By James Pruitt, Senior Staff Writer

Anyone can start a small business. As your business grows, you may absorb greater liabilities. Soon enough, operations may complexify. At some point in this process, your procedures should account for the unforeseeable. Natural disasters may occur, as well as conflicts with customers or even with the court system. At this point, before you know it, your own assets may be at risk.

From the beginning, the best safeguard is a good records system. Even with your first small Etsy transactions, your standardized procedure for recording the most casual purchases may still hold credibility with a variety of governmental bodies, including unemployment and other administrative tribunals, should conflicts arise. 

Remember, as the demands on your new business turn more hectic and bustling, separation of your own assets from those of your business becomes more crucial. 

Different Business Entities

Fortunately, transforming your business into any one of several legal corporate entities may keep this oil and water separate, in order to simplify matters when complexities arise.

As your business develops, the business may shape-shift so that the institution should split from the ownership. After this split, creditors can no longer reach the private assets of the ownership. 

Incorporation can close a veil between the business and the ownership. The separation between ownership and operation allows fair accounting in situations where new stakeholders come into the picture, or situations complicate themselves beyond the owner’s ability to manage. 

Different kinds of incorporation may include registration as an S or C corporation or an LLC, or “limited liability company,” which often protects a business when multiple stakeholders drive the business’s direction. S corporations are most popular among small businesses because of the tax benefits.

Many small, home-based companies often don’t bother to take such measures. Incorporation may require annual fees, as well as differing taxation requirements. Some businesspeople may not find either incorporation or registration as an LLC worth their while. They may feel the corporate body itself may transform into an unwieldy entity not worth the benefits from the business endeavor itself. Either choice is valid. However, business incorporation does provide many tax advantages as well as protection from creditors, absent extenuating circumstances.

Business Insurance 

Incorporation with the state is not the only way to protect private assets. Several types of business insurance provide additional protection beyond a strong corporate veil between the owner and the institution itself. Business insurance diverges into countless varieties including business interruption insurance, property insurance, and workplace compensation insurance, as well as many more. Many sorts of business insurance protect against sudden disasters and accidents 

Remember Your Plan B

Even outside your business proper, your underlying skills may serve you as a freelancer. Business owners may freely utilize their talents outside their LLC or registered corporation. Additionally, freelance work often serves as a contingency plan when the main enterprise sputters. Remember that even in the worst-case scenario, no one can take away your talents and skills.

The Bottom Line

Fairness dictates the separation of a business itself from the assets of the owners in many situations. The operations of a business may bring in additional stakeholders whose missteps may drive the corporate direction wayward, and often, unforeseeable problems should stay within the corporate confines. Regardless of the type of corporate structure, entrepreneurs should prepare for sudden business problems to stay business problems whenever possible, and not immediately cause the ruin of hearth and home.

VAMBOA, the Veterans and Military Business Owners Association hope that this article has not only been valuable but provided some unique perspective.  We work hard to bring you important, positive, helpful, and timely information and are the “go-to” online venue for Veteran and Military Business Owners.  VAMBOA is a non-profit trade association.   We do not charge members any dues or fees and members can also use our seal on their collateral and website.   If you are not yet a member, you can register here:  https://vamboa.org/member-registration/

We also invite you to check us out on social media too.

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/vamboa

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/VAMBOA

Do not forget that VAMBOA members receive significant discounts on technology needs.   Check them out here: https://vamboa.org/dell-technologies/ 

Companies now “get it” and realize the value that Veterans bring to the their companies.  This has increased their recruitment offers for Veterans.  Recruiting Veterans also hits many of the boxes for Diversity and Inclusion.   As a result the jobless rate for Veterans has decreased significantly, less than half from 6.6 percent in 2013 to 3.1 percent in 2019 (pre-Covid).

We think that this list might be an asset to Veteran Small Business Owners that more often than not, hire Veterans when they are looking to add employees.

Forbes in partnership with the market research firm, Statista surveyed more than 5,000 United States Veterans who served including National Guard and Reserves.  All of those survey work either full or part time for over 1,000 employers.   The survey was conducted from March, 2020 to June June, 2020.  It asked respondents to evaluate their employers’ working conditions and approach to diversity and inclusion as well as whether their environment is veteran-friendly.  Below is a list of the Best Employers.   On a personal note, a company in my own county, Harbor Freight Tools in Camarillo, California (located in Ventura county) came in first.

Some additional factors to consider in this survey are that men outnumbered women in Forbes’ survey, a reflection of the predominance of men in the armed forces, and a substantial percentage of respondents, 40%, held upper management positions. Some 8% of veterans said they worked in the aerospace and defense industry, compared to 2.7% of respondents for Forbes’ 2019 list of America’s Best Employers.

On a personal note, I want to add a few companies that I personally know values, hires, and invests in Veteran Employees.  Johnson and Johnson not only hire Veterans but has an entire department to provide resources as does Dell Technologies.   VAMBOA salutes all these Veteran Friendly companies.

Below is the Forbes full list of the 150 Best Employers for Veterans:

AMERICA’S BEST EMPLOYERS FOR VETERANS 2020 LIST

By Debbie Gregory.

Veteran-owned small businesses have a lot to offer, to their customers, their communities, and to prospective employees. Despite the focus and push for veteran employment through diversity and inclusion, there needs to be greater focus on supplier diversity for veteran owned businesses.  I also believe that corporations need to integrate their Supplier Diversity, Inclusion and Diversity and Veteran Affinity and mentorship groups for real success.

Some interesting stats according to the Small Business Administration (SBA):

• Veterans are a key part of any supplier diversity program.
• Veterans are one of the most successful groups of business owners in America.
• 1 in 10 businesses are veteran-owned.
• Veterans are 30% more likely to hire other veterans.
• 5% of VOSB’s operate in the professional, scientific, technical services industries, and the construction industry.
• 1 % are in wholesale and retail trade.

Don’t Just Hire Veterans – Do Business with Them! There are many good reasons to work with veteran-owned businesses.

• Know the Rules

The federal government requires 3% of the total value of all prime contract and subcontract awards go to Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSBs).

• Finding Veteran-Owned Businesses

The very best way to find a veteran-owned business is to search connect with and sponsor trade associations such as VAMBOA with huge memberships of Veteran Business Owners.   VAMBOA, the Veterans and Military Business Owners Association can connect the RFIs and RFPs of your corporation with our network of over 7,000 members.

I believe that time is at a premium for small Veteran and Service-Disabled Businesses as it is for the corporations that are required to have a diverse supplier network.  Instead of spending the time of staff and the expense of attending conference, become a VAMBOA sponsor and we will place your message online to our large membership and on social media with almost a quarter of a million fans and followers.

• Do Your Research
  There are good vendors and bad ones. Simply having a federal VOSB/SDVOSB certification does not mean that the vendor is experienced or any good at their job. Always ask for work examples or references as you would with any vendor, supplier, or potential employee.

Any company can slap a “veteran-owned” sticker on their location or product but some may not be honest, and fraud is a concern. Most states will certify a business as VOSB/SDVOSB if they have their federal VA certification. Before doing business make sure that you request a copy of that certification.

• Get Management on Board

You will need to gain the support of your senior management in order to add veteran-owned businesses to your approved supplier lists. Veteran-owned businesses now provide almost every type of product or service you can think of.  Make sure the entire company is on the same page about including VOSB/SDVOSBs. Veterans hit all the boxes as they are diverse group including minorities, women and disabled.

• Educate Your Purchasing and Contract Departments
  Once you are sure that you have clearly outlined your goals for including veterans in your diversity supplier efforts, provide well researched lists to your key personnel of veteran-owned businesses to help jump-start the process. The most common internal pushback is lack of access to known veteran-owned businesses. If you cannot find them – it is hard to work with them. Make it as easy as possible for your employees to include VOSB/SDVOSBs when your company is looking for a vendor or supplier. The very best way is to become a VAMBOA sponsor.  Contact us.
• Tipping the Bidding Scales in Your Favor
  Sometimes working with veteran-owned businesses can bring you a competitive edge when bidding a job. Certain agencies will give preference to companies that utilize VOSB/SDVOSBs. Each federal agency sets participation goals for small businesses in procurement contracts. Regulations require Federal purchases over $10,000, but less than $250,000 to automatically reserve, or set-aside, a portion of the contract monies for small businesses.

Working with VOSB/SDVOSB can help you, the VOSB/SDVOSB you work with, and our economy in general. Next time you need a new supplier, vendor, or partner it may be in your best interest to find one being run by a vet.   Contact VAMBOA.

By Debbie Gregory.

Happy New Year to our Veteran and Military Business Owners.   There are always many tasks for entrepreneurs to do and not always enough time to do them.   This is an excellent time to start with a fresh prospective, plan and focus.   You may want to reflect on the prior year and refocus your energy.   Below is a list to begin 2020:

1. Recap & Forecast: Now is a good time to look at where you are and where you want to go with your business.   Review your return on investment, ROI on major projects, your finances and your goals.   Make sure you and your team understands your goals for the coming year.   This will make any changes easier.  It is a also an excellent time to  gain valuable input on what works, what can be improved and what has not worked.

If you have a team, you need to talk with them and develop an understanding of their roles and how they feel about them.   The New Year is an excellent tine for an annual review.    This is the time to perform your due diligence and be proactive to place you ahead of your competition.    Consider this to be your plan for success in 2020.

2. ROI Marketing Focus: Your focus in determining your 2020 marketing initiatives must be what is the ROI (Return on Investment) on each initiative.  These include social media, advertising, blogs,brand building and more.  Not every marketing initiative is measurable but you should evaluate those you can.   You want to direct your money and resources to those initiatives that pay off for you.

3. Look At Industry Trends: You need to take the temperature of what is going on within your own industry as well a industries that impact yours such as your suppliers.  This will enable you to react to changes and be proactive.   If the Trade Wars with China or oil prices affect your business, you need to take all of this into consideration and be prepared for a worst case scenario.

4. Realistic Financial Goals: It makes a great deal of sense to put your financial goals in writing at the beginning of a New Year to achieve them.  You may want to check out SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time bound) and OKRs (objectives and key results) formats.   This can include creating a list of objectives and key results for each area of your business (such as sales, finance, marketing, manufacturing and product development, etc.).   Each member of your team needs to have a keen understanding of their goals for the new year and how they are going to achieve them.

You might want look into affordable financing options for your business too.   This can make sense even for thriving businesses because the best time to look for financing is when your business is doing well.   Don’t take out loans unless you need one to grow your business and take it to the next level.

5. Look at Automating Your Business: You might want to look into automated software solutions that will enable you to automate accounting, customer management and time tracking  to allow you to focus on accomplishing the real work.  Automating your finances will also provide you valuable input into better managing your cash flow and ROI and to forecast properly.

6. Working Remotely: This is a good time to determine if some or all of your business can be done remotely.  Remote work is a trend and many believe that almost three-quarters of all  departments will have remote workers by 2028.   You may want to look at whether hiring remote workers and freelancers can benefit your business.   This is not viable for every business such as a retail store.   However, for some businesses, it can reduce the cost of office space and enable you to draw from a larger pool of talent.   We recommend that if you are considering a remote staff that you look into collaborative and communication tools.

7. Mentors: Mentors are one of the most valuable resources for any business at any level.  Mentors provide objective advise, experience and access to a larger network of resources and people.   Almost all small business owners believe that mentors have had a direct impact on the growth and success of their business.   Those who don’t have a mentor, wish that they did.   If you don’t have mentors, the new year is a a good time to find them and start the year right.

By Debbie Gregory.

Ever since World War II, military veterans have consistently created and innovated businesses in America. Veterans are generally quite good at looking at the world, figuring out what is missing from it, and learning to create those solutions. Veterans are responsible for brands such as FedEX, Nike, and GoDaddy. New technology companies such as Sybase, Skybox Imaging, Ustream, RedOwl, Rhumbix and RideScout have also been created and are run by veterans.

Some remarkable veterans who saw needs and created the frameworks, movements, networks, and methodologies that changed the way people think and currently do business:

1.) Angel Investor – Will Bunker

In 1990 Will, a former Marine, built one of the largest dating sites in existence, which later became Match.com. Recently he co-founded GrowthX to fund startups and the GrowthX Academy to help people learn the skills to be better salespeople, growth marketers, and UX designers.

2.) Athos – Don Faul, CEO

Don, a former Marine, is a current leader in smart performance apparel that monitors your biosignals. Prior to his involvement with Athos he led Facebook’s online operations, and was COO of Pinterest.

3.) CrossLead – David Silverman, Founder and CEO

David was a Navy Seal and createad CrossLead to help companies leverage real-time data to better understand their networks and build better teams of people.

4.) Esurance – Chuck Wallace, Co-Founder

Wallace, a former Airman, was a key player on the teams that created Automatic, Ustream.TV, and USell.   He then came up with a new way to sell insurance and started Esurance, which quickly became one of the fastest growing insurance companies in the US.

5.) Lean Startup Movement – Steve Blank, Creator

Blank is a former Air Force mechanic turned entrepreneur and is known as the “Godfather of Silicon Valley” for his role authoring innovative books in the Lean Startup movement, which have been implemented by millions of startups worldwide.

6.) Maker Movement Pioneer – Mark Hatch

Hatch is a former Special Forces leader who currently runs the Green Beret network on LinkedIn, he is a partner at Network Society Ventures and is an author. He helped pioneer the Maker Movement and through his works he continues to help future makers and tinkerers.

7.) Social Media Maven – Koka Sexton

Sexton is a former Army officer who is one of the world’s leading minds in social media. Sexton used to head LinkedIN’s social media department, created Social Selling Labs to provide sales resources, and is currently working for the most-used social media management tool – Hootsuite.

8.) Startup List – Nick Frost, Creator

Frost is a Navy veteran who created Startup List in his bunk in Iraq. He currently works as a curator at the Mattermark Daily newsletter.

9.) StreetShares – Mark Rockefeller, Co-Founder

Rockefeller, a former Air Force officer co-founded StreetShares and a created a new way to match borrowers with investors. Recently the company added Veteran Business Bonds to their offerings to better support veteran businesses.

10.) The Lean Product Playbook – Dan Olsen, Author

Olsen, a former Naval Officer, has been a leader in Silicon Valley for over 20 years. His experiences working on nuclear submarine designs led him to write a practical step-by-step book for lean startups that is used by thousands of entrepreneurs each year.

11.) VC Trailblazers – Pitch Johnson and Bill Draper

Johnson (Air Force) and Draper (Army) were some of the venture capitalists on the West Coast back in the early 1960s. They created Asset Management Ventures and Sutter Hill Ventures and through these companies they have funded a staggering number of other companies.