Opening a veteran owned business is a rewarding experience for both veterans and their non-veteran employees. Even increasing veteran diversity in a workplace can reflect positively on both performance and company morale in a service disabled veteran owned business or a veteran business. Service disabled veterans increase diversity in the workplace. There are many incentives for veterans to start a business, but there are also many qualifications that need to be met in order to start and maintain a veteran owned business. Beginning a veteran owned business requires adherence to certain standards set by the Veteran Administration and the U.S. Government, as listed below.

For instance, veteran owners or service disabled veterans looking to own a business with veteran employees must be “veterans” as defined by the law, including having served and been discharged from a sector of the military under conditions other than dishonorable. For National Guard and Reserve members looking to increase diversity and veteran diversity in the workplace, being called to Federal active duty, incurring an injury from duty or becoming disabled from a disease serve as qualifications for veteran status. These qualifications also enable veterans to open a service disabled veteran owned business.

Service disabled veterans are also catching the veteran owned business bug. The government defines service disabled veterans as a veteran who received a disability determination from the Department of Defense or obtained a disability rating letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs, indicating a service-connected rating between 0% and 100%. The VA puts these qualifications into effect in order to better track veteran diversity and veteran employees in service disabled veteran owned business organizations and the diversity of business as an entity.

A veteran owned business is generally defined by a rate of not less than 51% of ownership belonging to one or more veterans as well as the same percent for stock holdings. Also, the management of the business and daily operations must be controlled by one or more veteran employees. The same ownership and management qualifications apply to service disabled veteran owned businesses. The best chance of increasing veteran diversity and diversity in general within in the workplace is by establishing veteran owned businesses through specific qualifications.