The Department of New Jersey is offering a series of Boots to Business workshops for veterans, servicemembers and their spouses.
The American Legion Department of New Jersey recently hosted a “Boots to Business: Reboot” workshop at Stetser-Lamartine Post 281 in Blackwood.
The one-day event is part of a series sponsored by the department's Employment, Homeless & Education Committee and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). For the servicemembers, veterans and spouses in attendance, the event served as an opportunity to receive sound advice on their small businesses from trusted SBA business advisors.
Boots to Business workshops provide free entrepreneurship training and advice from business experts, veterans outreach centers and business counseling services.
“These events are crucial because they provide pathways for veterans – especially the younger veterans – to delve into entrepreneurship and see if it is a good fit for them,” said Bob Looby, past Department of New Jersey commander. “We are attracting a lot of veterans who are under the age of 35 because they don’t want to work for other people. They work and have other full-time and part-time commitments. Small business courses like this provides them with different options.”
Attendees participated in guided discussions regarding business ownership as a career path and other relevant topics, including:
• Basics of opportunity recognition
• How to capitalize on opportunities
• The entrepreneurial process
• Types of legal entities
• Ways to secure funding
“The American Legion wants to help get the word out there. There is help for veterans who want to find out how the process works and seek loans to assist them in growing their businesses,” said Anthony Santanello, commander of Post 281.
As a small business owner himself, Santanello believes it is important to continue hosting the small business seminars across the country. “Sometimes veterans just need help so they don’t get lost in all the red tape. They should not have to figure it out by themselves like I did. Now they have an opportunity to be ahead of the game,” he added.
Since they have completed the workshop, participants now have access to an additional eight-week online course that will provide small business start-up knowledge. The Department of New Jersey is in the process of creating a veteran-centric chamber of commerce style consortium, comprised of local Boots to Business graduates, to foster new relationships between local business owners.
“My community has really rallied around my wife and I since we started our business,” Santanello said. “This is what The American Legion is all about – veterans and community – we are here for them.”
The next two events in the Legion Boots to Business series will be held in Middlesex and Monmouth Counties.
- Veterans Business