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According to the U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy, veteran-owned businesses account for approximately 6.1% of all U.S. businesses. Moreover, veterans are 45% more likely to start their own businesses than non-veterans. However, they are also likely to encounter more roadblocks, including lack of adequate mentorship, lack of access to capital, and the inability to maintain a healthy work-life balance.
If you are a veteran thinking of becoming an entrepreneur, there are a few considerations that can help you either avoid these challenges or, at the very least, overcome them if you cross them. Here are some tips from MilitaryWives.com to help.
Coming Up With a Profitable Start-Up Idea
Successful businesses are generally the byproducts of good business ideas. While plenty of those abound, too many aspiring entrepreneurs often overthink the idea phase until they come up with something overly complex and almost unfeasible. As a result, many businesses inevitably flop.
The secret to a great business idea is its simplicity. If it’s so easy that a kid can do it, you probably have a winner. Some business options that can give you the freedom of entrepreneurship and help you build up your capital so that you can eventually move onto something bigger and better are:
- Dog walking and pet sitting
- Social media marketing
- Personal care services
- Upcycling
- Cleaning services
- Computer repair
Other ideas that are still simple but geared more toward the serious entrepreneur include bookkeeping, language translation, online store, data analyst, consultant, photographer, website developer, language instructor, event planner, caterer, and tour guide. Each of these business ideas requires little capital to start and has the potential to help you make a profit quickly.
Setting Your Business Up for Success
Once you pinpoint what you want to do, it’s time to start writing up a business plan. Depending on the complexity of your business model, your plan may be a brief, one-page outline or a multi-page document. Regardless of what it is, you should do the following during the planning phase:
- Conduct Market Research: Market research involves gathering, analyzing, and interpreting market information to help solve potential challenges. Businesses use this information to guide everything from product development to marketing decisions to budget.
- Create a Business Card: If you’re going to be promoting your business in person, you’ll need a business card to create a lasting impression with potential customers. Fortunately, you can utilize a free business card maker tool to create a business card that includes your own font, color scheme, images, and design elements.
- Find Funding: Veterans have access to dozens of sources of funding to which non-veterans don’t. Examples include veteran-geared grants, such as Warrior Rising, Street Shares Foundation and Boots to Business grants, and veteran-specific loans. Explore all your options, both conventional and unconventional, to set yourself up for ultimate success.
- Use Relevant Software: In the information age you have access to a wide variety of software tools to make your business more efficient. A helpful one can be software that leverages a transaction data API to provide you quick access to historical transaction information. This can help you make better decisions going forward.
- Choose the Right Business Structure: Of the four main types of business structures, a limited liability company probably offers the most advantages for novice entrepreneurs. LLCs are easy to form on your own or through a formation service, both of which can help you save on lawyer fees. They also come with significant tax advantages, ample flexibility, and numerous protections. Before you form an LLC, though, check your local laws and rules to ensure this entity type is allowable for your particular business model.
Taking Advantage of All Available Resources
Finally, explore all resources available to you, of which there are many. Top resources for entrepreneur veterans include Patriot Boot Camp, Bunker Labs, Vet to CEO, and The Institute for Veterans and Military Families.
Veterans make great business owners. Unfortunately, many struggle to get from discharge to small business success through no fault of their own. To overcome obstacles you may face, take the considerations above to heart before you branch out on your own.
This article is brought to you by MilitaryWives.com—as a retired Marine couple, we know just how new and puzzling, and sometimes how lonely or difficult it can be to find what you need. That is why we created this network and filled it with all kinds of resources to help you find whatever you may need...and to find one another. For more information, please visit our website or contact us today!
written by Virginia Cooper <