Vets have lots of resources if they want to be entrepreneurs

Brice Wallace 

A veteran transitioning to civilian life will face many challenges, but those wanting to start their own businesses don’t have to go it alone.

At the recent Veteran Owned Business Partnership Conference in Sandy, speakers explained that veteran entrepreneurs have a large group of organizations and individuals ready to help in their efforts.

“There are a lot of resources for veterans. … Educate yourself about those resources and tap into those resources as well,” Mirza Tihic, postdoctoral researcher with the Department of Entrepreneurship and Emerging Enterprises at Syracuse University, told the crowd at Salt Lake Community College.

Rosalinda Vasquez Maury, director of applied research and analytics at the Institute of Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University, said navigating the resources can be challenging and difficult.

“In some cases, it’s really just about knowing what resources are available about financial [matters], what resources are available about government contracting, so obviously education is an opportunity for hopefully helping navigate those resource challenges,” she said.

The institute is in the midst of a three-year project to collect data about veteran entrepreneurship, including two years of surveys. That data might be helpful in helping stem the drop in veteran entrepreneurial activity. Tihic said that while veterans have been involved in entrepreneurial activity at higher rates than nonveterans, the gap has narrowed. In 2005, 15 percent of veterans were entrepreneurs, compared with 11 percent of nonveterans. In 2014, the levels were 12 percent for vets and 10 percent for nonvets. In 2018, the veteran figure of 11 percent was only 1 percent above that of nonvets.

Stats from 2021 indicate veteran entrepreneurs represented 9.1 percent of all U.S. business owners, despite being only 7.6 percent of the population. Combined, those businesses generated about $1 trillion in receipts and employed nearly 6 million Americans.

In Utah, statistics show that the total economic impact of military, defense industry and veteran activity was more than $19 billion in 2019, with veterans contributing more than $3 billion of that figure.

The Syracuse institute is working to fill data gaps in the understanding of veteran and military spouse entrepreneurs, but early survey numbers indicate that 93 percent of veteran entrepreneurs believe that their military skills helped them with their business.

And while 78 percent experienced challenges during the transition from military to civilian life, 56 percent of veteran entrepreneurs say starting a business helped them find a purpose after their military service and 47 percent said entrepreneurship made the transition easier.

Still, they faced challenges, including funding. Survey results show that 86 percent had support from friends and family to start their business, but 63 percent said navigating local community resources was not easy. Many veteran entrepreneurs had trouble finding a good salesperson for the business or finding a local business incubator or nonprofit that helps business owners. Forty-seven percent had trouble finding an incubator, and one-third were not even aware that they were an available resource.

About one-fourth of those surveyed indicated they were unable to secure the capital needed to grow their businesses, while others reported difficulty in obtaining certifications and finding government contracts.

But help is out there, the speakers said, including from an alphabet soup of organizations — the SBA, VBOC, SBDC, WBDC, SCORE and PTAC — but also from companies that want to work with veteran business partners and from mentors, advisors, service providers and other veteran business owners.

Those who work hard to conduct market research and analysis could find themselves someday as successful as other veteran business owners, such as Phil Knight of Nike (Army), Frederick Smith of FedEx (Marines) and Bob Parsons of GoDaddy (Marines).

Tihic said veterans need to understand that it’s OK to ask for assistance in starting a business and that “intelligence gathering” about available local and national resources can help them make better decisions.

“Explore all resources you have when it comes to finances, financial resources, and then make an informed decision,” Tihic said. “Don’t just rush into it emotionally. I know when you start a business and grow a business, there’s a lot of emotions involved in it, but you want to use data and you want to look at resources out there to make smart decisions — smart, strategic decisions.”

The conference was presented by the Veteran Business Resource Center, Zions Bank, the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity, the South Valley Chamber, the Utah Department of Veterans & Military Affairs, the Utah Veteran Owned Business Partnership, the Military Affairs Committee and SLCC’s The Mill Entrepreneurship Center.