation’s top small businesses, entrepreneurs, and business advocates. The week-long event will continue through May 6, with SBA Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet hosting planned national events in New York, Denver, Phoenix, Oakland and San Jose, CA.

There are free training webinars covering:

• Taking the Mystery out of Voluntary Benefits
• The Decline of Magstripe Cards—and What That Means for Your Business
• Cloud, Mobile, and Social: Great Apps and Services That Will Grow Your Business
• Access to Capital and Business Loans: Best Practices, Tips for Getting Your Business Financially Fit

To see the city-by-city schedule and to register for the webinars or view live-streamed events please visit www.sba.gov/nsbw.

By Debbie Gregory.

I must sound like a broken record when I say that the traits and skills our nation’s service members possess make them great entrepreneurs, and that military service is one of the leading indicators of entrepreneurial success. Now the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) backs this up with statistics that reveal veterans are 45% more likely to be entrepreneurs than non-veterans, and over 13% of veterans have been self-employed in recent years.

Part of that success might be due to the many resources available to help budding entrepreneurs start and run their small businesses, once they leave the military. In fact, over the last three years, more than 35,000 transitioning service members and military spouses have participated in the SBA’s Boots to Business entrepreneurship training program, presented in collaboration with Syracuse University’s Institute for Veterans and Military Families.

Since not every veteran has access to the Boots to Business program, here are some important tips to stay the course:

1. Lean on your military skills, traits and experience. While in the military, your ability to lead, bounce back, and push through served you well. Likewise, these abilities will serve you well as a great entrepreneur or small business owner.

2. Know the difference between an opportunity and an idea. While an opportunity could parlay into a business, an idea is more of a feeling or notion that could be fleeting and lead to a failed venture. Try to brainstorm with the people you trust will give you honest feedback, or pull together a focus group.

3. Analyze the market. Is there a market need for what you are offering? Who will be your customers? Why will they be your customer vs. your competitors’?

4. Know where to find funding, and be aware of all the financial risks. Will you be tapping friends and family, a bank loans, or outside investors? The SBA has numerous financial resources and SBA-guaranteed loans are an excellent form of funding for veteran startups. T

5. Make sure you do a feasibility analysis to make sure you know whether or not small business ownership is right for you. A New Venture Feasibility Analysis Tool is available on the Boots to Business website here: http://boots2business.org/resources/

6. Remember that your business, and ultimately your success, depends on YOU.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has awarded $22.3 billion in contracts to 21 large businesses, small businesses and Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSBs). The contracts will be in support of information technology infrastructure improvements, cyber security and operations and network management. This is a boon for veteran business owners.

The awards are part of VA’s Transformation Twenty-One Total Technology Next Generation acquisition program, also known as T4NG.

“This T4NG award is one of the many ways the Department is supporting the MyVA breakthrough initiatives by directly providing the technology that our Veterans need to support the services they receive from VA,” said Secretary Robert McDonald. “The T4NG will help meet and strengthen VA’s long-term technology needs.”

Of the 21 contract awarded, 10 were made to Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSBs), two awards were made to small businesses, and nine awards were made to large businesses.

T4NG is the largest Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity contract awarded out of the VA. The T4NG program will replace the original T4 multiple-award contract that expires in June 2016.

The Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Businesses awarded the contracts are:

AbleVets, LLC, B3 Group, Inc., Fairfax, VA,  Business Information Technology Solutions, Inc., Falls Church, VA, Favor TechConsulting, LLC, Richmond, VA, Halfaker & Associates, LLC, Arlington, VA, HMS Technologies, LLC, Martinsburg, WV, Intelligent Waves, LLC, Reston, VA, Liberty IT Solutions, LLC, Herndon, VA, Nester Consulting LLC, dba GovernmentCIO, Columbia, MD and TISTA Science and Technology Corp., Rockville, MD.

T4NG is a Multi-Agency (MAC) Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) Multiple Award Task Order (MATO) contract with a base ordering period of 5 years and one 5-year option period, with a program ceiling of $22.3 billion.  The contract is being managed by VA’s Technology Acquisition Center in Eatontown, New Jersey.

We hope the government will continue to seek out and support Veteran Business Owners and Service Disabled Veteran Business Owners and award contracts to them.

HMS Technologies has been awarded one of only ten Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) contracts by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

The contract is for the VA’s Transformation Twenty-One Total Technology Next Generation program, or T4NG. The contract will enable HMS to provide the VA and its employees an avenue to offer veterans, worldwide, the means to quickly access the Department for their specific IT needs, expedite service delivery, and improve filing and speed of processing claims.

“The entire HMS Team is honored to receive this award and we are excited about having this contract vehicle so we can continue to provide VA the Information Technology services that will enhance services that support our veterans,” said HMS CEO Bill Kirkpatrick. “We look forward to continuing our partnership with the VA to serve our nations heroes.”

HMS ranks 68th on the Federal Government’s list of Top 100 Government-wide Acquisition Contractors and was also named SBA’s Small Business of the Year for 2008 in WV.

With an anticipated ceiling value of approximately $22.3 billion, T4NG is the largest Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity contract awarded out of the VA. The T4NG program will replace the original T4 multiple-award contract that expires in June 2016.

HMS was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Martinsburg, WV.