Here’s why veterans, on average, tend to start more businesses
Here’s why veterans, on average, tend to start more businesses
On this holiday, you may be shopping a Veterans Day sale, but are you shopping at a veteran-owned business?
According to the Census Bureau, veterans own about 5.4% of the nation’s businesses, generating more than $900 billion in revenue.
Veterans represent a relatively small slice of the U.S. population, but as a group, they are pretty good at starting and running businesses, according to Rosalinda Vasquez Maury at the D’Aniello Institute of Veterans and Military Families.
“We do know that there certainly is this over index of veterans owning a business. We also know that veterans tend to out earn their non veteran entrepreneurs,” she said.
That’s because the military teaches a lot of the skills that make good entrepreneurs, she said.
Justen Garrity returned from his deployment in Iraq to a tough job market. So, he decided to start his business, Veteran Compost, in Maryland in 2010.
“So we do everything from little seven-gallon bins on people’s doorsteps to, you know, today we’re handling a tractor trailer of material from a food manufacturer,” Garrity said.
Garrity said that some of his customers choose his company because it’s veteran-owned and his experience helps with hiring, as well.
“We found that, you know, veterans who are family members of veterans, kind of that’s a good indicator that they might be a good fit,” he said.
Another aspect pushing more veterans into business ownership is the resources available from federal agencies to help them get started.
CJ Williams is the director of the South Carolina Veterans Business Outreach Center, which receives funding from the Small Business Administration and is one such agency assisting in veterans in getting businesses off the ground.
“We teach, we counsel, we refer veterans and their families who want to start or grow a business in South Carolina,” he explained.
Since starting last year, Williams said his organization has helped 36 veterans start businesses.
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