Boots to Business Trains 50,000 Veteran Entrepreneurs

The Small Business Administration's Office of Veterans Business Development is proud to announce that 50 thousand service members and military spouses have participated in the SBA's Boots to Business Program, since the program began in 2012. The 50,000th graduate was a service member at McConnell Air Force Base, in Wichita, Kansas, pictured below.

50000th graduate

In the four years since the program began, Boots to Business has provided entrepreneurship training and counseling to veterans, service-disabled veterans, military spouses, and National Guard and Reserve service members. The latest Boots to Business graduate joins a growing number of successful military community entrepreneurs, adding to the 2.4 million current veteran-owned businesses, which employ over 5 million Americans. Veteran-owned businesses are making enormous contributions to the e growth of the American economy.

The delivery of the Boots to Business Program is accomplished through partnerships with the SBA resource partner network, which includes SCORE, Small Business Development Centers, Women's Business Centers and Veterans Business Outreach Centers, the Department of Defense, local SBA district offices and transition service managers.

Today, Boots to Business provides free entrepreneurship training programs in more than 165 military installations and military communities. Graduates of the program are 53 percent more likely to start a business, and 91 percent of those new businesses remain in operation a year later.

Boots to Business has launched the entrepreneurial careers of numerous service members, veterans, and military spouses, such as:

Service members, wishing to participate in Boots to Business should contact their Transition Assistance Program (TAP) coordinator to learn more, or visit the website at www.sba.gov/bootstobusiness.

Photo of Boots to Business graduates

During National Veterans Small Business Week Oct. 31 to Nov. 4, and in the following weeks, share your veteran small business success story or show your appreciation for veteran entrepreneurs by joining the conversation online using #MyVetBiz.

To learn more about National Veterans Small Business Week events, courses and resources built to support your entrepreneurial success, visit www.sba.gov/myvetbiz..

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