Outline of EBV MU Presentation

June 9, 2016 by: William (Bill) Elmore

First Associate Administrator for Veterans Business Development in

US Government history

TitleMy Biased History & Lessons Learned Regarding Veteran

Entrepreneurship & Self Employed Small Business Ownership by America’s Veterans, Highlighting the Enabling Role of Supportive

Government Policy

INTRO: This outline is a reflection of my belief that America herself is an entrepreneurial endeavor and that Americas Citizen Soldiers (her veterans) represent this American entrepreneurial DNA like no other citizens. First, as demonstrated by every veteran’s commitment of selfless Military service to our Country, and then followed historically by investment from our Government through local and Federal policy that acted on the recognition of the value and importance of investing in and supporting veterans’ post military entrepreneurial endeavors & success through specific policy and resource allocation.

While I am no trained historian, this government recognition and investment was interrupted by, and largely forgotten for 30 some years during and following the politically contentious Vietnam War, resulting in a generation of veteran entrepreneurs disenfranchisement from most federal policies and programs, as veteran entrepreneurs were left out of Federal outreach, of government contracting opportunity, of targeted business counseling and training, of Federal financing programs and in proceeding GI Bills after the Korean War. This neglect led to academia and entrepreneurial education targeted to other groups of entrepreneurial American citizens (not a bad thing), but also to the specific exclusion of America’s veterans in those supportive activities from about 1968 to1997 (a bad thing).

My story is as a successful veteran entrepreneur, accidental self help not for profit veterans program manager and veterans’ policy advocate/expert who worked for almost 40 years in jobs I created to remedy this neglectful, poor public policy.

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(1) Early American Pensions, Land Grants, and Homestead Acts Preference for Veterans, Enabling Agrarian Self Employment at the Expanding Physical and Economic Frontiers of America

1636-Plymouth Colony begins by providing pensions for veterans disabled in the Indian wars

1776-1788-1803-1806-The Continental Congress then the US Congress created the Nations first veterans pension laws, followed by grants of public lands to veterans/service members

1779-Virginia, is the first State to begin providing “Bounty Lands” to veterans & Connecticut, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and South Carolina soon followed. These Bounty Land grants affected land in the future states of Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Ohio and Tennessee

1786-87-Revolutionary War veteran Shays led the Shays Rebellion in opposition to a privately funded, 3000 man Militia Army, (funded by elite citizens, including 125 Merchants) in Massachusetts. Shays Rebellion grievances included unfair tax levies and seizures of private property for lack of payment

1789-The Nations First Congress assumed the costs (from the States) of paying veterans pensions

1812-War of 1812 veterans received Land Bounties from Congress

1846-47-Mexican War veterans received land bounties from Congress

1862-The Homestead Act provided Special Consideration to veterans in the location of, and the amount of land made available to veterans/families in US westward expansion, and enabled time served in the military to count toward the 5 year rule for achieving ownership of the land by veterans

1862-90-Various Congressional legislative Land Grant initiatives, including creation of Land Grant Colleges/Universities/Institutions, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities

1894-Coxeys Army demands the Congress create jobs for veterans through public infrastructure initiatives

1898-99-The Spanish American War leads to the creation of the Veterans of Foreign Wars who initially focused on economic opportunity and jobs for veterans

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(2) World War I, VA created by Executive Order, the Bonus March, The Economy Act, the American Legion drafted GI

Bill that Became the Service Men’s Readjustment Act of 1944 when Signed into Law by the President

1918-World War I ended in victory, 114,000 Americans died in the US military services during the War

1919-The (future) American Legion Caucus held by service members/veterans in Paris

1919-The American Legion officially formed in St. Louis

1920s-American Prosperity followed the war

1929-The Stock Market Crash

1930-President Hoover creates the consolidated VA by Executive Order

1930s-The Great Depression continues until the onset of WW2

1932-WW 1 veterans (and their families) Bonus March in Washington DC ends in a rout of veterans and their families (and the burning of their encampment in Anacostia Flats) by Federal Troops, led by Army Chief of Staff Douglas MacArthur (who countermanded a direct order of President Hoover in taking this action). MacArthur was aided by George W. Patton and Dwight D. Eisenhower

1932-President Hoover created the Federal Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC)

1930-32-President Hoovers War Policies Commission recommends to Congress to pass a Constitutional Amendment to establish a 95% Excess War Time Profits Tax on American Corporations and individuals involved in War time production

1933-35-President Roosevelt invoked the Economy Act to repeal all veterans’ laws. New, much lower benefits were provided by VA, until most benefits are restored by Congress by 1935

1930s- Fascism emerges around the world (often led by WW1 veterans), leading to the onset of World War II

1940-Approximately 4,000,000 small businesses exist in America

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1941-America was attacked, and our nation mobilizes and we enter World War II

1943-44-45- A 90 % (in 1943) then a 95% (in 1944 & 1945) Excess War Time Profits Tax was levied on American Corporations and individuals involved in war time production

1943-44-Based on various American Legion (AL) Resolutions, the past AL National Commander consolidated the outline of the future GI Bill on a napkin and then wrote it up in his room in the Mayflower Hotel in Washington DC

1944-Congress passed and the President signed the WWII GI Bill into law, as veterans prevailed against significant opposition, led by the President of Harvard and other leaders of academic institutions who were fearful of veterans on their campuses

1944-The new GI Bill provided self directed decision making options for returned veterans (with their families) and included programs of unemployment compensation (the 52-20 club), education benefits (including at the Harvard’s of America), vocational training, home, farm and business loan insurance & guarantee programs, review of character of discharges, and other programs. The VA began to implement

1944-The first of a nationwide series of local not-for-profit, multi service Veterans Information and Assistance Centers were created in most population centers in America

1941-45-Ten American Corporations secure 30% of all DOD production dollars

1945-World War II ends in victory (405,399 died in the US military services)

1945-Approximately 3,000,000 small businesses exist in America at the end of the war

1946-47-48-The President of Harvard begins to proclaim the GI Bill veteran/students are the best students his University has ever educated

1950-Approximately 4,000,000 small businesses now exist in America

1950-The onset of the War in Korea

1950-51-52-53-A 30% excess War Time Profits Tax, not to exceed 70% in combination with Corporate Taxes is levied on American Corporations and individuals involved in American war time production

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1944-1953-The RFC helps insure and provides small business financing options to veterans and other American entrepreneurial citizens

1952-The Korean War GI Bill is signed into law, extending WWII home, farm and small business loan insurance and guarantees to Korean Veterans for some 20 more years

1951-52-53-Ten American Corporations secure 40% of all DOD production dollars

1953-The Small Business Act creates the US Small Business Administration (SBA). SBA absorbs many RFC authorities and obligations, and begins providing small business financing and other support services to American entrepreneurs, including veterans

1944-1954-The GI Bills of WWII and Korea provided more than 280,000 federally guaranteed or insured small business loans (214,500) and small farm loans (62,500) to veterans and their families in its first ten years

1958-Section 8a of The Small Business Act is amended by Congress to provide SBA war time production assistance for enhancing small businesses participation in DOD war time production, including the ability to pool and take DOD Prime Contracts from DOD (SBA was & is technically the DOD Prime Contractor, and the 8a firms are technically DOD sub-contractors to SBA), creating sub-contracted Defense Production Pools (created by SBA) of small businesses, issuing Certificates of Competency to those small firms and Pools, providing engineering and other technical operational support services, providing direct, participation and loan guarantees, providing access to DOD surplus buildings & equipment and access to the US strategic stockpile, etc., etc.

1958-The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) Reported “Newly established and very small firms have been assisted not only through VA protection of privately made loans but also through financing by the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, Federal Reserve Banks, and the Smaller War Plants Corporation”-“Up to mid-1955, a cumulative total of 235,320 applications for business loans had been received by VA offices, of which 221,950 or 94% were approved”-“It is likely that far more veterans established new businesses without VA loans than did so with them.”-“up to March 1949 three veterans entered business without VA assistance, for every-one who entered with VA loan aid.”

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(3) The Vietnam Conflict (War) Begins, & Veteran Entrepreneurs are Neglected, Forgotten and Excluded from most Federal Programs and Policies, & Our Corresponding

Volunteer Efforts to Remedy that Neglect of Veterans

1959-61-64-The onset of the Vietnam Conflict (dates vary depending on who you talk to), (& note, Vietnam was not referred to as a War, until after it officially ended in 1975)

1967-The dormant SBA Section 8a authority is repurposed by SBA at the request of the White House and then used as a social economic initiative in response to inner city race riots. This started the 8a authority’s use as a tool for targeting of federal contracts to inner-city minority owned small businesses, including at that time, small businesses owned by veterans

1973-74-In the last two years of the VA Korean GI Bill small business loan guarantee or insurance program, the VA guaranteed only 5 Loans for veterans

1974-Congress rescinded the VA small business loan authority because of disuse

1974-In PL 93-237, Congress directed the SBA to provide “special consideration to veterans of the Armed Forces of the United States & their survivors or dependents”, but Congress neglected to define special consideration for SBA. A Congressional reconciliation conference changed the original legislative language from veteran’s preference to special consideration, but Congress failed to define what it meant by special consideration for veterans at SBA, so special consideration at SBA continues to be ill defined some 42 years later

1972-73-Following my discharge (1972) from the USAF, and while serving as a GS 1 VRA janitor on the night shift, I become a FBI investigated eye witness to the largest fire in US Government history that was started on July 12, 1973 at the 6 story National Personnel (Military) Records Center (NPRC) in Overland Missouri (I was a janitor on the 6th floor where the fire started). The NPRC massive fire damaged or destroyed some 17 million individual veteran and military unit records and it took 43 fire departments and over 380 firemen more than 4 days to extinguish. After being extinguished, my job was switched to working days on the clean-up of the remaining 5 floors at NPRC

1973-I resigned my janitor position and began working in a Hospital as a trainee, and broke my leg 4 days later playing rugby, ending my Hospital employment

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1974-The first St. Louis “One Stop Veteran Service Center” (VSC) is established by volunteer Vietnam veterans in American Legion Post 212 in Vinita Park Missouri, and I begin working at the VSC as a VA Work Study student as I was now unemployed and needed the income

1975-At our request, The Missouri Division of Veterans Affairs (MDVA) toured our VSC, and then created its own Veterans Assistance Center in Columbia Missouri based on our model

1975-The Vietnam Conflict officially ends (109,000 Citizens died in the military services during the War)

1977-78-Congress amends Section 8a of the Small Business Act to enhance and formally make the 8a program a social economic program. At that time, SBA asked Congress to include Vietnam Veteran status as a presumed socially disadvantaged group in the 8a program, but Congress declined to include Vietnam veterans in the 8a program

1977-I graduated from St. Louis University and the VSC applied for and was awarded its first grant from the State of Missouri Division of Manpower Planning, and we begin operations in Brentwood Missouri with 9 full time employees and numerous VA Work Study students. I ran our employment services which represented about 90% of our work, as we helped between 500 and 1,000 mostly Vietnam veterans secure gainful employment each year for a number of years

1977-Our VSC began receiving requests from Vietnam veterans asking for small business startup assistance

1978-I received my first veteran entrepreneurial support program training in Seattle from Jim Pechin of the Center for Community Change (CCC) from Santa Rosa California

1978-The VSC became the host organization for the National Veterans Task Force on Agent Orange (NVTFAO)

1979-I am part of a 50+ man team that designed and established the VA Vet Center Readjustment Counseling program at the request of the VA

1979-Our VSC was broken into & our Agent Orange related mailing lists, veteran outreach & dioxin related materials, our self directed research & related veteran data were rifled through. This, two night before our Agent Orange Coordinator was scheduled to make a presentation before a Dow Chemical Corporation stockholders meeting at the request, and on behalf of Church and Laity Concerned

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1979-80-81-The VSC began performing work for the Carter Administration White House Federal Veterans Coordinating Committee, and for the US Department of Labor, beginning to create One Stop Veteran Service Centers in numerous locations nationally. After the Presidential election in 1981, I was asked to help draft the Veterans Transition Paper for the Carter White House from the Carter Administration for the incoming Reagan Administration

1980-Under contract from SBA, the CCC produced the first SBA Veterans Program Report (the “Pechin Report”) detailing SBAs lack of veterans programs and service and how to enhance and better deliver services to veterans, I helped research and draft that report, as did my staff at the VSC

1981-VSC staff, acting through the National Association of Collegiate/Concerned Veterans (NACV) led the efforts to save the VA Vet Centers and the DOL Disabled Veterans Outreach Program (DVOPs) from targeted elimination by the incoming Reagan Administration

1981-1982-The VSC funding was slashed from $413,000 in FY 1981 to $40,000 in 1982, as this was caused by budget cuts to veterans self help programs by the new Reagan Administration. I was notified that my efforts to successfully save the VA Vet Centers, the DOL DVOP and other self help programs had reached the desk of the Head of OMB who had proposed the original cuts

1982-As a follow-up to the Pechin Report, the SBA Administrator issued an Administrators Order directing increased small business program and support activity from SBA for veterans

1982-1986-In cooperation with SBA, we incorporated a volunteer Veteran Business Resource Council (VBRC) in St. Louis and began organizing and conducting a series of one day entrepreneurship seminars for veterans, drawing veterans from as far away as Texas to participate

1982-1983-We successfully transitioned the VSC into the St. Louis Vietnam Veterans Leadership Program (VVLP) Inc., with minimal funding and Vista Volunteer support from the Reagan Administration Action Agency

1986-1987-At the request of SBA Headquarters in DC, I led the design of and then managed a Veteran Entrepreneur Training (VET) program in St. Louis that trained 198 veterans and family member in two years. Our model VET program was then designated as the “SBA National Model” and replicated in about 6 locations around the nation where they operated until about 1992

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1987- John K. Lopez (JKL) led the California State effort to create a procurement preference program for service disabled veteran entrepreneurs in California State regulated industries (the first such program in America)

1989-1990- The VVLP created “Vet House”, the first Homeless Veteran Transitional Housing program in America operating on the grounds of the VA Medical Center at Jefferson Barracks in St. Louis, funded in part by the Agent Orange Class Assistance Program (AOCAP) that resulted from the out of court settlement reached between Vietnam Veterans (and their families) and the US Chemical Industry, just before we went to trial, including Dow Chemical, Diamond Shamrock, and Monsanto

1990-I was introduced to JKL by Drew Hyatt, a Congressional Staff member working at the House Small Business Committee

1990- The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans (NCHV) was created in my Hotel room at a DOL HVRP conference in Florida; I was chosen as the first volunteer NCHV Chairman, and the first volunteer NCHV Legislative Liaison with Congress

1990-91-92-93-94- I helped draft, pass into law, secure Congressional Appropriates for and then helped VA design the VA Homeless Veterans Grant and Per Diem program after it finally passed Congress (in 1992) and then secured appropriations for its implementation in 1994 (all these steps were opposed by the VA)

1990-91- 92-Each year, I worked with Drew Hyatt and JKL from California, as we drafted, and got legislation introduced and tried to pass through Congress that would have created specific Federal initiatives targeting veteran entrepreneurs. Each year, our efforts were defeated in Congress by allies of other groups who were already designated for federal small business preference programs and who expressed fear that if veterans were included in federal small business programs, their “piece of the pie” would diminish

1991-92- I worked with the two gentlemen from Texas who created the “Vet Fran” program for the International Franchise Association for Desert Shield/Desert Storm veterans

1992-We opened both the Democratic and the Republican National Conventions with A Boston based Homeless Veteran Color Guard to help elevate the issue’s visibility in front of both parties during the campaign for the Presidency

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1992-After the election, the incoming Clinton Administration included me in three Transition Roundtable(s) in Little Rock where we presented many initiatives and rationale designed to support both homeless veterans and veteran entrepreneur programs. After they took office, the Clinton Administration chose to ignore the recommendations we had made to them

1993-94-95-The SBA during the Clinton Administration proceeded to gut the existing SBA regulations and budgets for veterans programs that had been started after the 1980 Pechin Report and 1982 SBA Administrators Order, including a SBA direct loan program for Vietnam Era and disabled veteran entrepreneurs

1996-The SBA Budget for all national veterans programs had been reduced to $76,000 for the entire nation

1993-I met with the first Chairman of the then start-up Kauffman Foundation from Kansas City, and presented him the VET program model in the hopes that the new Entrepreneurial Foundation would consider veterans program activity in its efforts

1993-98-I served as the Chairman of the Times Beach Environmental Task Force and we secured and utilized a Technical Assistance Grant (TAG) from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to oversee EPAs oversight of the federally supervised Times Beach Missouri Superfund site “environmental remediation” of dioxins from numerous eastern Missouri locations. Through this volunteer work, I came to know Missouri Congressman James Talent who served as Chairman of the US House of Representatives Committee on Small Business (Times Beach was in his District)

1995- I resigned my position as Executive Director of the not-for-profit Missouri Veterans Leadership Program (MVLP), and began to focus all my time on my own small business (Data Force Associates, that I has started in 1983 concurrent to running the MVLP/VVLP). Data Force provided military records research and acquisition assistance to veterans, their representatives, state organizations, and veterans associations, and we also provided veterans program and policy design in the private sector. When I left MVLP, I had decided my volunteer veteran’s advocacy would be limited to advocating for veteran entrepreneurship programs, policies and resource allocation, especially within the Federal sector

1997-At a Times Beach Incinerator meeting in Chairman Talents St. Louis district office, he asked if there was anything anyone wanted to discuss “other than the Incinerator”, I then indicated I wanted to talk with him about how “veterans were being left out at the SBA”

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1997-After an initial follow-up discussion with him, and at Congressman Talents request, I began development of a series of issue papers and provided briefings to Chairman Talent. I did this with input from 6 other veteran small business advocates I knew nationally who also had experience in developing and providing public and private sector assistance to veteran entrepreneurs

1997-Working with Chairman Talents Small Business Committee staff, we developed what became Title 7 of PL 105-135 when signed into law by President Clinton. Title 7 directed SBA to begin “comprehensive outreach” to veterans, conduct a study of veteran entrepreneurship (the “Camacho Report”), and initiated other activity targeted to supporting veteran entrepreneurs. This also prodded the SBA to create the Veteran Business Outreach Center (VBOC) program in four locations in 1999

1998-I initiated and coordinated a five hour meeting between the Chairman of the Congressional Commission on Service Members and Veterans Transition Assistance (Anthony Princippi) and Chairman Talent (and others) in St. Louis where significant details were discussed regarding lack of federal attention on entrepreneurial veterans

1998-I assisted the SBA Administrator establish and then served on the 60+ member SBA Task Force on Veteran Entrepreneurship that developed significant recommendations for the SBA Administrator that were not acted on by her

1998-I was appointed by the SBA Administrator as the first veterans representative to the National Advisory Committee of the SBA 1,000+ location Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) program

1998-I participated in a heated Congressional Hearing before two Committees of Congress to express our frustration as well as to make recommendations for what Congressional actions should be taken to enhance services for veteran entrepreneurs from both the SBA and the VA

1997-1999-The original group of seven advocates working with Chairman Talent had (by then) grown to a hundred or more veteran advocates and entrepreneurs, VSOs, agency bureaucrats, Members of Congress and their staff

1998-1999-I assisted both Congressman Talents Small Business Committee staff and Senator Christopher Bonds Small Business Committee staff (Missouri Senator Bond was Chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business at the time). Overcoming objections from the Clinton Administration, we drafted what became HR 1568 when introduced & that finally passed Congress without a dissenting vote

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in August 1999. When HR 1568 was signed into law by President Clinton (over his stated objections), it became PL 106-50, “The Veterans Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development Act of 1999”

1999-PL 106-50 became and is still the most comprehensive law in US history supporting veteran entrepreneurs. It established high level responsible leadership in SBA, government wide reporting, data collection, research and Advisory Committees, it initiated government wide outreach, it created specific business counseling and training for veterans, special SBA financing options for veterans, and financing and disaster assistance for activated self employed members of the Reserve and National Guard from SBA. The law initiated significant private sector initiatives for veteran entrepreneurs, changed public policy in the SBA 504 and micro loan programs, and established federal procurement goal programs that now total more than $20+ billion a year in procurement preferences in both prime and sub-contracts with the federal government for both veteran and for service-disabled veteran owned small businesses

1999-In the fall of 1999, the SBA announced an open to all sources recruitment to identify and hire the first SBA Associate Administrator for Veterans Business Development (AAVBD) in US Government history. The AAVBD would be responsible for all programs, policies and initiatives in the federal sector for veteran entrepreneurs, including being responsible to lead the implementation of all the requirements of both PL 105-135 and PL 106-50. Many advocates urged me to compete for the position and after serious consideration with my family and with others from the veterans community, including our supporters in Congress; I applied for and competed for the AAVBD position along with 71 other candidates

2000-In march of 2000, following a series of increasingly complex job panel interviews, including separately with both the Administrator and the Deputy Administrator of SBA, I was offered the AAVBD position by SBA and I accepted. The next day, I was flown to Washington DC for a series of meetings on Capital Hill with the SBA Administrator, as I initially began working for the SBA Administrator as a contractor. In July 2000, the formal hiring and vetting processes (including background vetting by both the FBI and the OPM) had been completed and I permanently moved to Washington DC, & officially assumed the new SES AAVBD position that had been created by PL 106-50

A special note, I had never intended to compete for the Associate Administrator for Veterans Business Development position at SBA during my time as the primary advocate for the legislation. I was at the time, a successfully self-employed veteran entrepreneur helping veterans and their families secure their military records

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(4) Post PL 106-50 & The Still Growing Number of Programs, Policies, Legislation, Activities, Resources & Attention Being Paid to, & the Successes Now Being Achieved by America’s

Veteran Entrepreneurs, Many Using a Combination of Federal, State, Local, Academic, Financial & Private Resources to Achieve Their Own Economic Success

2000-2012-2016-Both at SBA, and now more broadly, across significant portions of Federal, State and Local Government(s), many individuals and programs are now engaged in supporting successful veterans entrepreneurship in America. And while not every plan or program has worked, and not every agency is fully on board, and not every regulation has been crafted to my satisfaction. Significant progress has been and continues to be made in support of veterans achieving their own economic success as American veteran entrepreneurs.

Today, there are too many existing, new, evolving and emerging laws, policies, programs, networks, organizations and individuals affecting veteran entrepreneurship for me to produce a complete chronicle of all of those activities for today’s EBV presentation. What follows is my simple synopsis of what has been accomplished and what is now available to support your efforts to achieve your own success as an American veteran entrepreneur (see the SBA handout).

What is Now Available

-The SBA Office of Veterans Business Development (OVBD) is managed by the AAVBD and (s)he is the highest ranking federal employee responsible for the formulation, execution and promotion of programs, policies, and initiatives of the Federal government for veteran entrepreneurs. This includes the provision of “full” and “special” consideration for veterans in programs of this (or any) administration. For specific program or policy questions, direct your inquiries to OVBD staff at www.sba.gov/vets, or by calling OVBD at 202-205-6773.

-The SBA now provides funds to 20 Regional and local Veterans Business Outreach Centers (VBOCs) in America. In some instances, these same VBOCs are also assisting CONUS and OCONUS transitioning service members and their families prior to their transition home to America as veteran entrepreneurs.

-Many of the approximately 1,800 locally or State funded SBA district offices, Micro Lenders, Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs), Womens Business Centers (WBCs) and Volunteer Mentor Score Chapters support, provide or deliver

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special veteran small business initiatives, assistance, expertise & mentoring, including during the post service transition from service member to veteran.

-Thousands of cooperating SBA private sector 7a Lenders (Banks and Credit Unions) and 504 Community Development Corporation lenders provide special financing options to veteran entrepreneurs.

-The SBA Office of Government Contracting and Business Development (GCBD) is responsible for ensuring achievement of the federal sector 3% contracting goals for disabled veterans in prime and sub-contracting, and for veterans in sub-contracting in the federal marketplace. GCBD also manage the 8a, WOSB, Hub Zone, SDB, 7j and numerous other programs, veterans do participate in but are not targeted in all GCBD programs.

-The SBA Office of Disaster Assistance provides Military Reservists Economic Injury Disaster Loans (MREIDL) to small businesses affected by the activation of essential employees of a small business, including the owner.

-The SBA Independent Office of Advocacy, the Commerce Departments Census Bureau, the DOD Institute for Defense Analysis and various Federal Reserve Banks now focus research on veteran entrepreneurship in America.

-The Department of Labor, in cooperation with SBA and SBA funded partners, now provides entrepreneurial briefings and transitional training to thousands of interested, soon to discharge service-members and their families in the DOL, GPS TAP Boots to Business program around the world.

-The number of veterans/service members/Reserve Component members and family members participating in SBA programs has quadrupled to more than 200,000 participants each year since 1999.

-Each SBA District Office has a Veteran Business Development Officer (VBDO) assigned to it who helps coordinate local outreach and access to public and private resources for veterans, service members and their families in their respective areas.

-More than 20 Universities now provide special entrepreneurship training programs such as EBV, EBV-F, V-Wise and other VET model programs.

-Federal contracts and sub-contracts let to VOSBs and SDVOSBs now exceed more than $20 billion dollars annually.

-Almost 50% of all US States now provide some combination of special outreach, counseling, training, financing, fees reductions and contracting opportunity to veteran entrepreneurs and the number of State programs is growing.

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-Veteran small business owners are increasingly included in private Corporate Diversity initiatives as targets for private sector contracting and sub-contracting opportunity.

-A number of not-for-profit veteran small business networks, associations and Chambers have been created both nationally and locally.

-Numerous organizations will assist you to become self certified (for SBA government wide contracting), or verified by VA (this is required only for VA contracting in their Vets First program). Check with a VBOC, or VBDO, or PTAC to confirm the legitimacy of the offering organization, as sometimes, significant costs and time commitment can be involved in these non government efforts.

-The American Legion now hosts the American Legion Small Business Task Force made up of American Legion member entrepreneurs who advise and help guide the Legion’s activities and support for veteran entrepreneurs.

-Out of 10,544,000 million veterans who participate in the US labor market, we now know (based on the Census Bureau Survey of small Business Ownership, or SBO) that approximately 3,000,000 small businesses are owned or co-owned by veterans in America and that those VOSBs generate about $2 trillion dollars a year in economic output in our American economy. This VOSB total economic output exceeds the total economic output of all of our neighbors in Mexico or in Canada.

-VOSBs and SDVOSBs and R&GOSBs are increasing recognized as critical components in DOD production planning and procurement to best serve the war fighters.

-DOD funded Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTACs) can help you (at no cost) to navigate the Federal government procurement system. Remember, DOD procures about 70% of all Federal contract dollars.

-Outcomes now demonstrate that veteran entrepreneurs who participate in programs like EBV are twice as likely to start a small business and twice as likely to have other employees in addition to the owner.

-The Kauffman Foundation and other large and small organizations such as Wal-Mart, Humana, Pepsi, First Data, USAA, Bunker Labs, Tech Stars Patriot Boot camps, Vets In Tech, Vet to CEO, LinkedIn, Google Veterans, Joining Forces, Street Shares, American Corporate Partners and numerous other organizations are now investing in and providing contracting, funding, counseling, training, incubating, financing and mentoring opportunities for veteran entrepreneurs.

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-Organizations such as the Syracuse University Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF), Cornell, U-Conn, FSU, LSU, Purdue, Trinity, UCLA, MU, Texas A&M, Oklahoma State, U. of Florida, Farleigh Dickson University, the Kauffman Foundation Fast Track program partners and numerous other educational and other institutions are now engaged in developing and delivering cutting edge entrepreneurship training, conducting research and organizing City, County and State Wide symmetrical reintegration systems for veterans, service members & their families, .

-The Federal sector initiated and re-defined what it means to engage with veterans. This new engagement paradigm now includes veterans, disabled veterans, active service members, members of Reserve and National Guard Units, women veterans, and families in their outreach, in their programs and in their policies.

-The International Franchise Association (IFA) Vet Fran program targets veterans as prospective franchise owners, often providing reduced purchase costs or other reduced fees to veterans. A word to the wise, Franchise Agreements are complicated legal agreements, and you should seek the assistance of an attorney or a free SBA resource partner (VBOC, SBDC, etc.) to fully understand the prospective agreement before you sign an agreement to purchase.

-Programs designs such as the IVMF EBV and V-Wise programs are now recognized as among the finest entrepreneurial training programs in the world, winning awards from DOD for best practice, and from Harvard University for innovation.

-Of special note-The US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is tasked with supporting successful entrepreneurship of service-connected disabled veterans, usually 30% or more as adjudicated by VA who are participating in the VA Vocational Rehabilitation and employment services (VA-VR&e) program. VA has struggled for many years to perform this service successfully. If you are VAVR eligible, this may be worth exploring.

-Also, the renewed recognition of the importance of investing in veteran entrepreneurs that has been sparked in America is now beginning to grow internationally in England, in Israel and in other allied nations for example. International Trade, especially international vet-to-vet small business cooperation and trade is a peace promoting wave of the future that is just starting and may be worth you exploring. SBA, the Department of Commerce and many others see exporting as important and many of their resources are also worth exploring. It is my belief that America’s veteran entrepreneurial actions and activity over these past 19 years have helped spark this international recognition and growing activity.

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(5) I was Asked to Share A Few of my Lessons learned Along the Way, As a Practicing Veteran Entrepreneur and As a Veterans Policy Change Agent, These are Presented For

Your Consideration in no Particular Order of Importance

-Remember, if at all possible, follow your passion.

-Do take credit cards for payment.

-Look for, consider and take the assistance that is now available to you, this will help minimize your mistakes and maximize your learning curve toward success.

-Own your successes and your failures, you earned them all.

-Being a veteran entrepreneur can be accomplished through successful self employed small business ownership, through your creation of or participation in a not-for-profit (veterans) organization, through becoming a Vet/Farmer, by setting out to perform a public good in America (as I believe I did) by working for a government or non government entity, and by any number of other means. Your success is how you define it

-Be careful when signing leases and franchise agreements, look for and get some (usually free) help from an SBDC or EBV advisor or an attorney, by trying to understand the agreements before you sign them. Remember, your business could fail but the lease or other payments will still come due each month regardless of how successful you are or are not.

-Don’t expect to get rich through self employment, you may, but don’t plan on it.

-Remember, only one in five small businesses in America has an employee other than the owner (4 out of 5 small businesses employ no one but the owner).

-As a veteran, maintain your honor, your honesty and your integrity, this will set you apart from many of the other owners and operators in our economy.

-Find allies as being an entrepreneur can be a very lonely business.

-Recognize that one of the great things about America is that a handful of honest, serious, and dedicated citizens can change our country; I am living proof of that.

-You have already done the hard stuff by serving in the military and now by choosing to participate in EBV, congratulations.

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-When you think you are ready, share it backward as there are always veterans being discharged. It is still my belief that the largest, still untapped asset for supporting successful veteran entrepreneurs are other, already successful veteran entrepreneurs.

-Beware the siren song of federal contracting. Federal contracting is a very complicated, competitive, often onerous, critically important and sometimes lucrative way to achieve success as a small business owner, or as not-for-profit manager. Should you choose to go there, there are folks who will help you prepare and help show you the way, use them, learn from them and listen to them.

-Remember, nobody has all the answers, including you or me.

-Remember, the diversity of our world of veterans includes our share of heroes, charlatans and shxtbums. Not everyone is your friend.

-In my experience, if someone is accusing you of having done something you know you have not, they likely have.

-The majority of start-up American small businesses operate (at least initially) out of the owner’s home, there is no shame in being home based, many entrepreneurs (me included) prefer to work from our home.

-In most instances, don’t quit your day job until you think you are ready and you have proven (at least to yourself) that you can generate cash flow. The old axiom of “cash flow is a killer” is proven true over and over again.

-Successfully starting, maintaining & managing your own small business may be the biggest challenge of your life, outside of graduating from Basic Training and surviving combat (I can’t speak to the trauma and joy of child birth).

-SBA financing is an option, likely not your only option, and perhaps not even your best option, but remember, SBA does guarantee approximately $1 billion dollars each year in financing for veteran small owned businesses.

-Remember, you are also betting your families economic future on yourself by starting a small business. This is a big decision that EBV and the other free expert assistance that is available can help you decide for yourself.

-I have personally known veteran entrepreneurs, who planned for and prepared to start their own small business for upwards of 10 + years, take your time if you can.

-Remember, good Public Policy does not happen by accident. Without engaged citizens, it will left to bureaucrats or chance for future veterans and their families.

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Now is the heyday of veteran entrepreneurship in America, and going forward, it will take dedicated volunteer change agents and dedicated public servants to support, maintain and enhance today’s efforts. Remember, public support for veteran entrepreneurship in America has gone away before can go away again. It is my hope that this short paper will help you think through your own efforts, achieve your own success and remember that good public policy requires good public input.

* * *

In closing, this outline is my reflection on what I know to be our history of both our struggles and our successes as we transition home following our individual military service, whether it was voluntary or conscripted.

Your success is largely up to you, but programs like EBV and the hundreds of other successful volunteers who make these programs happen are dedicated to trying to support you as you work to achieve your own success.

I believe it is important for members of our community (veterans and their families and supporters) to have some access to a reading of these trials and our history that we all go through to achieve our own success. As I said when I announced my retirement from SBA in 2012 after some 12 & 30 years of dedicated work (but who’s counting) creating initiatives to assist and support you.

“Go out and achieve your own success for yourself, for your family, for your community and for our Country”!

Thank you,

William (Bill) Elmore,

on LinkedIn, & Facebook

& at OriginalVetInBiz@yahoo.com

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