By Debbie Gregory.
This year has gone by too quickly and it is amazing that we are approaching the holiday season. VAMBOA, the Veterans and Military Business Owners Association wants to wish our members, fans and followers a happy and healthy holiday season with quality time to relax and enjoy.
Soon it will be 2020 and a new year. VAMBOA is a non-profit trade association for military and veteran business owners including Service-Disabled Veteran Business Owners. We have over 7,000 members nationwide in every type of business. Those who serve our country have the discipline and skill to become entrepreneurs and run their own successful business. They also are your shopkeepers, butchers, bakers, mechanics, repair people and more.
As we approach the holiday buying season, I’d like to take this opportunity to tell you a little about Veteran and Military Business Owners. I’d also like to provide you some compelling reasons to patronize their businesses. They are service oriented and are dedicated to putting forth their best efforts for you. This means they want happy and satisfied customers who will return. They want to earn your business and take pride in doing the best job possible and accomplishing their mission.
This Saturday, November 30th is Small Business Saturday. It is a day to support and celebrate small businesses and all they do for their communities. American Express began this tradition in 2010 and it has grown to become enormous. In 2018, more than 95 million consumers shopped on Small Business Saturday.
This day has been recognized by the Senate and elected officials in each state as well as being promoted by local communities. Please support all small businesses and especially Veteran and Military Small Businesses that are neighborhood champions that rally and are dedicated to their communities.
Small business is the engine that drives our nation’s economy. Veterans and Military play a significant role in our economy. To provide you an idea of the impact of Veteran Small Businesses, below are a few statistics to share from the last census. I believe in the next census, these numbers will dramatically increase:
- 52 million Businesses in the United States are Veteran majority owned.
- 442,485 Veteran-owned businesses have employees
- 08 million Self-employed Veteran businesses (without employees)
- 1% is the percentage of all United States businesses that are majority-owned by Veterans
- $1.14 trillion is the total annual revenues of Veteran-owned businesses
- 03 million is the total number of employees of Veteran-owned businesses
- $195 billion is the annual payroll of Veteran-owned businesses
Those who have served along with their loved ones have made many sacrifices up to and including writing a blank check for their lives. They have served so we can be safe in a dangerous world and live and prosper.
When you are buying gifts now, on Small Business Saturday or anytime, I encourage everyone to patronize a Veteran or Military Small Business. When you need some type of service, go to a business owned by Veterans. Not only will you obtain superior products and awesome service, but it is a sincere and tangible way to say thank you.
