For the month of October, we’re focusing on service-disabled veterans who are current or aspiring business owners. The resilience of service-disabled veterans translates well into business ownership, and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) recognizes service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSBs) as an integral part of the veteran business community.
To prepare for business ownership, service-disabled veterans can take advantage of the SBA’s free entrepreneurial training through the Service-Disabled Veteran Entrepreneurship Program (SDVETP), which is comprised of four separate tracks:
- Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities (EBV) combines entrepreneurial education with hands-on experience to guide you through the process of small business ownership by providing training, professional networking opportunities, and support to successfully launch your business.
- Veterans Entrepreneurship Program (VEP) is an experiential learning program offered by the Riata Center for Entrepreneurship at Spears School of Business at Oklahoma State University. This program provides you with focused and practical training on business creation and growth, while offering continued support for you once you graduate.
- Veterans Entrepreneurial Jumpstart Program is an entrepreneurial training program hosted by St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, PA. Like VEP, this program is executed in three phases, and provides you with focused and practical training in business creation and growth while providing ongoing support to you once you graduate.
- Dog Tag Inc. is an immersive educational program comprised of an educational component at Georgetown University, and an experiential component at Dog Tag Bakery, where you will experience small business ownership firsthand.
SDVOSBs also have an advantage in the federal marketplace. When it comes to government contracting, did you know that the federal government strives to award at least 3% of all federal contracting dollars to SDVOSBs each year? Taking your business or products to the federal marketplace can be a great source of revenue for your business.
In addition to SDVETP, the SBA has other resources to help you on your journey to business ownership, from government contracting preparation through the Veteran Federal Procurement Entrepreneurship Training Program (VFPETP) to general business advice and counseling through one of 22 nationwide Veterans Business Outreach Centers (VBOCs). As your entrepreneurial one-stop shop, VBOCs empower you to start, purchase or grow your own business.
To learn more about the resources available for service-disabled veterans, visit sba.gov/veterans.
