Starting a Business as a Veteran – A Complete Guide

Table of Contents

1. Understanding the Veteran Advantage When Starting a Business

2. Identifying Your Business Idea

3. Developing a Business Plan for Your Veteran Business

4. Legal and Administrative Steps

5. Funding Your Veteran Business

6. Launch Your Veteran Business

7. Overcoming Challenges Unique to Veterans When Starting a Business

Conclusion

How to Start a Business as a Veteran

Making the transition from military to civilian life is a big life shift, but it also gives you the unique opportunity to start your own business as a veteran. As a veteran (or active service member), you possess distinctive abilities—leadership, discipline, and a strategic mindset to name a few—that can give you a competitive edge in the entrepreneurial and business worlds. This guide will lead you through the key steps of starting a business, leveraging your military background to become a successful solopreneur or business owner. Let’s dig in to cover topics from understanding your veteran advantages to securing funding and overcoming common challenges.

1. Understanding the Veteran Advantage When Starting a Business

Unique Skills and Experiences

What transferable skills is your military providing you? Your time in the service has equipped you with important skills that transfer beautifully into the entrepreneurial space. Leadership, critical thinking, and problem-solving are just a few of the core competencies that can set you apart from your competitors.

Quick Action Step: Write down a list of your military duties and trainings. Then consider what skills have allowed you to be successful in each area. Where have you excelled?

Networking and Community

Veterans have access to a powerful network that can offer them opportunities and support when starting a business. You can utilize your networks by seeking out mentorship, partnerships, and resources specific to your needs. Leveraging these connections can be vital to launching and growing your business. You can also use these networks to tap into talent beyond your capacity or expertise. If you notice a hole in your ideas for the future, find other veterans who can work with you to fill the gap.

Quick Action Step: Create a LinkedIn profile (if you haven’t already) and get connected with some of the valuable groups for veterans. Get access to our free LinkedIn guide to get your LinkedIn working for you.

2. Identifying Your Business Idea

One of the most important considerations when starting a business as a veteran is choosing the right idea. Now, this is individual to each person and there are countless ideas that can be pursued. Some common business ideas for first time veteran entrepreneurs include creating an online course, starting a coaching program, creating and selling a product, or selling a service either in-person or online.

Whatever you choose, be sure that this idea reflects things you truly love, value, and can provide with some unique advantage to the consumer. If you are struggling to identify what this could be for you, consider the gaps, issues, and loves you see in the world. How might you fill these through items or services you could offer?

Quick Action Step: Look at the items, situations, and interactions that frustrate you the most (really grind at you). What might help alleviate that frustration for you and others? and goals.

Assessing Your Skills and Interests

To identify a business idea, start by getting clear on your skills and areas of “expertise.” Expertise does not mean you are the very best, but that you have something valuable to offer based on training, experience, and personal ability.

Reflect on your military experience to pinpoint areas where you excel and the kinds of things you really love. But don’t stop there. Look for things you truly value and could align yourself with long term. Many veteran entrepreneurs can fail to fully commit to an idea if it is based in passing interests or spur of the moment ideas. Dive deep into your true abilities and passions that extend over multiple ideas. This is also a great opportunity to check out personality assessments like CliftonStrengths to get started.

Market Research and Validation

When you have an idea (or two or three), your next step is to conduct some good market research. Who would use this product and is there already a competitor? You do not need to be the only one in an area, but your product or service should offer something valuable that serves customers in a meaningful way. Validate your ideas by getting feedback from potential clients/customers and others in your network. Use this feedback to refine and improve your ideas.

Focus on What’s Important

There is a famous idea out there known as the Pareto Principle. This principle essentially states that 80% of your consequences arise from 20% of your effort while 20% of the consequences come from your remaining 80% effort. What this means for the veteran entrepreneur is that you need to focus on the 20% that is most important to you and your work. Considering what actions and behaviors could have the most outsized effect on your success and then pouring your attention into those pieces can catapult you to success.

This principle is highlighted in famed entrepreneurship coach Dan Sullivan’s book “10x is Easier than 2x.” In essence, you can achieve far greater growth by moving away from the things that take up 80% of your attention (which tend to be more comfortable and secure) and focusing instead on the 20% that has a much larger impact on your returns, thereby increasing your growth by focusing on less.

Quick Action Step: What actions would have the biggest effect on your success? What would it look like to put aside the other 80% (give or take) and just focus on this? What could it do for your business?

3. Developing a Business Plan for Your Veteran Business

Developing a business plan for your veteran-owned business is a key to getting clear about your goals and finding strategic means of accomplishing them. While a business plan should not be the most important part of your entrepreneurship journey if you are just starting out, it is important to return to this topic as you get moving forward.

Crafting Your Vision and Mission

Define a clear vision and mission for your business. Don’t spend too much time here, but allow these statements to help direct your decisions for the future. It can be helpful to set out a vision with clear action steps that can be measured well and also have a time table for achieving them. This will help you pursue your goals more directly and know when you have succeeded or failed.

Creating a Strategic Plan

Outline your business model, revenue streams, and strategies for growth. Your strategic plan should include detailed financial projections and budgets to manage resources effectively. Additionally, develop a risk management plan to address potential challenges and contingencies.

4. Legal and Administrative Steps

Again, this is not your first step in the veteran entrepreneurship process but it is important. Getting this right can pay dividends later or have you wishing you had paid more attention.

Registering Your Business

Selecting the right business structure is necessary to cover your tax and legal concerns (note: Civilian Refit does not and is not offering any legal or tax advice). Common business structure options include Sole Proprietorship, Partnership, LLC, or Corporation. Most veteran entrepreneurs will start with an LLC due to its ease of use and low barrier to entry. Check out services like LegalZoom for simple, cheap, and quick registration.

Before you get going, be sure to look for any licenses or permits you might need to operate. If you use a service like LegalZoom, you will also have the chance to register for an Employer Identification Number (EIN), which will be required for your taxes. Ensure your business is legally recognized by obtaining the necessary licenses and permits.

Quick Action Step: If you have a business idea already formulated, get started on the process by registering with LegalZoom (or another similar service).

5. Funding Your Veteran Business

Money. Money. Money. Sometimes you have to have some to earn some. But it doesn't always have to be a major factor in your startup process. Here are a few ways to get your funding started. The important thing is to get started, even if it means with cheap options you can change later when you have more income.

Personal Savings and Investments

Evaluate your personal financial readiness. Using personal savings or investments can be an easily accessible option to fund your business, but it’s important to assess your financial stability and risk tolerance. However, there are many ways to cut your costs at the beginning. What is often important in getting a business started is to create a Minimally Viable Product (MVP). The MVP gets you started and allows you to get feedback to improve your product or service. Create an affordable MVP if possible and then move on to its rapid evolution into something truly great.

Veteran-Specific Grants and Loans for Entrepreneurs

Veterans who are starting a business have funding options especially for them. Programs such as the SBA 7(a) Loan Program, Veterans Business Outreach Center (VBOC) programs, and grants like the StreetShares Foundation Veteran Business Grant offer valuable financial support. Additionally, you can consider tax incentives like the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) and R&D tax credits for innovative ventures.

Note: Nothing in this article is meant as financial or legal advice.

6. Launch Your Veteran Business

Launching is not a one-time event. Jeff Walker’s incredible book on this topic argues that entrepreneurs will have multiple launches of the same product throughout each year. This

process of multiple launches allows you to position your product or service in front of your ideal customers multiple times. In-between, you are continuing to build relationship with your potential customers. With multiple launches a year, you drive awareness of your business and incentive to purchase from you. Then, when they are ready to buy they already know the perfect person (you) to go to for their need.

Quick Action Step: Read Jeff Walker’s Launch and get clear on what it means to launch your business. If you want more to read (knowledge is power), check out our list of top books for veteran entrepreneurs!

7. Overcoming Challenges Unique to Veterans When Starting a Business

Transitioning from Military to Civilian Life

Adjusting to the civilian environment can be challenging. Many veterans struggle with this adjustment. Military TAPS programs offer some help in this transition. But don’t stop there. Look for other resources and services throughout your networks to go beyond these services. A great resource for an service member making the transition to civilian life is Civilian Refit’s transition program. We are biased, but it’s the best service out there for helping you transition well from military to civilian life.

Access to Capital and Resources

We have already discussed this topic above, but veterans can struggle to find and secure the funding they need to make their dreams a reality. The key to overcoming this is to be creative, use your networks, and to be proactive. If you combine these alongside a compelling idea that fits an open need, your chances of finding funding or support are greatly improved.

Conclusion

If you are overwhelmed with the idea of starting your own business but are eager to do something beyond the military, Civilian Refit is a great starting place for you. Start with our list of top books for veteran entrepreneurs. The books on this list will give you everything you need to learn how to successful start your business.

Next, if you are struggling to decide what meaningful, satisfying work will look like after the military, check out the Civilian Refit Program. This program gives you everything you need to understand who you are, what works fits best for who you are, and how you can make a successful transition in your own unique way. Check out our program here!

The bottom line is that starting a business is hard work but it is absolutely doable. By utilizing your unique abilities and ideas in ways that connect your network and solve a meaningful need in your community, you can create a business that not only is successful, but does some good for the world.

The most important thing to do is to start.

What are you waiting for?