4 Steps To Starting a Veteran-Owned Business
If you’re a veteran who’s thinking of starting a small business, you’re in good company. Veteran business owners are a powerful driver of entrepreneurship. Getting started on the right foot is the biggest challenge. What are the steps to take, and what are the most important things to focus on? Here are the main priorities to put your energy toward as you set up your enterprise.
1. Come Up With Your Idea
This may already be a done deal. You’ve been sitting on an idea for years and are ready to research veteran loans and get started. If so, you’re in luck. Otherwise, take stock of your skills, interests, resources, and needs in your community or niche. Veterans have a unique skill set that translates well into a variety of settings. Leverage this to your advantage.
2. Create Your Business Plan
Give yourself plenty of time to get this part right. Your end result will vary according to the type of business you’re starting, but you still need to draft a high-quality, impressive plan in order to get attention from lenders and other stakeholders. Most plans include an executive summary, company overview, market analysis, business organization outline, product development plan, and financial plan/projections.
3. Register Your Business
This plan requires laser-like attention to detail. Your entity name is the name of your business at a state level. Separately, craft a business name that is memorable, easy to remember, and stands out from your competition. This is your DBA (doing business as) name. You’ll need the appropriate legal documents, which are easy to find online.
4. Know Your Resources
As a veteran, you don’t have to go it alone. There are plenty of resources to support you as a small business owner. A few of them include Boots to Business; the Office of Veterans Business Development; The National Center for Veterans Institute for Procurement; Veteran Women Igniting the Spirit of Entrepreneurship (V-WISE); the Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF); the Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small-Business Program; Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans With Disabilities (EBV); and The Bunker, created specifically for veteran-owned technology startups.
Whether you’re determining if your current capacity is a good match for job demands, searching for veteran loans, or need job training, these sources are a wellspring of information and support.
Starting a business as a veteran has unique challenges and rewards. Keep these steps in mind as you develop your plan.
