Jumpstart your Veteran Owned Business - Learn To Network
A major part of your Veteran Owned Business’ marketing program must be personal networking. But networking is more than just showing up and hanging around. Here is a great article with tips on How To Network.
Raising money for to start your Veteran Owned Small Business is a real challenge these days. Take a look at the very good article from Inc Magazine to find out why?
Have you been getting stuck completing that business plan for your new Veteran Owned Business? Well you might find some incredible help for completing your plan or any other difficult task or project by using the Pomadoro Technique. The Pomadora Technique and the now famous Pamadoro Timer was developed in 80s by Francesco Cirillo. It uses a series of 25 min work periods linked by breaks that are announced by the chiming of a Pomodoro Timer of your choice. You can find out much more about the technique by taking a look at this website. Get that Veteran Owned Business going!! This can help.
Reading this excellent blog article about the do’s and don’ts of starting a business triggered thoughts about things I could have done better when I started my business. If you are a veteran at that point in your thought process about starting a business, this sage advice.
The blog post lists 3 things they wish they had done before they started their business. I have the same wish ! They are very good points. Here they are in summary:
Check out this blog entry for more details before you start your new veteran owned business. You will be glad you did.
What is the one thing veteran entrepreneurs should have?
At the NH SBDC, I work with a lot people who are eager and interested in starting up their own business. My veteran clients bring many of the characteristics of an entrepreneur to the table because of their military background and experience. Inc Magazine recently published an interesting article about the traits of successful business entrepreneurs. They argue that there is one overriding trait that successful entrepreneurs have. Take a look at this interesting article and find out what it is. I think you will see why your military experience prepares you well to be a business owner.
You need your DD214 Form, Report of Separation From Active Duty, to apply for your VA benefits. But forms like the DD214 easily get lost over the years after you leave the military. It used to require a long, drawn out postal mail process to get a replacement. And sometimes it was not clear where to go for that record.
There is now a straight forward process to apply for a replacement DD214 online. It will require you to have access to a computer with internet capability and an email address, but if you are reading this blog post, it is likely you have all of that already. You simply fill out the online form about your military service, submit it and then print a copy of a signature validation form. You can either mail that form through the post office or if you have a fax available, the signed form can be faxed. Once that is in, you are done! Your DD214 will arrive by postal mail in 90 days or less. Here is a link that outlines the process in graphic detail.
I recently ran across a very interesting article that described a discovery in the world of nanotechnology - the nanowire battery. As devices get smaller and smaller and stored energy demand gets larger and larger, I have wondered where the break-through might come in battery technology. nanowire batteries might be the answer.
A few years ago, the New Hampshire High Tech Council ran a series of discussions about the future of technology and manufacturing in the state. One of the focal points of those discussions was nanotechnology and mano manufacturing. I really wondered at that time where this interesting but undeveloped technology might be leading. Nanowire batteries might be one of those spin-off technologies. Discovered by Dr. Yi Cui at Stanford University, this battery has the promise of extending battery life by 10 times over conventional Li-Ion batteries at sizes that can be smaller than a human hair. This means that your laptop may run for 20 hours instead the 4 hours of today and other portable electronics could get even smaller than they are today and run for weeks without a battery charge. And think of the possibilities for electric vehicles!
All of this seems interesting to me as a business adviser to veterans looking for business opportunities. Just as the invention of the laser some years back yielded many lucrative business opportunities, nanotechnology and particularly nanowire batteries might be an opportunity waiting to happen for a veteran owned business. New Hampshire is a great place for this type of high technology business. Here is a starting place to learn more about it. Take a look at this article. It is a bit scientific but it may give you some ideas about a future, fast growing field of business.
Seed funding
A few years ago seed money for a new business was available through sources such as Angels and family and friends and home-equity. While family and friends and home equity are still practical methods to fund a new startup, Angel funding has moved to a new level preferring businesses that have progressed beyond the startup phase. New sources of seed money however have emerged with the advent of the Internet. Here is an interesting Wall Street Journal article that describes these new funding sources – take a look.
As I write this blog entry I’m reminded of the situation that happened to many businesses during Hurricane Katrina. Many of those businesses were unprepared for the disaster that occurred. They did not have a plan in place to recover.
If you are starting a veteran owned business in New Hampshire now or if you already have one in place, you should consider how you would respond to a disaster situations. For some really good ideas about disaster planning take a look at this link.
Don’t let a Katrina like disaster sink your new Veteran Owned Business before it gets started.
Most of us that served in the military did not get exposed to business finance during our time in the service. But understanding how to read and interpret financial documents is an essential skill for veteran business owners to master. It is the foundation of sound financial management for your business. Inc Magazine has an excellent article about reading and understanding financial statements. Follow this link, take a look at this article and learn.
