Military veterans have
earned their place in society along with others who contributed to either
developing or protecting American society. As it turns out Military veterans
are also natural entrepreneurs that want to grow and develop opportunities.
They have the right experiences and skills to manage a business. A study by
Bressler, et. al. (2013) helps show which veterans hang out a shingle and why.
Approximately 13% of all
small business owners are veterans while 30.4 to 48% of veterans are unemployed
based on age and race. Many of these veterans have a difficult time finding
jobs and employment opportunities. Sometimes these difficulties are personal
and other times they are society based. Yes…society still has a lot of work to
do on multiple levels.
As despicable and/or
illegal as it sounds, some veterans who are in the reserve status, have lost
their jobs for being recalled to duty. Some statistics have put this up to as
much as ¼ of reserve veterans. Those losses account for lost seniority,
replaced employment positions or even discharge. Others have found that the
skills they learned were not directly transferrable to civilian work which made
it difficult to find a job.
Small business affords
veterans an opportunity to develop long lasting income while still giving them
the freedom they need to be successful. For some veteran’s, the small business
is part of the American dream that they rightfully are claiming for themselves.
To others, it is their only option in hoping to find secure employment that
will support their families.
As it turns out gender has
some influence on the decision to open a small business. Males were more likely
to take the jump into the entrepreneurial world. Those who are more educated
had an easier time finding a job and didn’t go into business while those who
were less educated needed to make their own opportunities. Age didn’t seem to
have an influence on the decision.
Encouraging veterans to
either move into the employment field or start their own business can have
implications for the nation. Veterans are naturally more adventurous than the
rest of the population and this fits well with the entrepreneurial mindset.
When veterans do succeed in small business they also improve upon their local
economy and encourage the hiring of other veterans.
Bressler, M. (2013). A study of
verteran-owned small business and the impact of military reserve call-ups since
9/11. Academy of Entrepreneurship
Journal, 19 (2).
