What Support is Available for Military Veterans Starting a Business?

Veteran-owned businesses are an important engine for economic growth in the US, but more than that, self-employment allows veterans to transition successfully into civilian life and put the skills they developed during their military careers to good use. 

According to a report by the Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy, there are 2.52 million veteran-owned businesses in the US, representing 9 percent of all American businesses. 99.9 percent of those are classified as small businesses, so it’s vital that existing and aspiring small business owners from a military background have the tools they need to succeed. 

We support UK companies with insolvency and rescue expertise, and have written this piece as part of a wider series on business challenges and support.

Fortunately, there are a growing number of funding options, mentorship programmes and training courses designed specifically for US military veterans who want to run their own businesses. 

THAT INCLUDES

Funding Options

One of the biggest fears for all entrepreneurs is a lack of capital, but this can be even more pronounced for military veterans. They have to overcome the challenge of transitioning back into civilian life while also worrying about how to finance the launch and growth of their business. However, there are a number of funding options specifically for military personnel that could help. 

Grants

There are various grants available to US ex-services personnel that can help you get your business off the ground.

To qualify for federal or government grants, or grants from non-profit organisations, you must usually be an honourably discharged veteran, a service-disabled veteran, an active member of the military participating in the military’s Transition Assistance Program (TAP) or the spouse of any of the above. 

 

Training

Applying for grants or funding only makes sense if you have a viable business idea and the knowledge to execute it. That’s why resources that teach veterans how to run a successful business are so valuable. 

Advice, Mentorship and Support

There are also a number of other useful resources that do not fit into the previous categories but still provide valuable assistance for military veterans who want to start or grow a business. 

Although Canada doesn’t track the number of military veterans who choose entrepreneurship, it is a common path many take when adjusting back into civilian life. In the US, veterans are 45 percent more likely to own a business than non-veterans, and estimates suggest that preference for self-employment among military veterans is replicated north of the border. 

Every year, about 5,000 people leave the Canadian armed forces. With an average age of 41, they are young enough to have decades of working life ahead of them and are bristling with many of the same traits, such as discipline and resilience, that are prerequisites for running a business.    

That, combined with the disconnect from the civilian workforce and the disadvantage of trying to break into existing professional networks, makes self-employment the natural choice for many veterans, but they still need a little help. These are the funding options, grants, training and mentorships programs they can turn to.  

Funding Options

Most small businesses need external funding to be able to open their doors and grow. But where will that funding come from and what funding options are available specifically to military veterans?

• The Canada Small Business Financing Program is not a bad place to start if you want to explore your funding options. Small businesses and startups operating for-profit with gross annual revenues of $10 million or less are eligible. You should approach your bank with your business plan. They will discuss your needs with you and make a decision on the loan. The funds will be disbursed by the bank and the loan will be registered with Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada. 

Businesses can borrow up to $1 million to finance:

• Land or buildings used for commercial purposes
• Commercial vehicles
• Machinery and equipment
• The eligible costs of buying a franchise
• Software and computer equipment

The loan cannot be used to buy inventory or goodwill, to pay franchise fees, to supplement working capital or to fund research and development.

• Futurpreneur provides up to $60,000 in financing to military veterans who are starting a business. You can also participate in their mentorship program to help you launch your startup. You must be aged between 18-39 and ready to launch a business to qualify. Alternatively, if you run a business while in full-time employment, you could qualify for a collateral-free loan of $15,000 and support from more than 3,000 volunteer mentors.

Grants

If you need capital to get your business idea off the ground, grants for military veterans can help you take the next step without the burden of debt. 

• Grantwatch Canada is an online directory that provides details of the grants that are available to a range of non-profit organisations and businesses, including those that are run by ex-military personnel. By clicking on each directory listing, you’ll be able to read more about the grant, the eligibility criteria and how you can apply. As well as veteran-run enterprises, organisations that work with veterans can apply for many of the grants.
  
• YouHelp is a crowdfunding platform that veterans can use to raise money for their startup while they’re in the process of applying for grants. You can use your grant application or part of your business plan as the cornerstone of your campaign to explain what you plan to do and why. Prospective donors can then view your campaign page and make contributions.

You can use YouHelp to raise money for:

• Nonprofits 
• Small Businesses
• Inventions
• Startups
• Personal and Individual Needs
  
• This resource from the Government of Canada allows you to filter through a comprehensive list of grants and federal programs that are available to all kinds of businesses, including those owned by veterans. You can also filter the grants and financing information by industry to find the assistance that’s available in your sector. Searching for the grants available at a provincial level could help you uncover a potential source of funding that’s not covered in this guide.  

Getting government grants can be tough as there can be strong competition and the criteria your business has to meet is often stringent. Generally, to apply for federal and provincial grants, you will need to provide:

• A detailed project description 
• A detailed work plan with full costs 
• An explanation of the benefits of your project
• Details of the relevant experience you have 

Training

Although many of the skills and traits that ex-servicemen and women possess are well-suited to business ownership, there are also more specific skills that those who want to start a business should learn.

• Operation Entrepreneur from the Prince’s Trust is a program that gives military veterans the help they need to start their own business. It offers free one-day workshops that serve as an introduction to entrepreneurship and provides examples of ways military skills can be transferred to business ownership. It also offers a more intensive, week-long boot camp where aspiring entrepreneurs can learn the basics of launching, running and growing a business and benefit from networking time with other entrepreneurial veterans.

There are 20+ free, one-day workshops on military bases across Canada and boot camps are held on four university campuses each summer. 

• The Legion Military Skills Conversion Program is designed to advance and accelerate the civilian careers of former and current reserve and regular Canadian military members. It does that via a three-pronged approach:
  

• Education Credentials: After an assessment of your knowledge and skills, you can be awarded credits or blocked credits for advanced placement towards certificate, diploma and degree programs. 
• Entrepreneurial Training: Every year, veteran entrepreneurs can attend the Legion Lions’ Lair, where they are given the chance to learn up to date business practices and receive one-on-one mentorship to build a business plan. After completing a series of workshops, participants will pitch their business plan to a panel of judges and potentially receive investment. Workshops are run one evening a week from January to February each year and veterans can attend online via Skype or in-person at the BCIT Burnaby Campus. 
• Job Seeking Assistance: Expert assistance is also available to prepare veterans and help them find a suitable role in the civilian jobs market.

• Helmets to Hardhats offers apprenticeship opportunities in the trades to veterans and for anyone who is currently serving but in the process of transitioning to a civilian career. The trades are a very popular and potentially lucrative route into self-employment for Canadian veterans. Depending on your existing experience, the apprenticeship can be shortened and even bypassed entirely to fast-track the process. There are 14 trades where full apprenticeship training is available.
  
• Coding for Veterans is an intensive training program that’s designed to equip Canadian military veterans with the skills they need to enter and succeed in a career in computer coding, cybersecurity or data analytics. Classes are taught in person or online and programs are available for all skill levels and experience.  

Advice, Mentorship and Support

As a forces veteran and small business owner, there are certain networks and programs you can access that could help to give your business a competitive edge. 

• The Canadian Veteran Business Directory, run by Operation Entrepreneur, is Canada’s most comprehensive list of veteran-owned businesses. The directory is searchable by province and industry, making it an easy way for patriotic Canadians to support veterans and their families in their new lives. 

Each year the Prince’s Operation Entrepreneur runs its #BuyVeteranCA campaign, which draws the attention of 1.1 million Canadians and encourages people to buy from businesses listed in the directory. Listing with the directory is free and open to all current and former members of the Canadian military and their families.

• The Soldiers to Leaders program connects veterans and those who are looking to start a career outside of the military with mentors in the field, vocation or industry they want to enter. The mentors are experts in their industries and have insight into the training you’ll need and how you can get started, whether it’s as an employee or running your own business. Even if they don’t currently have a suitable mentor on their books, Soldiers to Leaders will find one for you.  

Every year, around 5,000 military personnel transition from service in the Australian Defence Force (ADF) to civilian life. One of the biggest challenges they face is finding meaningful employment, whether it’s as an employee or by choosing to join the growing ranks of the self-employed. 

One of the attractive aspects of self-employment for Australian veterans is having the opportunity to be their own boss. However, many veterans only find self-employment after becoming disillusioned with their experiences in paid civilian employment. Unfortunately, there are also a number of barriers to entry that can prevent veterans from becoming self-employed. Those barriers include a lack of finance, a lack of skills and the loss of the teamwork that some veterans so dearly miss. 

What is lacking is access to the right information and advice at the right time. Thankfully, the resources are out there, but they’re not always easy to find. That’s why we’ve brought together all the support available for Australian military veterans who want to become self-employed.   

Funding Options

Most military veterans require some form of external funding to turn their business idea into a reality or to propel it to new heights. Funding options in Australia that are specific to veteran-owned businesses are few and far between, but veteran entrepreneurs can access the range of funding options available to all startups. 

• Startup and small business bank loans are available from banks such as ANZ and Commbank. Typically, they feature low-interest rates and no security required on loans up to $50,000. The loan repayments may also be interest-only for the first year, which makes them well-suited to early-stage companies that need all of their available capital to launch and grow. 
  
• Seed and angel investors are single investors or investor groups who pool their funds together to back startups or early-stage businesses that are experiencing rapid growth. You can connect with equity investors and venture capitalists on your own or seek equity financing through veteran-focused organisations such as the Prince’s Trust Australia. It can help you connect with investors with a track record of backing veteran-owned businesses.
   
• Instead of using cash to grow, some startups choose to exchange services and goodwill with other entrepreneurs in their communities and networks. This is called contra service swapping. Australia’s military veterans are a tight-knit group and swapping services between themselves can be a cost-effective way to grow. Once the business grows and produces a profit, the businesses you’ve been swapping with become your paid customers and service providers. 
       
• The willingness of Australia’s military veterans to sacrifice for their country has earned them lasting gratitude. By using a crowdfunding platform such as Indiegogo, Kickstarter or OzCrowd, veteran entrepreneurs can cash in on that gratitude and raise funds for their businesses. 

Crowdfunding can be either donation-based or investment-based. In donation-based crowdfunding, you receive funding in exchange for exclusive offers and promotions and do not sacrifice any equity in your business. In investment-based crowdfunding, the investor receives a stake in your business in return for their funding. Importantly, the stakes with crowdfunding are low. If you fail to reach your funding goal, you can try again or switch to other options. 

Grants

Understandably, many entrepreneurs are interested in getting their hands on money that they don’t have to repay. Although there are no specific grants for military veterans, there are several grants that could help to get your business off the ground.

• CSIRO Kick-Start provides matched funding to Australian startups and small businesses that are keen to partner with Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) in research activities. Aimed at the research and testing stage, entrepreneurs that are developing a ‘novel’ product or service can get up to $50,000 to help them develop and grow their business. 

The funding can be used to pay for the costs associated with researching, developing and testing a new product or service. Eligible businesses must:

• Have an annual turnover of $1.5 million or less in the current and the previous two years 
• Have been registered as a company for less than three years
• Be registered in Australia for goods and services tax (GST)
  
• The Department of Industry, Innovation and Science has created a search tool that Australian startups can use to identify state by state assistance programs that they could be eligible for. Grants that may be of particular interest to military veterans include:

• The New Enterprise Incentive Scheme allows eligible individuals who are unemployed but have a business idea to receive government funds and become business owners. The value of the grant varies on a case-by-case basis.
  
• The Export Market Development Grant offers financial assistance to aspiring and current exporters. Businesses will receive up to 50 percent of the expenses incurred on eligible export promotion activities above a threshold of $5,000, provided that the total expenses are at least $15,000.
  
• The Landing Pads program provides Australian startups with a residency of up to 90 days in a coworking space in major global innovation hubs around the world. Five Landing Pads have been established in Singapore, Shanghai, San Francisco, Berlin and Tel Aviv. The value of the grant depends on the size and nature of the business that is developing. To be eligible, startups must demonstrate scalability, traction and differentiation and explain how 90 days in a Landing Pad could benefit their venture.
  
• The Entrepreneurs’ Programme allows entrepreneurs to access expert advice and financial support through the Accelerating Commercialisation Grant. It provides businesses with up to 50 percent of expenditure on a project, capped at $1 million. The Entrepreneurs’ Programme also offers funding support for incubators that help startups enter global markets. New and existing incubators can apply for $13,000 to $250,000 of funding for up to two years.

Training

While most military veterans typically possess many of the character traits that are necessary to run a business, there are some veteran-specific programmes that can fill the gaps when it comes to key skills such as marketing, business finance and tax compliance.

• The Enterprise for Veterans programme, run by the Prince’s Trust Australia, supports all entrepreneurs in the veteran community, their spouses and transitioning defence members on their journey towards launching and growing a business. The programme offers one-day workshops, four-day boot camps and six-month boot camps that are designed to develop the skills and confidence required to explore self-employment, entrepreneurship and business ownership.

• One-Day Workshops: The workshops offer a taster of the boot camp experience and should be the first port of call for veterans and their partners who are interested in exploring self-employment. Over five hours, participants will be introduced to the tools and networks that could turn their business dreams into a reality.      
• Four-Day Boot Camps: The aim of the boot camps is to inspire and enhance participants’ entrepreneurial skills, including problem-solving, critical thinking, innovation, digital literacy, communication and self-management. Participants do not need to have a business idea to attend the programme but they should be interested in working for themselves or working for an existing small business.
• Six-Month Boot Camps: The six-month boot camp takes would-be entrepreneurs through the process of developing a work-ready business plan. It incorporates national accreditation and tailored academic support to teach veterans and their partners everything they’ll need to know to launch and grow their business.       

• VetForce Australia, which is run in partnership with the veteran support organisation  Soldier On, offers training and employment opportunities in the in-demand technology and cloud industry. It focuses on delivering structured, self-paced training that teaches veterans business skills training and includes Salesforce certification. 

Salesforce is a cloud-based software company that produces customer relationship management software that’s used by businesses in Australia and around the world. Becoming Salesforce certified can open doors both in the worlds of employment and self-employment. The four-week VetForce training and certification program is followed by ongoing mentorship to support veterans in gaining employment. 

Advice, Mentorship and Support     

• The Veterans Employment Programme, run by the Department of Defence, is designed to help ex-services personnel find employment in the private and public sector, but also to explore the opportunities for self-employment in areas where skills gaps exist. There are also a number of state-specific employment programmes for veterans. That includes

1. Victoria: The Victoria Public Sector Veterans Employment Strategy provides online resources to support veterans find employment in the public sector.
2. New South Wales: The New South Wales Veteran’s Employment Programme helps veterans identify employment opportunities in NSW government. It also presents a programme which assesses veteran skills and offers gap training analysis.
3. Queensland: Queensland Veteran’s Employment Pathway showcases the skills and capabilities of former military members to hiring managers in the Queensland government. 
4. Western Australia: The Veteran’s Employment Transition Support programme encourages veterans to consider employment within the Western Australian public sector. It has a mentor network to provide advice and support for ex-ADF members who are transitioning to civilian life.       

• Buy Veteran is an initiative run by the Prince’s Trust Australia that champions success stories from the veteran alumni of its programmes and encourages the wider community to buy from veteran-owned businesses. The #BuyVeteran campaign is an international collaboration with the Prince’s Trust Canada and draws the attention of more than a million consumers every year. Register your business with the Buy Veteran campaign for free in just a few minutes.