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You’re an entrepreneur looking for qualified employees that are responsible, adaptable, and organized. You’re looking for an employee you can count on to be able to make split-second decisions, perform under pressure, and who knows the importance of focusing on the details. If only you could find someone who knows how important it is to take the lead at times when it’s necessary, and when to follow the expectations of their managers.
Think this person can’t possibly exist? Think an employee like this sounds too good to be true? Then you haven’t seen what hiring a veteran can do for you and your business. A veteran of our armed services has skills far beyond defending our democracy in the heat of battle. The training these professionals receive in a variety of skills and disciplines is unmatched in the private sector. Your soft skills checklist likely boils down to three main characteristics: great personality, leadership capabilities, and the flexibility to handle any task. A U.S. service veteran checks all those boxes; this guide presented by MilitaryWives.com explains why.
A few fields where veterans are especially well suited would be:
- Business Management: Veterans are killed in leadership, organization, and structure.
- Health Care Provider: Veterans are experienced in working long hours under difficult conditions. They are capable of acting calm under pressure.
- Information Technology: The military is one of the biggest users of information technology, which means most veterans have a good understanding of, and are capable of, mastering and utilizing any technology your business employs.
- Trades: Many service members learn skills during their time in the military that adapt well to civilian life. Plumbers, HVAC, electricians, and building contractors looking to hire should be able to find qualified candidates in the pool of veterans seeking employment.
Two more reasons you may not have thought of are:
- A good image for your company. Hiring former military personnel makes a great statement about you and your company. That you’re saying thank you to veterans for their service in a real and tangible way, and that you hire people of the highest caliber and integrity. This is a part of your brand that you can be proud to promote.
- Because it’s the right thing to do. You’re an American company and you, like the rest of us, owe our freedoms to those who answered the call. It’s a way to honor those things we all hold dear, our liberty and the American way of life.
A few more business matters to consider when you’re starting out:
- If your need to hire stems from branching out into different business models or types of goods and services, you have the option of creating a new name in the form of a DBA. Registering a “doing business as” name is required if you want to operate under a name that isn’t your officially registered one. They may be referred to as fictitious, trade, or assumed names in some states. This will allow you to create new avenues for your business while still operating under your original business structure.
- When hiring employees you need to think about payroll. Having a good system ensures that all of your workers receive accurate, on-time paychecks. In addition to looking for software that can help you with getting payroll done, find one that can time employee’s time and automatically file and pay taxes.
- Your separate business will need its own marketing and contact information as well. Since business cards are still the preferred way to network, having the ability to design your own without having to hire a professional saves time and money if you need to create them for more than one business. Online tools that allow you to design your card using pre-made templates are usually free and easy to use.
In addition to hiring veterans to fill important roles in your business, you can help say thank you by supporting one of the many groups helping veterans in areas like education and healthcare, and advocating on issues important to veterans.
Your expanding business with a US veteran in its employ is a win/win for everyone. Once you’ve found out how great your veteran is for your business, we hope you pass the word along to others. You can never have too many happy endings.
submitted by by Virginia Cooper