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In The News
March 2010: Veterans Small Business Management Program by Andrea Testi
Small business owners face many obstacles as they work to create jobs and spur innovation in our economy. Sustaining a successful small
business is made significantly more difficult when the proprietor
is deployed to a combat zone for months on end. Self-employed veterans and active duty men and women who leave their small business to serve their country will benefit from a new program the TVCC
BizCenter will participate in. The Oregon Small Business Development Center Network (OBDCN) received a $100,000 SBA Veterans Assistance and Services program grant to provide for an infrastructure of business advisory and training for entrepreneurial Veterans statewide. This project's goal is to assist Oregon's National Guard veterans and active duty military men and women returning from combat zones who were self-employed prior to their deployment in being able to continue their business operations upon return home. The lack of data relating to the
economic impact deployment has had on the National Guard is astounding. As there are few national statistics, there are no current
systems, organizations or programs capturing the number of Oregon
small businesses owned by National Guard members or veterans.
To address this, the TVCC BizCenter will work with our partners to develop a local survey tool to gather information about our veteran population. One goal is to develop a target list of veteran owned small businesses and aspiring entrepreneurs who would benefit from this program. With many veterans organizations and agencies already in
place,we plan to partner with the Veteran Advocates of Ore-Ida, the
Oregon National Guard, the Oregon Department of Veteran
Affairs, the Malheur County Veteran's Office, and the SBA
Veterans Affairs office to provide an integrated resource of veteran
service providers. The bizcenter.org website will have a special web section for veterans, serving as a one-stop point of contact for veteran small business owners and entrepreneurs. Ablog forum to share ideas, successes and collective wisdom with a cohort of other veteran business
owners will be a component. Customized business assistance
will be deployed through a specialized Veteran Small Business
with specific local business advisory services. Participants will participate in nine monthly, three-hour workshops and two-hour one-on-one advising sessions. This new grant will provide the ability to give returning veterans amuch deserved hand-up as they work to return their businesses to prosperity. The TVCC BizCenter is privileged to participate in this program,working to provide business advisory and assistance
to our heroic veterans. Please contact the TVCC BizCenter at (541)
881-5762 for more information on this upcoming program.
ANDREA TESTI IS the Treasure Valley Community
College Small Business Development Center director.
