The Small Business Administration’s Office of Veterans Business Development is excited to share that 50,000 service members and military spouses have taken part in the SBA’s Boots to Business Program since it started in 2012. The milestone 50,000th participant was a service member at McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita, Kansas.
Over the past four years, Boots to Business has offered entrepreneurship training and counseling to veterans, service-disabled veterans, military spouses, and members of the National Guard and Reserve. This latest graduate joins a growing community of successful military entrepreneurs, contributing to the 2.4 million veteran-owned businesses that employ over 5 million Americans. These businesses play a significant role in boosting the American economy.
The Boots to Business Program is delivered through partnerships with the SBA resource partner network, which includes SCORE, Small Business Development Centers, Women’s Business Centers, and Veterans Business Outreach Centers, along with the Department of Defense, local SBA district offices, and transition service managers.
Currently, Boots to Business offers free entrepreneurship training at more than 165 military installations and communities. Graduates of the program are 53 percent more likely to start a business, and 91 percent of those businesses are still operating a year later.
Boots to Business has helped launch the entrepreneurial careers of many service members, veterans, and military spouses, including:
– Michael and Kerry Stacks, who started Bold Mariner Brewing Company with the help of a local VBOC and an SBA-backed loan.
– Torrance Hart, who used Boots to Business training and local VBOC counseling to start the successful e-commerce business Teak & Twine after leaving the Air Force.
– Tony Turin, who attended a Boots to Business workshop to learn how to open an optometry business, Mt. Hood Eye Care, with his wife, Kim. Their business plan received a $15,000 grant from Citi Salutes.
– Thom Besch, a retired US Army Colonel, who contacted a local VBOC and attended a Reboot class to find resources for his existing solar panel business, Veteran Solar Systems.
Service members interested in participating in Boots to Business should reach out to their Transition Assistance Program (TAP) coordinator or visit the SBA website.
During National Veterans Small Business Week from Oct. 31 to Nov. 4, and in the following weeks, share your veteran small business success story or show your support for veteran entrepreneurs by joining the conversation online using #MyVetBiz.
For more information about National Veterans Small Business Week events, courses, and resources to support your entrepreneurial success, visit the SBA website.
