As a veteran, many of the skills you learned in the military can be especially helpful in running a business. The wide range of hard and soft skills you acquired through service can be transferred with great success to the private sector. Many veterans are doing just that.
According to the United States Small Business Association (SBA), 2 1/2 million businesses are run by veterans. Nearly one in 10 U.S. businesses are veteran-owned. They cover the entire range of business types: from professional and technical services to consulting, construction, consumer products, and more.
While funding can be an obstacle for many new entrepreneurs, veterans have some advantages. Federal agencies are required to set aside a certain amount of funding for vets. This is especially helpful, given that many veterans lack sufficient credit history to obtain funding from traditional sources like banks.
In this guide, we outline the steps youโll take to get a successful company off the ground. Weโll dive deep into each step and explain exactly what you need. Weโll introduce you to the wide range of excellent resources that can help you turn an idea into a successful business.
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Every good business begins with a good idea. Since youโre reading this article, you might already have a great idea that youโre trying to turn into a reality.
However, if youโre not in this category but still want to work for yourself, youโre not out of luck. Itโs common for first-time entrepreneurs to spend as much time coming up with their business idea as they do getting it off the ground. The questions below will help you lock on to whatever business ideas could work best for you.
The first question youโll want to answer is whether you have any specific skills that would transition easily into starting a business. Chances are that you learned quite a large range of skills in the military that will translate easily into your own project. Did you work as an electrician? That might be a good answer. How about logistics? Even if these areas donโt fit, with some creative thinking you can come up with some good ideas. Do you have any other skills you obtained before joining the military? Those might also be of good use.
The second question is whether thereโs something that specifically interests you. This may be one of the most important things you need to answer. If youโre going to do a job and do it well, youโre going to want to like what itโs you do. If you enjoy something, the chances are that youโll be better at it. Beyond that, having a passion for something you like to do will make your days go by a lot better. As the saying goes, if you love your job, youโll never have to work a day in your life. Itโll be your driving force and what will get you out of bed in the morning. It could be that your hobby could become your profession.
Thirdly, look at your existing resources. You might already have in hand various things that might suit you. For instance, if you already have access to a storefront โ perhaps itโs from a family business โ this can be a good start to getting you going. Similarly, if you have built up a solid tool shed and have a large set of tools, you might be already set up to begin some sort of maintenance, carpentry, or odd jobs business. Remember, one of the largest barriers to a business is expense. If you have anything already on hand, youโre already partially ahead of the game.
Another thing to do is to look for an existing need in your community. There may be a shortage of people with a certain set of skills in your town or a business that doesnโt exist beyond a certain driving distance. You might find yourself filling a niche that has been needed for a long time. It never hurts to talk to people about what sort of things that they wish they had available to them. There may be a need that people have that they might not even realize. If you can come up with this, sometimes a simple need can be translated into a profitable business.
Government contracts can be very lucrative, and veterans are often given special consideration when bidding them. Spend some time browsing the following resources, looking for opportunities that align with your skills and interests:
An often-overlooked area of starting a business is the need to create a clear business plan ahead of time. You need to have a plan in place to get from where youโre now to where you want to be. Itโs best to lay out this information well before you begin. Set a few milestones, including dates, for how you plan on obtaining a set of individual goals.
Not only is this a good idea, and helps you find a way of measuring your success, but itโs also necessary if you intend on getting some help in financing your business. Weโll address this a bit later in this article.
A business plan is a document that provides a summary or overview of your business, including a simple summary that can be presented to potential investors or others interested in your ideas, an overview of how you plan on running your company, analysis of the market โ who is your competition โ how your business will be organized, how you plan on developing and producing a product โ if thatโs your plan โ financial projections, and more. Letโs break these down.
The first part of your business plan will be an executive summary. An executive summary provides a quick overview of your entire business plan. Itโs useful for readers to get a brief glimpse of your plan without having to read the entire document. In most cases, the entire document will be read, but this serves as an introduction to make absorbing the information easier. You should consider this to be one of the most important parts of your entire business plan. It should have the following pieces.
The Mission Statement
This should be a brief paragraph describing what your business is, and what needs itโs attempting to meet. Define your higher-level goals here, including what you wish to accomplish.
General Information
Hereโs where you can provide some insight into the thinking behind your business. For example, you should include when it was formed, and who you are. Include everyone involved in creating the business, such as your business partners, and list what roles each of youโll fulfill, the number of employees you have or expect to have, and where itโs located.
Highlights
If you already have started your business, this is a good place to mention any milestones you have already achieved. Include your gross earnings or other financials. Itโs normal to want to bolster your credentials by including overly rosy information about your financial achievements. However, itโs important to tell the truth here, especially since this will come into play at some point in the future when you pay your taxes. The point, however, is to provide a positive snapshot of where your business is and where itโs going based on these numbers.
Products and/or Services
This is where you describe what product or services your business provides. Outline who your primary customers are or will be.
Financials
This section is crucial if you plan on getting any financial assistance from an official outside source, such as a bank or loaning institution, or if you plan on selling equity in your business. If you have any existing loans or grants, you should list these here.
Plans
Explain how you intend for your business to grow. You should create several projections about where you plan or wish your business to be in the next three to five years.
After you have constructed your executive summary, youโll want to go into some more detail about your company and the unique proposition that you have constructed, including your plan on how youโll be successful.
Youโll want to give a brief pitch for what your company does that nobody else already does โ at least in your area. Failing that you can go into an explanation for why youโre better than your competition. Think of this as a brief statement that you might commit to memory so that you have an answer for when someone asks you what itโs you do.
After this, provide a value proposition. Go into some detail about the nature of the existing market and why youโll help fill a gap that exists. Youโll also want to describe the structure of your company. Is this something youโll be running by yourself? Will you have partners? How many employees will you have, and what roles will they fulfill? Here, youโll also want to explain how youโre legally set up. Weโll go into some detail later about various types of legal business types there are.
Before going into business, itโs important to have a clear sense of the landscape. Whatโs your competition? Are there many competitors in your niche reaching your particular area? You should identify how much money is typically spent on your product or service, and research what possible areas there are for growth.
Describe your industry in general, report on market trends, and provide the outlook for how your general segment of this market sector will trend in the near future.
Identify who your target market is. You may want to draw up a few personas that would represent your ideal customer. How old are they? Are they predominantly male or female? How much money do they have available to spend? Youโll also need to clarify how long itโll take to get your product to your consumer from the moment they request it to the moment you deliver it.
Next, youโll need to provide detailed results of any market research that you have done. Identify by name who your top competitors will be. Identify if thereโs more work available than they can provide. This may be true in many service sectors. For instance, it can often be several months between the time a customer requests, say, a roofing job to be done and the time that your competition can fulfill this request. If itโs more than a month or so, you have a great opportunity here.
Define your businessโ management structure here. Youโll need to include how many employees youโll have, and what roles theyโll fulfill. Define your ownership structure here as well. If youโre a sole proprietor, with no employees, say so. If there are several other people who have invested equity into your company, explain their roles.
This is also a good place to bring up your background as a veteran. If youโre forming this business with several other veterans, include that information here as well. This will come in particularly handy if youโre attempting to get some funding from a source that specializes in supporting veterans.
If you need people with specific talents, youโll need to identify what roles you need to fulfill, and what sort of credentials and experience youโll expect from them.
Hereโs where you cover what services or products you intend to sell. Provide a basic description of the product or service. Describe how it meets the needs of your potential customers or clients. Explain why your product or service is better than your competition. If itโs a new product, go into detail about what it is, and what features it has. If itโs new, is it available right away or do you need investment to get it created and produced? Explain all of this. If you need to do more research, thatโs okay, but include this in your plan, including the research you plan on doing, and what resources you need to accomplish your goals.
Do you plan on relying on external vendors or manufacturers for providing you with the product? Explain this clearly, including how to get needed materials and supplies.
If youโre entering into the tech sector, youโll likely want to make some statements about your intellectual property. Digital products are relatively easy to steal so make sure you have covered the mental labor you have put into creating your tool or product. Make sure you register or patent any inventions and list those patent numbers here.
Money is important for running most businesses. Thereโs a high chance that you may not have a large amount of money available, but itโs very important to outline what itโs you do have and how you plan on raising the necessary capital.
Provide records for your:
If you have any documentation on accounts receivable (A/R) or accounts payable (A/P), youโll need to list these out as well.
Remember, if youโre attempting to get a loan from a bank or other source, this information will need to be accurate and verifiable.
You also need to plan out for the future. You should create statements on your:
If you are trying to get money from outside sources, make this explicitly clear here. How much do you need at this moment? Will you need more in the future? Explain all of this.
Now we need to get into the nitty-gritty of going through the legal procedures for operating a business. It may seem like a pain but itโll save you many problems in the future.
This part might seem easy, or it may be difficult. Either way, once youโve come up with a good brand name, youโll need to register that name with your local state authorities as a doing business as (DBA). This will enable you to cash any checks issued to that business into a bank account you create for your company.
These are the main types of businesses:
Donโt forget this. Your company once it has been established legally will need to be registered with federal and, where applicable, state and local authorities. Youโll likely need to get an employer identification number (EIN), although, in some cases, you can use your Social Security number. Check with the federal government to find out if you need one.
While this may be a chore, this is important. These vary from state to state and locality to locality and depend on what your specific product or service is. Youโll need to research before you even think of getting started.
You may need money to get started. The good news is that there are a lot of places you can look for help.
If you have a new and innovative product that will interest many people but hasnโt yet been realized, crowdfunding sources, such as Kickstarter, may be a great place to get funding. People will often contribute money in advance for a new product for a chance of getting their hands on this new product or a special offer in advance. Itโs a form of small-level investing that has launched many new businesses.
You may be able to get a loan from your bank or, even better, as a veteran you may find that you can obtain a loan from places that specialize specifically in providing loans to those who have served in the armed forces.
Beyond banks, you can consider using the Veterans Business Fund. This is a nonprofit organization designed to provide veterans with the resources and loans that they need to begin their journey into the business world. This fund isnโt currently accepting new applicants but is expected to resume soon.
Some organizations will give you money outright in the form of a grant, which you donโt need to repay. Here are a couple that are available:
Beyond funding, there are several other resources available to help veterans run their companies.
One area that may seem like a natural fit for many veterans is to work directly with the federal government as an independent contractor. If youโre a veteran you already have experience working for the government. Therefore, why not convert them into a business partner or customer?
To be able to do business with the government, you need to be registered as a government contractor. This is a necessity if you plan on having the government as a customer. Youโll also need to become familiar with the General Services Administration (GSA) that is the agency which manages any contracts with the government.
If youโre looking for help, here are a couple of resources:
Of course, there are resources not directly tied to the government. There are many nonprofits that will help as well. One such organization is the National Veteran Small Business Coalition, which is one of the more comprehensive and full-service organizations. It offers networking opportunities, support in finding funding and seeking mentorships. Itโs veteran-run and very much veteran-focused.
Maybe youโre just looking for some good resources to help you learn how to navigate these sometimes treacherous waters of beginning a business. There are a wide range of companies that can help provide courses and information that you may need, including:
One of the key parts of business is connecting with other business owners. Here are many useful resources for veterans:
If you have a veteran-related disability, you may want to check out some of these resources:
Thereโs a range of companies who provide useful savings for veterans, which may be useful in your business:
The Office of Veteransโ Business Development (OVBD): This is the SBAโs liaison with the veteranโs business community. Its โmission is to maximize the availability, applicability, and usability of all administration small business programs for veterans, service-disabled veterans, reserve component members, and their dependent survivors.โ The OVBD assists with training, counseling, mentorship, and oversight of federal entrepreneurship programs.
VetFran: Extensive research shows that veterans regularly find success as franchisees. The veteranโs success is due to the unique match of skills and aptitude needed to meet the rigorous demands of small business ownership. Veterans make up approximately 14% of all franchisees in the U.S. and VetFran encourages and facilitates the franchisor/franchisee partnership by encouraging discounts and incentives from the former while providing resources and tools to the latter.
Bunker Labs: Bunker Labs is a nonprofit that organizes events bringing military-connected entrepreneurs and veteran small business owners together. Bunker Labsโ online entrepreneurship curriculum helps aspiring business owners move their business from idea to fruition. Ongoing support from the community allows Bunker Labs to provide practical tools and resources to veteran business owners.
Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF): The IVMF focuses on advancing the post-service lives of our nationโs military veterans and their families. Syracuse University and JPMorgan Chase & Co are its main supporters and, through its world-class advisory board, provide career training, entrepreneurship education, and actionable research which helps foster small business ownership of veterans and active-duty military spouses.
National Veteran-Owned Business Association (NaVOBA): The NaVOBA is another non-profit on our list. It supports businesses that are at least 51% owned, operated, or controlled by veterans by providing networking opportunities and training events. The NaVOBA works with more than 135 of the worldโs largest corporations to engage and ensure veteran business enterprises (VBEs) are procurement-ready.
GovConOps: GovConOps is a consulting group for government contractors. Its focus is on preparing contractors for success in the preaward and post-award phases of government contracting. Its managing principals and directors have more than 15 years of combined experience producing favorable dispute resolution results. This service is on top of providing services such as audit and investigation assistance, contract advisory and compliance services, business development, and marketing.
Starting a business isnโt easy. As you have read, thereโs much to think about when youโve endeavored to enter into this realm. However, as a veteran, courage is one thing you likely donโt lack.
Itโs still difficult, but the good news is that there are some fantastic opportunities for veterans. I hope this guide will serve you well.
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