Justin Constantine had successfully finished law school and was a practicing attorney on Capitol Hill[m1] . He had also survived a near fatal attack in Iraq and was awarded the Purple Heart. But accomplished as he may have been, when it came to starting his own business, he still needed assistance[m2] .
“Without some help, this whole process would have been very difficult for me,” he said. “The SBA was extremely helpful on many levels.”
Constantine referred to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and the services it provides to aspiring vetrepreneurs, including specialized services for veteran-owned businesses. Constantine not only received free counseling and informational materials from the SBA, but was also one of the first participants in the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities (EBV) and has received a Patriot Express Loan.
Counseling and training
The SBA provides numerous services from the very beginning stages of planning and creation of a business to finding financing to support for continued success. William Elmore, associate administrator of the SBA’s Office of Veterans Business Development (http://www.sba.gov/aboutsba/sbaprograms/ovbd/OVBD_VBOP.html).
Elmore breaks the various services provided by SBA into three integral areas. “The first is the business counseling and training services. It is a very serious decision to start a new business,” he said, “We want our veterans to understand how serious it is.”
The planning process can actually begin by accessing the services from the SBA available online at www.sba.gov or by a visit to one of the many available centers. The SBA has 68 district offices, eight specific Veteran’s Centers and 1,400 satellite offices throughout the country, and each of them can assist veterans, especially through the Veteran’s Business Development Officers (VBDO).
Financing
The second critical area to start a new business is financing, according to Elmore. The SBA works with thousands of lenders and assists with identifying viable sources for financial backing for a new business including looking at personal savings, private loans and government financing. Veterans are eligible financing that may not be available to others, including the Patriot Express Loan.
The SBA also assists with developing and writing a business plan. “A well developed business plan helps you decide if you can realistically find funding and can you pay it back,” said Elmore.
Constantine used the Patriot Express Pilot Loan Initiative when he established his T-shirt company, Iraqandback.com (also Aghanistanandback.com) to help purchase inventory. “We really needed the loan to keep inventory in the warehouse. You can get a much better deal when you buy a larger amount, so the loan made it much more cost-effective,” he said.
Procurement of Government Contracts
The third key area that Elmore identified where the SBA can be of particular value to veteran business owners is the service to assist with the procurement of government contracts. “This is a huge market for business owners, but it is also hugely competitive. We have a special tutorial to guide someone through the process as well as the counselors,” said Elmore. Veterans may also have a competitive edge in the award process, and the counselors can assist with the “very complex navigating through the process” according to Elmore.
Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities (EBV)
Now in its third year, the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities (EBV), a management training and mentorship program offered through the SBA and six universities, was recently expanded. The EBV, a “highly competitive and very stringent” program according to Elmore, provides training and mentorship for disabled veterans starting their own businesses and is totally sponsored by scholarships for those accepted.
Constantine, a participant in EBV said, “I learned so much, I can’t even begin to describe it. I attended right when I was launching the business and it was incredibly valuable.”
For more information about the SBA and programs for veterans, visit www.sba.gov.
The Patriot Express Pilot Loan Initiative
The Patriot Express loan was developed to assist veterans and military community members with loans of up to $500,000 and ensures a quick turn around time in the lending process. The loans also feature low interest rates according to Elmore. Many business expenses including start up funding, equipment and inventory purchases, and business-related real-estate purchases are covered by the loans.
Since the beginning of the program, almost $400 million has been lent to more than 4,700 veterans and military community members. The program was expanded this past year by more than 20 percent from 2008, thanks to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
For more information about the Patriot Express Pilot Loan visit www.sba.gov/patriotexpress.com.