By Debbie Gregory.

It seems that you can’t watch an hour-long news program without the mention of at least one of many hardships Veterans are facing. Along with VA scandals, there are struggles with PTSD, unemployment, homelessness, and underemployment. These societal ills have scourged all generations of Veterans, and are taking an extreme toll on the Post-9/11 generation. But from pain and discomfort, the strong usually seek ways to improve their situation. It is for these reasons that Veterans are 45% more likely to seek self-employment through entrepreneurial ventures that their non-Veteran peers.

But Veterans aren’t just shucking off their uniforms and conforming to life in business suits. They are taking their military experience with them into entrepreneurship, and getting positive results. Many in the business world are now looking to Veteran business owners as examples of the ideal business owner. Here are a few examples of why:

• Efficiency– It is commonly joked about that the most effective military leaders are the ones who are free to goof around on their computer all day. While we know that this isn’t true, the culture of military leadership is to prioritize tasks and delegate work as needed. Veteran business owners are more likely to heighten efficiency by delegating tasks, freeing them up for more critical tasks.
• Leadership– Everyone in the military answers to somebody else, and at some point in their career, most enlisted personnel have others below them. Taking and giving orders is a skill, just like anything else, and Veterans have had some of the best training around. Those with military leadership experience have the conditioning to make important decisions and assign tasks in a manner that can instill confidence from their employees.
• Team Building– Veterans know that the key to accomplishing any mission is to have all members of their team working together, as one unit. It doesn’t matter if that mission is securing a building, cleaning the workspace, or meeting a sales quota, the principles are all the same, and Veterans have been conditioned with the mentality to apply that principle to any task.
• Selling Commitment– Most living things instinctivelydo whatever they can to preserve their lives. Service members rush towards danger. That’s not by accident, that’s by mental conditioning and by being sold on a commitment to your comrades, to your unit, and to your country. There are no better cheerleaders and brand sellers than military personnel and Veterans.
• Gathering Intel– This is an attribute that is often overlooked. But because of the thought process involved with immersing one’s self into battle, Veterans have been conditioned to study the field, know the rules of engagement, and keep a constant tally on their assets. This type of thinking is second-nature to those who have served, and comes in handy when developing and carrying out a business plan.

Veteran business owners apply these same skills to their businesses. There are numerous other skills and attributes that Veterans picked up through their military experience that contribute to their success as business owners. With the right resources and the right mindset, Veterans know that they can accomplish anything.

The Veteran and Military Business Owners Association (VAMBOA) is a non-profit business trade association that promotes and assists Veteran Business Owners, Service Disabled Veteran Owned Businesses (SDVOB) and Military Business Owners. Small businesses are the backbone of our economy and responsible for job generation. That is why VAMBOA provides its members with Business Coaching, Contracting Opportunities, a Blog that provides information, Networking contacts and other resources. Membership is FREE to Veterans. Join Now!

VAMBOA: Five Examples Why Veteran Are Successful Business Owners: By Debbie Gregory

Back in 2007, Syracuse University played home to the inaugural class of the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities (EBV) program. The EBV program is designed to open the doors of economic opportunities for Disabled Veterans and their families by helping them develop professional networks, and learn how to create and sustain their own businesses.

The EBV program has grown into a national movement, helping over 700 disabled Veterans. Several university campuses across the country now hold entrepreneurship boot camp sessions for Veterans.  Joining Syracuse University’s Whitman School of Management in offering the EBV program to Veterans are Cornell University, Louisiana State University’s E.J. Ourso College of Business, the University of Connecticut’s School of Business, Purdue’s Krannert School of Management, Florida State University’s College of Business, UCLA’s Anderson School of Management, and Texas A&M University’s Mays Business School.

The entrepreneurship training is offered, to qualified Veterans who are accepted into the program, at no charge to the Veterans, and without using any of their GI Bill. For the last seven years, 70% of EBV graduates have gone on to start their own companies.

One EBV success story comes from the very first session at Syracuse in 2007. Marine Corps Veteran John Raftery was preparing to start a contracting firm in Dallas when he read an article about a small business training program for Veterans with disabilities.  The former Marine immediately applied and was accepted into the EBV program.

Raftery credits the program with helping him take the critically important first steps as a small business owner. In 2012, Raftery’s company, Patriot Contractors, Inc., was on a list of the 500 fastest growing companies in the country.

“I don’t think the business would have grown as quickly if not for the EBV program,” Raftery said.

Many Veterans served to preserve the American dream for their countrymen. Thousands of Veterans fulfill their own American dreams when their service to our country has ended. Already proven to have the winning spirit, Veterans make great entrepreneurs.

There are numerous resources available to help Veteran entrepreneurs succeed in their business ventures. The EBV program is just one of many. Please be sure to visit www.VAMBOA.org, as well as VAMBOA’s Resource Page to find out more information on the EBV program and many other state, federal and local programs for Veteran entrepreneurs.

The Veteran and Military Business Owners Association (VAMBOA) is a non-profit business trade association that promotes and assists Veteran Business Owners, Service Disabled Veteran Owned Businesses (SDVOB) and Military Business Owners. Small businesses are the backbone of our economy and responsible for job generation. That is why VAMBOA provides its members with Business Coaching, Contracting Opportunities, a Blog that provides information, Networking contacts and other resources. Membership is FREE to Veterans. Join Now!

VAMBOA: Entrepreneur Bootcamp Success Story: By Debbie Gregory

VAMBOA, a non-profit trade association for Service-disabled business owners, Veteran business owners and Military business owners, works to assist these entrepreneurs start, maintain, and grow their companies.

Veteran and Military Business Owners Association (VAMBOA) is announcing that it has surpassed 5,000 memberships of Service-disabled business owners, Veteran business owners and Military business owners, with over 105,000 followers on Twitter.

In the military, personnel are asked to complete an infinite array of tasks, and failure is not an option. Officers, Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and Airmen are often provided limited resources and miniscule budgets to complete their missions. But through American ingenuity, and a determination that dwells in the hearts of those who serve, they are driven to complete their missions.

Thousands of Veterans have put that same drive into running their own businesses. Veteran owned businesses account for over $1 trillion in receipts per year. Veteran owned businesses are a vital part of our nation’s economy. It is for that reason that federal, state and local governments provide special loans, incentives and allotments to help Veteran owned businesses succeed. There are even further provisions, governed by law, for service-disabled Veterans.

“There are scores of programs and benefits designed to help Service-disabled, Veteran and Military owned businesses succeed,” said VAMBOA’s founder, Debbie Gregory. “At VAMBOA, we have made it our mission to connect these Veterans with the resources they need to start and maintain a successful business.”

Since 2010, VAMBOA has been providing its members with the knowledge of these government provisions that help Service-disabled Veteran business owners, Veteran business owners and military business owners succeed. VAMBOA also assists its members by providing business coaching, links to resources, and networking opportunities that are crucial to the success of their businesses. VAMBOA also connects it members to contacts within large corporations and government agencies who can mentor members, and in some cases, can even directly provide members with government contracts and vending contracts within large corporations.

VAMBOA is a 501(c)6 non-profit organization and does not charge dues for membership. VAMBOA relies on corporate sponsorship. If you would like to find out more about corporate sponsorship, contact VAMBOA’s founder, Debbie Gregory at: info@vamboa.org. VAMBOA has a significant reach and is the Go To Site for Corporations to Connect with Service-disabled and Veteran Business Owners.

How many Veteran entrepreneurs are looking for that next big product, revolutionary business model or improved production plan? Many great innovators often take little credit for the originality of their ideas. They often allege that idea already existed and was in practice elsewhere. And that all they did was take that idea and apply it to a new field. Veteran entrepreneurs might want to look into their past, at their military experience, in order to get ideas that could benefit their futures in business.

It is amazing how great business ideas are born. Many Veteran entrepreneurs have found success by taking practices, standards and ideologies from their military service and applying them to their civilian companies. One of the best examples of this can be found in the business plan of Veteran Entrepreneur Fred Smith.

Smith served three years as an officer in the Marine Corps, from 1966-1969. During his time as a platoon leader, company commander and Forward Air Controller, Smith flew with pilots in over 200 combat missions, low and slow, so that Smith could observe enemy targets. Aside from his Silver Star, Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts, Smith states that his two tours in Vietnam resulted in gaining invaluable knowledge that he later applied to what became the global courier service FedEx.

“Everything that went into FedEx that made the business what it is today relates to what I learned in the Marine Corps, and I’ve always been grateful for that education and for those I’ve served with,” Smith said.

Smith claims that his military experience gave him the foundation for the leadership standards and organizational structure for his company. Smith said that the leadership examples set for him in the Marine Corps prompted him to design a structure for his business, where the components of his company could all work collaboratively, but also function independently if need be. FedEx is famous for promoting from within and building leaders.

“The vast majority of FedEx leaders today started out as pickup or delivery people, or washing airplanes,” Smith said.

Smith also used lessons learned in the military when he revolutionized the industry of parcel delivery. Smith started Federal Express (would later become FedEx) in 1971. Using the example of efficiency that he saw in the military, Smith designed the well-coordinated air-ground operations delivery service that has made FedEx famous.

For any Veteran entrepreneur who is trying to dream up that next great idea, be sure that you remember your experiences in uniform. Because maybe your idea isn’t a dream– maybe it’s something you’ve done a thousand times before, in uniform.

Small businesses start with passion and ideas. But they need funding to get off the ground. The Small Business Administration (SBA) has been a primary resource used by Veterans and civilians for obtaining loans to fund their startups and existing businesses. While the SBA doesn’t directly loan money to business owners, the SBA does guarantee loans made by participating lending institutions.

The basic program utilized by the SBA for small businesses is the 7(a) loan. The 7(a) loan is the most utilized loan by the SBA because it can be used for a multitude of business purposes. Additionally, it is more easily approved, a plus for business owners who may otherwise have difficulties procuring loans directly from lenders. Small business owners, especially those who are just starting their companies, may not have the cash flow that independent lenders require. The SBA serves to provide lenders with an increased guarantee against a defaulted loan. The 7(a) loans are capped at a maximum of $2 million.

In an effort to promote entrepreneurship, the SBA has also taken the initiative to waive fees on smaller loans. On loans under $150,000 guaranteed through the SBA after October 1, 2013, the fees have been set at 0%.

The SBA recently announced that small business borrowers who have or will receive SBA 7(a) guaranteed loans of $150,000 or less during Fiscal Year 2014 (October 1, 2013 – September 30, 2014) will have saved more than $6.3 million. The SBA contends that this number includes fees that were eliminated on the agency’s smallest loans, including approximately $142,000 in savings to 179 borrowers in the Santa Ana, CA District.

The waived fees are part of the SBA’s initiative to make it more cost effective to originate smaller loans.  In addition to the fees that borrowers typically pay based on the amount guaranteed by the government, the ongoing monthly fee paid by SBA lenders will be eliminated for the entire life of 7(a) loans of $150,000 or less made while the initiative is in effect.

The SBA still includes fees on loans greater than $150, 000. On any loan greater than $150,000 with a maturity of one year or shorter, the fee is 0.25 % of the guaranteed portion of the loan. On loans with maturities of more than one year, the fee is 3% of the SBA-guaranteed portion on loans of $150,000 to $700,000, and 3.5 % on loans of more than $700,000. There is also an additional fee of 0.25 % on any guaranteed portion of more than $1 million.

The SBA believes that fees collected from larger loans are expected to offset any losses sustained from the smaller loans.

To participate in the 7(a) Loan Program, a lender must meet requirements that are indicated in the Code of Federal Regulations.

Active duty military, Veterans and any civilian interested in starting a small business should utilize the SBA’s website, www.sba.gov as a valuable resource.