Boots to Business program offers education, support to veteran entrepreneurs

Veterans and their dependents with an entrepreneurial spirit have a wealth of education available to them through the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Boots to Business program.

In New York, that program is operated by the Veterans Business Outreach Center (VBOC) at the McNulty Veterans Business Center in Watervliet and offers monthly in-person and online training options.

Whether its starting from scratch, opening a franchise, or buying an existing business, the goal is to help veterans not only achieve that but also to operate that business successfully, says Amy Amoroso, director of the VBOC.

The Boots to Business (B2B) program, provided via a contract with the U.S. Department of Defense, is offered at all military installations that are transition bases. Transition bases are those whose military personnel are sent to transition back to civilian life. In New York state, that includes Fort Drum near Watertown.

Amoroso offers monthly classes at those bases to exiting servicepeople who are interested in pursuing entrepreneurial endeavors rather than an education or career path. “They get this training program for free,” she adds.

Additionally, the VBOC offers a Boots to Business Reboot (B2BR) program, which brings the training off military installations and into the community for all veterans of any era, along with National Guard and Reserve, and, in the VBOC region, military spouses and dependents.

B2BR, which just held an event on Nov. 2 in Binghamton, offers one-day in-person classes and two-day online classes every month with the same curriculum as offered on military installations.

The classes cover all the ins and outs of starting and operating a business including business plans, financing, marketing, cash flow, and even how to utilize veteran status to promote and grow a business.

Veterans comprise less than 1 percent of the U.S. population, Amoroso says, and they have something unique to offer. “They’ve been through certain opportunities that others have not.”

An SBA study showed that veterans score high when it comes to leadership, tenacity, management skills, drive, and dedication. “Veterans are very entrepreneurial,” Amoroso says. Now they have a program to give them the business skills to fill in around their military skills, she adds. And with a first-year failure rate between 80 percent and 90 percent for small businesses, it’s very needed.

The program has been around since about 2013, Amoroso says, and she’s still working to build awareness of the offerings off base. The VBOC’s monthly online programs are holding steady with 20 to 40 people participating every month. The in-person classes are lagging behind, she notes. There were just six people registered for the recent Binghamton session, but Amoroso says no matter the number of attendees, she shows up and gives it her all.

Once participants complete either the B2B or B2BR programs, they can go on to the Boots to Business Revenue Readiness program, offered online in conjunction with Mississippi State University. That six-week program prepares them to take their idea from a concept to an executable business model.

VBOCs around the country — there are 22 total — provide ongoing support to veteran business owners. Amoroso’s VBOC for SBA Region II serves New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

More information about the program, including a schedule of upcoming classes, can be found online at sbavets.force.com/s/.