The legislation only gave a preference to service disabled veteran business owners. Wynn’s vets group teaches them how to do business with the federal government. “We try to get more veterans into the federal marketplace,†says Wynn. He estimates the group has interacted with 4,000 veteran business owners, 15% of them African American. Its monthly veteran small business forum in Washington, D.C., attracts participants from across the country. A different federal agency hosts each month’s meeting, presenting information on how to do business with the specific agency. According to Wynn, information technology, professional services, administrative services, construction, and facilities maintenance are industries most represented among post-9/11 veteran entrepreneurs.
Wynn notes that veterans don’t always have income available when they first set up their businesses. It may take a couple of years before they really earn income. Young non-career veterans may lay a foundation for entrepreneurship by getting a job to support themselves and multitask with higher education, vocational training, or entrepreneurship programs, he adds.
Michael Chodos, associate administrator of the SBA Office of Entrepreneurial Development, advises aspiring vetpreneurs to “collect the resources you need, the partners you need, find out about your customers, and do what you need to do to go forward over a year or two. What we care about most is that veterans are successful as they go forward.â€