Assessing Federal Small Business Assistance Programs For Veterans And Reservists

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Veterans of our armed services form a vital part of the nation's population, labor force, and business sector. Their economic success on re-entering the civilian economy is a national priority. While many veterans have gained important skills and leadership abilities from their active duty and reserve service that are directly relevant to business ownership, some veterans may have difficulty in starting and growing a business, especially during an economic downturn and slow recovery. Previous studies have found veterans very active in firm creation and management, but these studies have not provided a complete picture of their activities or compared the entrepreneurial experience of veterans and non-veterans. The study discussed in this book explores 20 years of U.S. Census Bureau data (1984 to 2004) to describe in greater detail the level and nature of veteran involvement in business creation and ownership. A key purpose of this is to provide important information about any differences in the experience of veterans and non-veterans in business creation and management and to assess whether such differences have changed over time. This book also discusses the veteran's assistance programs that are available through SBA, the Small Business Administration.

As of July 2008, 33,000 servicemembers had been wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan. An Act contained provisions directing agencies to improve coordination when providing entrepreneurial assistance for vet. For ex., it: (1) established the authority for an interagency task force to coordinate these efforts; (2) increased the number of Vet. Bus. Outreach Centers; (3) directed the SBA Admin. to sponsor an independent study on gaps in the avail. of Vet. assist. centers; and (4) directed SBA to create written materials on self-employ. and vet. entrepreneurship. This report describes the: (1) types of assistance that may be needed by service-disabled vet. who want to become entrepreneurs; and (2) resources that are available to assist vet. Illustrations.